Kumu Kahua Theatre Presents The Holiday of Rain

At the Sadie Thompson Inn in Samoa, the innkeepers have planned an unusual experience for their special guests: a reenactment of W. Somerset Maugham's 1921 short story "Rain." But thanks to a magician's time warp, the real Maugham finds himself on the guest list. Swirling together fantasy, history, humor and drama, Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, winner of the Hawai'i Award for Literature and the author of The Conversion of Ka'ahumanu and Ola N? Iwi, re-imagines Maugham's steamy South Sea story in a wild romp of illusions, delusions and near fatal attractions.

"You don't have to have read Maugham's short story "Rain' to enjoy the play," says veteran Kumu actor Craig Howes, "but if you have read it, you will get much more out of it." Howes portrays the disreputable magician, Aleister Crowley in the play. "He was a dubious and one-of-a-kind character in his own time," remarked Howes.

"Rain" is probably the most well known piece of western literature associated with S?moa, and Somerset Maugham's story has been adapted to both the stage and the screen. The most famous movie version, starring Joan Crawford, was released in 1932. Maugham conceived the story when he and his companion Gerald Haxton visited S?moa in 1917.

"When my parents first moved to S?moa," says playwright Victoria Kneubuhl, "they lived right down the street from the building where Maugham, Haxton and Sadie Thompson stayedhe didn't even bother to change her name. The building and Maugham's story have always haunted me. But my play is kind of screwball comedy meets Pacific Island Literature meets history meets fantasy meets drama," laughs Kneubuhl. "You'll have to see it to understand."

Kumu Kahua Artistic Director, Harry Wong, directs the play, with Katherine Aumer as Assistant Director. The cast includes: Lauren Ballesteros, James "Kimo" Bright, Craig Howes, Tony Nickelsen, Kiana Rivera, Eleanor Svaton, Tyler Tanabe, Shawn Thomsen, and Danielle Zalopany.

"This play is a great mixture of fantasy and reality," says Harry Wong. "Guiding the actors to discover the fun and life in the script is a pleasure, and throughout the scenes there are spaces between the words that offer opportunities for actors to explore. As a director, I want to take advantage of these moments to enhance the play's meaning and to add depth."

Performance Dates:

Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 8pm

March 24, 25, 26, 31; April 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23

Sunday 2pm

March 27; April 3, 10, 17

(No Show on Easter Sunday, April 24)

Tickets are on sale now and prices range from $5 to $20. Tickets may be purchased with a credit card by calling 536-4441, or by visiting the Kumu Kahua Box Office at 46 Merchant Street from 11am to 3pm Monday through Friday. For more information about this and other productions, or to purchase tickets online, visit www.Kumu Kahua.org.

Kumu Kahua Theatre is an intimate, air-conditioned 100-seat performance space and individual performances do sell out. Patrons are strongly advised to purchase tickets in advance.

Kumu Kahua productions are made possible with support from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, celebrating more than thirty years of culture and the arts in Hawai'i, and the National Endowment for the Arts; The Annenberg Foundation; Paid for in part by the taxpayers of the City & County of Honolulu; the Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts; and Foundations, Businesses and Patrons

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