Alten Keoki Ken Kiakona, Corin Kumakani Medeiros and Leleae “Buffy” Kahalepuna-Wong in "Aloha Kaua." Courtesy photo

Praised as Shakespearean in its scope, the new historical drama “Aloha Kāua,” depicting a time in Hawaii’s royal history, will be presented at the Historic Iao Theater on March 8 and 9.

Playwright Noalani Helelā spent a year creating “Aloha Kāua,” which covers the period in King Kamehameha III’s rule known as “the time of Kaomi” (“ka wa ia Kaomi”) during the early part of his reign. As a young man, Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) fell in love with Kaomi, a Maui born, Hawaiian-Tahitian student of missionary Hiram Bingham.

It was reported that Kaomi could diagnose a disease by feeling the body of any individual and then prescribe the appropriate treatment medicine. Kaomi was proclaimed by Kamehameha III the “engrafted king” (Ke-lii-kui) of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

“Aloha Kāua” was commissioned by Maui attorney Lance D. Collins, who is also the play’s producer. “I asked her to write it,” Collins explains. “I’ve been trying to get someone to tell this story for quite some time. Then Noa and I connected about this. I work with her mother in community organizing stuff, but just by coincidence, we ended up connecting. This is not the genre that she normally writes in. But she did go through Hawaiian immersion and she’s very familiar with Hawaiian history. Her genre is more like Hawaiian sci-fi.”

Helelā’s previous work includes “Demigods Anonymous,” about people manifesting ancient kupua (demigod) powers.

Directed by Taurie Kinoshita of the Hawai’i Conservatory of Performing Arts, the play’s cast of 16 includes Corin Kumakani Medeiros as Kauikeaouli, Leleaʻe “Buffy” Kahalepuna-Wong as his mother Kaʻahumanu, and Alten Keoki Ken Kiakona in the role of Kaomi.

The cast of the new historical drama, “Aloha Kāua,” poses for a photo. Photo courtesy Nicole Tessier

Influenced by Kaomi, Kauikeaouli was inspired to revive previously suppressed Hawaiian traditions that included hula, gambling, various forms of love-making, alcohol, and the Makahiki.

“Heathen dances and drunken revels were encouraged as in Liholiho’s time,” wrote missionary son W. D. Alexander in “A Brief History of the Hawaiian People.” “This year of disorder is known as ‘ka wa ia Kaomi’ (the time of Kaomi).” Alexander also wrote: “Kaomi fell into ill-health. He lingered awhile in a hovel at Lahaina.”

Outraged Christian chiefs plotted against Kaomi, with one newspaper decrying him “as the king of disturbance.” “The king’s love of pleasure grew, and evil ways that had been stamped out were revived,” wrote 19th century historian Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau in “Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii.”

It was reported that under pressure, Kaomi was exiled to Kauai for a year but secretly rejoined his royal lover in Lahaina where he died in 1835 or 1836, though the circumstances of his eventual death were mysterious and questionable. The “time of Kaomi” was almost erased from history.

In bringing this story to light Collins notes: “Hawaiian historian scholar Lilikala Kame’eleihiwa in her book ‘Native Land and Foreign Desire,’ said that Hawaiian society will never be pono again until the Hawaiian people can come to know their history intimately and understand the challenges faced by Kamehameha III.

“This particular part of the story, which comes at the end of Kaʻahumanu’s life, I think it’s a universal story, but it’s very specific in how it played out in the 1820s and 1830s in Hawaii. It’s an important piece for people to understand, like the foundations of the king who adopted a written constitution and had the Mahele happen. He promulgated the first written constitution.”

“Aloha Kāua,” had its world premiere on Feb. 21 on Oahu, and received a rave review from Nicholas Logue, Head of Theatre at Windward Community College. “‘Aloha Kaua’ rivals anything I’ve seen at the Royal Shakespeare Company in scope and vision,” wrote Logue. “A true history play for the Kingdom of Hawaii. Noalani Helelā is to these islands as Shakespeare was to his. The drama is epic, the political realities of early missionary contact in Hawaii seethe and roil in this play, particularly focused on sexuality, racial ‘purity’ and the shifting role of the royal family in a globalizing nation.”

What was Collins’ reaction to the play when he first saw it?

“Mind blowing,” he says. “I was like, I wish we could get this on every island. I wish we could extend the run.”

Collins hopes the play will provide “a better understanding of Hawaiian history, and also understanding that what might seem very simple actually is very complicated and messy. We have a lot of stories in Hawaii that are like very important stories and they should be told on the stage and in film. I feel in some ways after watching this, it’s like the Hawaiian version of Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote a whole bunch of tragedies about royals.”

“Aloha Kāua” is presented at the Historic Iao Theater on March 8 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and March 9 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20. It is recommended as suitable for 13 years old and up. Content warning: sexual content, physical assault, references to and an enactment of a hate crime.