Plays written by Lee Cataluna:
FLOWERS OF HAWAII
FIRE PIT
HEART STRINGS
SONS OF MAUI
THURSDAYS COME AT MORNING
Synopses:
Flowers of Hawaii – A diverse extended family manages to stay together despite fighting over things from the profound to the inane in this brutally funny play-in-scenes.
Fire Pit – When his wife becomes gravely ill, a young man is encouraged to go on with his life. He does. But then, to everyone’s surprise, so does she. A dark comedy.
Heart Strings – Two girls learn they have been raised as hanai in the Hawaiian custom of informal adoption. The story is partially told using hei, Hawaii string figures, which are like Cat’s Cradle. The girls learn that a family is defined by who you love and how you take care of one another.
Sons of Maui – Maui, the great Hawaiian shapeshifter, is alive and well and living in modern Maui, where he struggles to find a use for his heroic powers on an island in the throes of over-tourism. His two sons, brothers from different mothers, help him reclaim his identity.
Thursdays Come at Morning – Two men of a certain age meet in a Honolulu cemetery, one visiting the gravesite of his mother and the other visiting his husband’s grave. They strike up a conversation that initially begins by sharing experiences as primary caregivers. One is still caring for his dying father and the other is grieving the loss of his husband. The two begin to form a deep connection as they face the question of how to go on living when your best days seem to be behind you, but you find you still have love to give.
Bio:
Lee Cataluna’s plays include Heart Strings (Atlantic Theater), Flowers of Hawaii (Native Voices workshop, Chautauqua Institute, University of Hawaii), and Home of the Brave (La Jolla Playhouse, Honolulu Theatre for Youth.) Current commissions include Emalani for Arena Stage, Super Aunty for the national BIPOC Superhero project, and Sons of Maui for San Francisco Playhouse, which was a Eugene O’Neill 2023 finalist. Her work has been supported by NEA grants and the ReImagine TYA/USA grant. She was a member of the inaugural Oregon Shakespeare Festival Indigenous Playwrights Cohort and was part of the 2024 Ojai Playwrights Conference. She is Native Hawaiian.