Laie’s history was brought to life with dances, Hawaiian chants, and modern pop performed by youth from Kahuku, Laie and Hauula, as well as historical photos and videos. There were two performances on Nov. 7 in the Cannon Activities Center.
Aaron Maneha, a resident of Hauula who is putting in his mission papers, said, “I liked how it started by bringing in the historical perspective. Then they incorporated the history of their own family, and how faithful they were in doing the hukilau and the Polynesian Cultural Center, even though they didn’t know Laie would be like this one day.”
The production was organized in seven scenes, each about a time in Laie’s history and corresponding with a virtue, called a root.
The narrator said at the end, “We behold the love that transcended all boundaries. We behold the gentleness of faithful women. We behold the roots of long-suffering that struggled to survive. We behold the joy. We behold the goodness of the people and their lands. We behold the peace found through identity and culture. We behold the faith enlarged through the House of the Lord. We behold Laie.”
Delsa Moe, who was part of the committee organizing the production, said of the youth performers, “We wanted them to appreciate Laie’s prophetic destiny. We wanted them to have fun doing something righteous and good.”
Moe said, “We wanted [the audience] to have an understanding of how unique and special this place is and for them to feel the spirit of Laie.” Moe said there were several prominent non-members in the crowd, such as a Methodist minister and Hawaii state Senator Gil Riviere.
The performance began by introducing a metaphor of Laie’s history as roots of the strong tree that grew into modern day Laie.
The first of these roots was love and highlighted Laie’s origin as a pu‘uhonua, or city of refuge. The youth danced hula to tell the love story of a young man, Laniloa, who fled to Laie to escape the warriors of Kehuku’unaokala’s father, who did not approve of his daughter’s love. The story had a happy ending, as Kehuku’unaokala rejoiced as Laniloa recovered from his wounds within the walls of Laie.
This story was from local kumu hula and PCC retiree Cy Bridges, according to Delsa Moe.
Kelela Mo’o, a senior in Kamehameha Schools from Laie 6th Ward, said, “The whole experience was hard, but worth it. I enjoyed every minute of it—being with my friends in the church and sharing our love for Laie.”
She said she learned things about Laie over the three months of practice. “I didn’t know Laie had such a strong history with lots of mana in it. We have such deep cultural ties, but the church is very entwined in the history, too. The basis of Laie is Hawaiian culture and the Church,” she said.
The second scene showed the 1874 visit of King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani with a hip-hop version of “Be Our Guest.” Gentleness was the theme, and the narrator said the Queen made a women’s organization to help the poor of her kingdom based on the Relief Society. The youth danced a waltz, which is what the Saints of Laie did in 1874.
The third scene was the root of long-suffering and told the story of Laie’s plantation days and Harvey Cluff’s prayer on behalf of the Saints that brought rain to the drought-stricken crops. Sweeping orchestral music gave way to an Asian-inspired drum piece as the youth dida dance with rigid movements, ending with three bows.
Images and video of the first hukilau in 1948 and the establishment of the PCC played on a huge screen above the stage during the fourth scene called “Joy.” Girls dressed as fish and boys with nets acted out a hukilau.
As they left the stage, a girl and a boy danced a knife fight as a 1950s video showed a man and a woman doing the same on the beach.
“Laie: a gathering place for all to see,” was one lyric of a song composed by Alex Galeai specifically for the production to which older members of the community danced. Masinaatoa Magalei has lived in Laie since her family immigrated from Samoa when she was 4 years old.
She said she remembered waking up at 6 a.m. to start preparing for the hukilau to raise funds for the burned chapel in Laie. She said the entire performance was “excellent. I think it is important to have our youth know the history of Laie and the ones who came before them. It builds stronger ties to not only their family, but also the place of Laie. And that is like family history.”
She said, “We are still a city of refuge. We live in the world but not of the world, you know.”
The Church College of Hawaii was established in 1955, and in the fifth scene called “Goodness,” the youth brought 1950s culture on stage with a set that represented the now filled in Beauty Hole, where all the Laie keiki learned to swim. They danced with books to the song “Pure Imagination” as black and white photos of the first CCH students flashed above them.
They danced in graduation gowns to “Heroes” by Alesso ft. Tove Lo, as colored photographs of BYU–Hawaii grads took the place of their black and white predecessors.
The audience heard President David O. McKay’s voice say “this is hallowed ground” before the sound morphed into “We Will Rock You” with lyrics tailored to Laie. The high-energy and cheerful scene closed with dancing to “Good Time” by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen, with 1955 images giving way to footage of the present-day BYUH campus.
Laie’s history as a cultural refuge for the hula was highlighted in scene six, entitled “Peace.”
“Hula brought people together in a backyard style setting when the sun went down and work for the day was done,” said the narrator. Clad in slacks, button up shirts, cummerbunds and kukui nut leis, young men danced a hula to Hawaiian guitar music, bringing the backyard style to the stage.
They were followed by girls dancing with ipu and uliuli and boys with puili. The festive atmosphere finished with a dance to “Johnny B. Goode.”
The faith of the early saints of Laie was remembered with the 1915 Laie Hawaii Temple dedication in scene seven. Three youths honored the legacies of their faithful ancestors and their living kupuna came on stage to accept a lei.
Kalamela Liua said her Ka’io ohana awaited a religion that would teach how families could be together forever, and then joined the LDS Church.
Ethan Magalei’s family has been in the Church for eight generations and ran the poi factory that Laie residents used as a staple for food in the early 1900s. Keola Coleman spoke about her great grandmother Mary Kamauoha, who was never idle and had an energetic way of life that led her to serve in the temple after she retired.
The final song, “Behold Laie,” was a find from the 1950s production “Laieikawai,” according to Joe Ah Quin, who sang it with Kahuku High School choral teacher Jacosa Ainuu. Jack Pitman composed it.
Maneha said he participated in the cultural celebration in 2010, when the Laie Hawaii Temple was rededicated. From that experience, he said he knows how hard this was to pull off for the organizers and youth. “I’m very impressed. It looked like they had a good time.”