In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Laie Hawaii Temple, the Honolulu Hawaii Stake presented three productions of “Pūlama 'Ia, Cherished: In the Isles of the Sea” at the Honolulu Tabernacle on Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 14.
Directed by McCully Ward Member Sandi Tuitele, and Assistant Director Helen Hew Len of the Auwaiolimu Ward, the musical production drew hundreds of people from around the island to watch musical renditions of the history of the Church in Hawaii.
The show started off with the story of 10 Latter-day Saint elders being called to preach the gospel in the Sandwich, or Hawaiian Islands, in 1850, most notably Elder George Q. Cannon.
The story of Jonathan Napela, a prominent Hawaiian judge from Wailuku who was baptized by George Q. Cannon, was then introduced followed by a duet singing scene.
Thomas Chock, a member from Honolulu who played the part of Jonathan Napela, said, “I’ve been on huaka'i (a journey) twice to Kalaupapa, and even though I’m not, as far as I know, related to the Parker 'ohana, I have felt a connection with Napela and the mo'olelo (story) of his life and accomplishments. What an honor it was to be even asked to portray him.”
Tuitele said a unique aspect of the production was the music. “All of the music you heard was live. For that, we are very grateful.” Peter Rucci, the musical director of the production, conducted musicians playing guitar, ukulele, bass, violin, viola and the cello, as well as vocal performances throughout the night.
A barbershop quartet featuring Taylor Ho'opi'i, Sean Mullaney, Cameron Tuitele and Clarke Tuitele was also incorporated into the show.
A portion of the stage was designated to simulate a classroom at BYU-Hawaii where students could ask questions to a professor and also share their stories of heritage, which helped transition to various scenes of the show.
Sandi Tuitele said the playwright was written from compiled histories of local families. “The stories you heard were all true. We had descendants in the audience today. Mahalo for sharing your stories.”
Some of those stories portrayed a history of the prophet Joseph F. Smith, who the Hawaiian saints called Iosepa, meaning Joseph in Hawaiian.
A history of Joseph F. Smith’s announcement and construction of the Laie Hawaii Temple, including the miracle of the lumber ship stranded on a reef in Laie Bay, was also told.
According to The Church News, the temple’s builder, Ralph Woolley, acknowledged through prayer of the need for additional supplies to complete the remotely located edifice. A lumber ship en route to Honolulu had become stuck on the reef in Laie Bay and the company’s owner told Brother Woolley the Saints could have the lumber in order to lighten the load and dislodge the ship.
A series of wooden planks were arranged on stage to reenact a scene of the construction of the temple.
Sandi Tuitele said, “All of our props and sets were created by two young women, Tashina Young and Esther Blake.”
The Laie Hawaii Temple was the first temple to have been constructed away from Church headquarters and outside of the North American continent. It was considered to be the first temple “brought to the people,” said Sandi Tuitele.
According to the program, when the Laie Hawaii Temple was built it “was the smallest temple, but it grew in size as it was renovated twice, with the first renovation completed in 1976 and the second in 2010.”
At the conclusion of the show, audience members were invited to sing “Love at Home” with cast and production members to end on a spiritual note and remind those in attendance about the sacred roles of the family.
Regarding the purpose of the musical production, Sandi Tuitele said, “I hope this production inspired us all to do our family history. May we all take this to help us find the stories in our own personal histories with our families so that we can share our legacies with our children.”
More than 200 people were involved in the cast and production staff, and local wards in the Honolulu Hawaii Stake helped with set-up and clean-up, parking and security for the event.
“I just want to thank everyone who made it out to see this performance. We have been preparing with everyone together on the stage for just 3 weeks.” However, Sandi Tuitele said a lot of preparation had taken place beforehand when they got word of the event and research began for writing the script, which shared the stories of “ancestors’ faith and courage.”
Chock remarked, “I really had such a small part to play. Sister Tuitele and Sister Hew Len were the true hard workers,” he said.