Powerful, poetic, and unapologetically honest, Aloha Kaua is a groundbreaking stage play by Noalani Helelā that weaves love, politics, and identity into a searingly relevant work of historical fiction. Set in the Hawaiian Kingdom in the early nineteenth century, the play reimagines the largely forgotten story of Kaomi, a half-Hawaiian, half-Tahitian healer and Christian preacher, and his transformative, intimate relationship with the young King Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III). Through lyrical dialogue, biting wit, and vivid theatricality, Helelā brings to life the personal and political struggles of a kingdom at a crossroads, contending with colonization, religious conversion, and the erasure of queer Hawaiian history.

Aloha Kaua is both a sweeping political epic and a tender love story. At its heart lies a romance forged in defiance—an intimate partnership that threatens the stability of the throne and challenges both missionary authority and cultural expectations. As tensions rise between indigenous spiritual traditions and the encroaching doctrines of American missionaries, the play dares to ask what it means to be pono (righteous) in a world rewriting its moral code.

This work is as much a love letter to Hawaiian resilience and identity as it is a call to remember the suppressed voices of the past. Helelā, herself a queer Native Hawaiian artist, approaches this work with a deep sense of kuleana (responsibility), crafting a drama that is as emotionally resonant as it is historically subversive. With its world premiere at Palikū and ‘Īao Theaters in early 2025, Aloha Kaua announces a vital new voice in indigenous theatre.

For scholars, performers, and general readers alike, Aloha Kaua offers a rare and poignant glimpse into an untold corner of Hawaiian history, foregrounding love and resistance. It is a bold reminder that to love is to endure, to question, and to reclaim.

• Noalani Helelā, Author

  Noalani Helelā is a severely neurodivergent Hapa Hawaiian-Japanese-Chinese artist whose work includes filmmaking, playwriting, music, and poetry. After competing in several national poetry slams, she made her playwriting debut with Demigods Anonymous at Kumu Kahua Theatre in 2018 which saw a second staging at Palikū Theatre in Fall 2022. She also wrote, directed, and starred in the short film Yellow Fever Aftermath in 2020 for Windward Academy of Creative Media.