On February 28, 2026 I joined a friend to see “Emalani,” a newly commissioned play at Arena Stage, inspired by the life Emm Na’ea Rooke, who became Queen when she married into the Kamehameha royal family, and who became known as a humanitarian, health care crusader, and advocate for native Hawaiians in the years before the United States took over the islands.
I had the good luck to chat with the playwright, Lee Cataluna, before the event started, which … Read the rest