Edgar Ramirez, a Kalihi teenager "who looks like a Filipino John Travolta," knows that he is gay and isn't bothered by his schoolmates' taunts. His classmate Nelson Ariola insists that he is "an American" because he was born in Hawaii and doesn't speak Tagalog or Ilocano. Rolling the Rs is a play set in the disco years of the '70s, when high school students hung posters of Scott Baio, Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett, listened to Peaches and Herb, read Sixteen and Teen Beat magazines, and struggled with their identities as defined by ethnicity, nationality and sexual orientation. Edgar and his friends Katrina and Vicente exchange words with their classmates, dance, sing and experiment with sex in a free-floating, surrealistic story punctuated by the disciplinary voice of the schoolteacher, Mrs. Takemoto, and the judgmental gossip of Philippine-born and raised friends Mrs. Kayabyab and Mrs. Arayat. A Kumu Kahua world premiere.
Playwright R. Zamora Linmark is the author of the best-selling novel Rolling The R's. He’s a recipient of numerous grants and awards, including two Fulbright fellowships, a National Endowment for the Arts in Creative Writing, and, most recently, a residency at the Edward Albee Foundation. He lives in Manila.
Kumu Kahua artistic director, Harry Wong will direct the production, with set design by Chesley Cannon, light design by Abel Dulles-Coelho, costume design by Dusty Behner, and sound design by Stu Hirayama. The cast features Kumu Veterans M.J. Gonzalvo, Kathy Hunter, Jason Kanda, Tyler Tanabe, Jaedee-Kae Vergara , along with Kumu newcomers Joy Lacanienta, Malia Lagaso, Maila P. Rondero, and Christopher Takemoto-Gentile.
Kumu Kahua's 100-seat playhouse puts you at the heart of the drama. And
with well over 100 plays to our credit, our reputation attracts some of
Hawaii's most talented actors, directors, playwrights, designers and other
theater artists and technicians.
