Lessons from a Hawaiian Queen about Governance, Public Health and Ambition
The 75th Annual New Play Festival at Arena Stage in D.C. including "Emalani" by Hawaiian Playwright Lee Cataluna
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…
