The theme of people being reunited also drew Cunningham into the story. That was really fun, and I really enjoy the whole feel-good aspect of it, being the person to really unite people together.' 'It's such a beautiful character, ' Ishikawa explained. She added that she has been enjoying the challenge of developing Sydney Ishikawa's pivotal performance as Da Ocean as both the 'actual ocean ' and as the 'physical embodiment of love.' Lee has all these beautiful metaphors about the ocean, and how everything works together in this beautiful cohesive universe where everybody's codependent on each other.' 'The notion of what true courage is-courage is the ability to sacrifice yourself, for the love of others. Kinoshita describes Tonouchi's play as 'a beautiful story of heroism.' What he stood for, the values and how we are connected in this small community.'Īnd after recently playing an abusive father in another Kumu Kahua show, Oshiro is happy to be playing a 'good dad ' in this one. 'People should know the heroism of Stanley Sakuma and what he did. He says it is an important story to tell. Oshiro, a talented actor and former legislator, has his own personal connection to the story his mother and Sakuma's widow, Leatrice Sakuma, are friends and go to the same church. Grayson and Wayne, aged 29 and 32, respectively, are swept into a place where time eddies in mysterious ways, and they are taken back in time to reconsider their relationships with their father (Marcus Oshiro ) and their experiences with each other. Hagio stars with Alaka 'i Cunningham as bickering brothers Grayson and Wayne, who are guardedly trying to reconcile after an estrangement that began more than 10 years ago after their father's death. I saw myself in the characters and I've been there so I know what grief feels like.' That's also what brought me to the script as well. 'It's something that I think is difficult to portray if you haven't experienced such grief at an early age. 'I lost my father when I was 12, ' Hagio said recently, while the cast, Tonouchi and director Taurie Kinoshita were preparing for a rehearsal.

Lee tonouchi