Photo by Nagamine Photo Studio

Wayne Moniz

About the Author

Wayne Moniz, a native son of Maui, was born in Malulani Hospital in Wailuku town on August 30, 1945. In his play Under The Star of Gladness, one of the characters confesses that Malulani Hospital, now the site of Hale Makua home for elders, is where he’ll probably end up, full circle. Moniz graduated from St. Anthony High School in Wailuku in 1963 and received a B. A. in English and Communications from the University of Dayton, Ohio, in 1968. After teaching for several years, he attended graduate school, obtaining an M.A. in Theater Arts and Film from UCLA in 1980. When you hear Wayne Moniz read his works, there is no doubt that his passion lies in drama and film. He’s hopeful that his plays and stories will someday be turned into motion pictures. At the request of a South Carolina film producer, he has completed a script for the short story “Aloha, Sweetheart,” the hard-boiled detective yarn set in 1939 Wailuku found in Under Maui Skies and Other Stories.

Dubbed “Dean of Maui Playwrights” by the Maui News, Wayne Moniz has produced volumes of plays, poetry, short stories, and, in the near future, a novel, all set in Hawai'i, particularly Maui. While teaching at Baldwin High School (where he was named Maui's Teacher of the Year in 1995) and Maui Community College, he wrote thirteen dramas and comedies, most of which were produced by Maui Community College, Maui Community Theater, and the Baldwin Theater Guild.

His first play, Still Born – Na Mele o Kaho'olawe, was written in response to a request from the Protect Kaho'olawe Ohana, with the encouragement of Uncle Harry Mitchell, portraying the struggle to return the island to Hawai'i. Produced by Maui Community Theater, it brought many local people to the historic 'Iao before becoming part of the Bishop Museum’s traveling exhibit about the plight of Kaho'olawe. In 2007, Still Born was featured at the Smithsonian Institution.

'Ili 'Ili, a play about the spirit of Charles Lindbergh working with a Hawaiian entertainer to save Hana from ruthless development, was based loosely on the tale of Kauiki and Noenoe. Before the premier — held at Helene Hall in Hana, a few yards from Kauiki Hill — Moniz was anxious that few Hana people would attend, only to witness scores arriving nearly simultaneously at the last minute. They greeted him with lei and appreciation, and those who had worked with Lindbergh said, “Charlie would have enjoyed the show.”

Rev. Natalie Kama asked Wayne to write a play to commemorate the tragic overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. With the help of Sue Loudon, Maui’s Dean of Stage Directors, the Baldwin Theater Guild produced Children of the Turning Tide, about the monarchs as teens at the Royal School. The handsome production was seen by 2,000 Maui schoolchildren. Sue went on to direct two of Wayne’s musicals — Steamer Days, a romantic romp through a 1938 Boat Day with the great hapa-haole tunes of the day, and Hibiscus Pomade, a tribute to early-’60s Hawai'i, where a Maui band meets, among others, the K-POI Boys, K.K. Kaumanua, Lucky, and Aku.

Wayne wrote Under the Star of Gladness to honor the contributions of immigrants from Madeira and the Azores to Hawai'i. 'Iao Congregational Church commissioned People of the First Year, to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the first Japanese Christians on Maui. And Tandy! was written after a suggestion by a Maui Symphony member to tell the story of Maui’s greatest opera singer, Hana-born Tandy Mackenzie.

Wayne has worked in cooperation with many of Maui’s kumu. Keali'i Reichel, Hōkūlani Holt-Padilla, Kiope Raymond, Alexa Vaught, and Nina Maxwell have served in advisory capacities for his shows. Wayne coproduced Kamapua'a – The Exploits of the Pig God with Kumu Keli'i Tau'a for the teachers of Hawaiian language at Maui Community College.

Wayne’s love of Hawaiian music and culture goes hand in hand with his writings. He was director of Maui Community College’s Ho'olaule'a Festival for five years. The gatherings, with attendance of 20,000-plus, brought together some of Hawai'i’s finest musical groups and halau. He has also been instrumental in bringing together musical and hula artists for fundraisers for local nonprofits, as well as the Maui Arts & Culture Center.

Wayne Moniz’s lifetime achievement was recognized in 2005 by the Hawaii Literary Arts Council, when he received the Cades Award, Hawai'i’s most prestigious recognition for a writer.

By the Same author

Books

Children of the Turning Tide/Still Born (Na Mele O Kaho‘olawe): Two Plays, 2000.
Under the Star of Gladness (I Lalo o Hōkūle‘a/‘Ili‘Il)i: Two Plays, 2004.
Hibiscus Pomade/Steamer Days/Tandy: Three Plays, 2007.

Plays

Still Born (Nā Mele o Kaho‘olawe)
History and liberation of the island of Kaho‘olawe. Produced by Maui Community Theater, 1991.
‘Ili ‘Ili
A Hawaiian entertainer and the Spirit of Charles Lindbergh team up to save Hāna from a massive development. Produced by Maui Community Theater, 1991.
Children of the Turning Tide
Hawai‘i’s future monarchs as teens at the Royal School. Produced by Baldwin Theater Guild, 1992.
Under the Star of Gladness (I Lalo o Hōkūle‘a)
Three generations of a Portuguese family and friends in Hawai‘i. Produced by Maui Community Theater, 1993.
People of the First year
The first Japanese Christians on Maui. Produced by ‘Īao Congregational Church, 1994.
Steamer Days: The View from Aloha Tower
A romantic romp through a 1938 Honolulu Boat Day with Duke Kahanamoku, Hilo Hattie, and Shirley Temple. Produced by Baldwin Theater Guild, 1996.
Hawaiian Kine Christmas Carol
An 1889 Sprecklesville Mill kine version of the Dickens’ classic. Produced by Maui Community Theater, 1997.
Kamapua‘a: The Exploits of the Pig God.
The demigod Kamapua‘a raises havoc and confronts the fire goddess Pele. Produced by Hawaii Leadership Conference for Nā Kumu ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i, Maui Community College, 1997.
Pele and Hi‘iaka: Sisters of Fire.
The odyssey of the Pele Family and Hi‘iaka’s journey to escort Lohi‘au from Kaua‘i to Halema‘uma‘u, Written 1997, to be produced..
Tandy!
The libretto of an opera based on the rise and fall of Hāna-born opera singer, Tandy MacKenzie. Written 2002, to be produced.
Hibiscus Pomade
’60s musical when Hawaiian music met rock ’n roll with Lucky, Aku and the KPOI Boys. Produced by Baldwin Theater Guild, 2004.
Only the Morning Star Knows: In Search of Kamehameha
The search for the bones of Kamehameha leads King Kalākaua into the mind of Hawai‘i’s greatest monarch. Written 2003, to be produced.
‘Īao: Where We Walk Through Rainbows
The stories of the sacred valley from prehistory to modern times. Written 2004, to be produced.

FILMS

The Chair Resistance, Producer, West Valley Productions, 1980.
Laugh Trax, Producer and Segment Director, West Valley Productions, 1981.
Standing in the Shadows, Producer, West Valley Productions, 1982.
Aloha, Sweetheart (Aloha ‘oe, e Ku‘u ipo), Screenplay, 2008.

David Sandell

About the Artist

David Sandell has been living on Maui for forty years and has drawn virtually every dilapidated street, intriguing café, and historic site he has crossed, spinning out massive silk screens and murals along the way, his bold illustrations appearing in numerous newspapers and magazines.

He lives with his wife Virginia, an actress, director, and drama instructor, in an old cane house in Wailuku Town, nestled in the opening shadows of mystical ‘Īao Valley. He rarely ventures farther than his art gallery on Market Street, where he says he "promotes the loftier slumming persona of a topical cartoonist."