“Princess and the Iso Peanut” was filmed live and available to audiences on demand in mid-March. More than 50 Punahou students from the Case Middle School showcased their talents in acting, singing, dancing, design and tech, including Academy students working behind the scenes.
The musical is an adaptation of the familiar fairy tale, “The Princess and the Pea,” with a multicultural twist, telling the tale of a traditional fairy tale princess who falls in love with a Hawaiian local Japanese prince. The show celebrates Hawai‘i’s spirit of aloha and highlights the rich culture of the Islands, sharing the way we live, love and laugh together, including our ability to laugh at ourselves.
In a statement in the script, playwright Lisa Matsumoto and Roslyn Freitas ’82 Catracchia, who wrote the music and lyrics, shared that “the show hopes to encourage each of us to celebrate and embrace our own cultural heritage, quirks and all, while respecting and appreciating the diversity of other cultures so we may find tolerance, acceptance, peace and harmony.”
This is the first time the popular Hawai‘i play has been adapted as a middle school production, with special permission from Catracchia. Catracchia lent her talents to teaching the cast music, while Director of Punahou’s Kuaihelani Center for ‘Ike Hawai’i Kealohi Reppun assisted as a dialect coach for the performance in Hawai’i Creole English (Pidgin).