Hawaiian Mission Houses and Makawao Cemetery present Cemetery History Theatre, July 18 and 19

June 20, 2026, 6:00 PM HST

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Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (HMH) and co-sponsor Makawao Cemetery Association present the return of Cemetery History Theatre — for one weekend in July 2026: Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19. This year marks the program’s 15th anniversary.

Created in 2011, Cemetery History Theatre was conceived as a way to bring history to life through rigorous archival research and compelling theatrical performance. Theatre Director William Haʻo has been instrumental in shaping the series into the theatrical powerhouse it has become, participating in or directing every production since its debut. The program has since earned more than 15 Poʻokela Awards from the Hawaiʻi State Theatre Council.

This year’s theme, Caring for Our Community, honors three remarkable individuals whose lives of service, healing, and advocacy helped shape the islands we know today. As evening falls over the storied grounds of Makawao Cemetery, skilled performers portray Emily Whitney Alexander Baldwin, Dr. Iga Mōri, and Lucy Kaiaka Ward — each a vital thread in the enduring tapestry of Hawaiʻi’s social history.

Why this story matters:

The history of Hawaiʻi is not only a story of kings and commerce — it is equally a story of those who showed up for their neighbors, according to organizers. The individuals honored in Caring for Our Community represent the doctors, organizers, and advocates who quietly transformed the social landscape of the islands, building institutions and networks of care that generations of Hawaiʻi’s people have relied upon ever since.

“The people we honor this year didn’t wait for someone else to solve the problems in front of them,” said Mike Smola, Director of Education, Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives. “Dr. Mōri built a hospital for a community shut out of existing care. Lucy Ward walked the streets of Honolulu with a badge and a pistol to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. Emily Baldwin funded housing for men and boys at Kalawao and on Maui. These aren’t distant historical figures. They are the architects of the institutions and networks of care that Hawaiʻi still relies on today. Cemetery History Theatre exists so those stories are told — and so we recognize ourselves in them.”

Featured portrayals:

Emily Whitney Alexander Baldwin (1846–1943) (Portrayed by Eden-Lee Murray) — Born at Lahainaluna, Maui to Rev. William P. Alexander and Mary Ann McKinney Alexander, she married Henry Perrine Baldwin and together they became transformative philanthropists on Maui. They founded the Fred C. Baldwin Memorial Home to provide housing for elderly Hawaiian and white men, named in memory of their son who died unexpectedly at age 24. They also founded the Baldwin Home for Boys and Helpless Men at Kalawao to care for male leprosy patients — a facility that grew under the stewardship of Brother Joseph Dutton to more than 50 buildings by the 1930s.

Dr. Iga Mōri (1864–1951) (Portrayed by Shiro Kawai) — A pioneering Issei physician born in northern Honshū, Dr. Mōri completed his education at the Imperial Naval Medical School and Cooper Medical College (now Stanford University Medical School). He was a founding doctor and first medical director of the Japanese Charity Hospital — now Kuakini Medical Center — established in the aftermath of the Bubonic plague outbreak and Chinatown Fire of 1900. He oversaw the hospital’s growth into the second-largest medical facility in the Territory of Hawaiʻi and was the first Japanese physician granted honorary membership in the Honolulu County Medical Society. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he and his family were arrested; his son, daughter-in-law, and grandsons were interned in New Mexico and Texas during WWII.

Lucy Kaiaka Ward (1874–1954) (Portrayed by Ann Brandman) — One of the celebrated seven Ward sisters, Lucy grew up at “Old Plantation” on the site of what is now the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. A major force in founding and developing the Hawaiian Humane Society, she became a Humane Agent in 1913 — making her a law enforcement officer. Armed with a whip, a pistol, and a badge, she spent years protecting the welfare of children and animals across Honolulu. The Humane Society served as Child Protective Services in the Territory of Hawaiʻi until 1935, and its first building was constructed on land donated by her family.