First Broadway-style musical drawn from a Hawaiian moʻolelo, ‘The Epic Tale of Hiʻiaka: The Hawaiian Goddess,’ opens Dec. 5 at Ko Olina

For the first time, a Hawaiian moʻolelo is coming to the stage as a full-scale, Broadway-style musical, with its home here in Hawaiʻi. Hawaiian Council and WitzEnd Productions, a producer of the Tony Award-winning revival of Once On This Island, today announced that “The Epic Tale of Hiʻiaka: The Hawaiian Goddess” will begin previews Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2026, at Ocean’s Edge at Ko Olina. Opening night is Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, followed by an open-ended run with performances Wednesday through Saturday evenings. Tickets are on sale now, and a kamaʻāina discount is available at www.Hiiaka.com.

The production brings together a Native Hawaiian organization and Broadway producers whose credits include Some Like It Hot, A Beautiful Noise and Once On This Island. Together they are presenting a story long carried by hālau hula and by descendants of the Pele family, in ceremony, performance and hula drama, on a stage of this scale, at home, with Hawaiian practitioners in key creative roles and Hawaiʻi artists in the leading roles.

Hawaiian Council joined Hiʻiaka as a producer to invest in Hawaiian storytelling and give Native Hawaiian artists and cultural practitioners a role in shaping how the moʻolelo is told. The organization committed funding and staff and brought cultural advisers and creative partners to the production. With Ko Olina providing the venue, the musical gives kamaʻāina and visitors an opportunity to see a Hawaiian story brought to life by Hawaiʻi artists while also creating employment for local performers, production crews and hospitality teams.

“As a Native Hawaiian organization, we have a responsibility to invest in our own stories and ensure Hawaiian voices help shape how they are told,” said Kūhiō Lewis, CEO of Hawaiian Council and a producer of the musical. “We put our resources and our people behind Hiʻiaka because we recognize the importance of sharing this moʻolelo through Hawaiian voices and creating opportunities for the talent we have here at home. My hope is that young Hawaiians see this production and leave knowing their stories matter, their voices matter and there are opportunities for them to build their futures here in Hawaiʻi.”

Ten years in the making, “The Epic Tale of Hiʻiaka” was developed through storyboarding that began in 2014, research journeys with the creative team to Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island, readings in New York and Honolulu, and a world premiere preview at the 2025 Native Hawaiian Convention. Rehearsals began in September 2026.

“I moved here 11 years ago to start figuring out how to tell a story that appeals to both a Hawaiian audience that grew up with these gods and goddesses and a musical theater audience who never heard of them,” said producer Michael Jackowitz of WitzEnd Productions, a Maui resident.

The musical draws on the moʻolelo of Hiʻiakaikapoliopele as told by Hoʻoulumāhiehie, serialized daily in the Hawaiian-language newspaper Ka Naʻi Aupuni from 1905 to 1906 and translated into English by M. Puakea Nogelmeier. At Pele’s request, her youngest sister Hiʻiaka sets out across the islands to find Lohiʻau, the chief of Kauaʻi whom Pele came to love in a dream, and bring him home to Kīlauea, restoring him to life along the way. As the huakaʻi stretches long, the bond between the sisters is tested. Told through live music, hula, oli, puppetry and projection, in English and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, it is a story of loyalty, love, jealousy, justice and redemption. 

Book, music and lyrics are by Kumu Hula Patrick Makuakāne and Roslyn Catracchia. Makuakāne, who also choreographs, received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2023 and is founder and director of Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu. Catracchia has written songs and scores for more than 40 musical productions in Hawaiʻi and received seven Poʻokela Awards. The story was adapted by Makuakāne, Catracchia and Michael Jackowitz. Scott Schwartz, whose credits include Golda’s Balcony and Jane Eyre on Broadway, directs.

Costumes are by Manaola, with scenic design by Kevin Depinet, lighting design by Amanda Zieve, sound design by Ray Nardelli and projection design by Aaron Rhyne. Brad Haak is music supervisor, with musical arrangements by David Kauahikaua and Brad Haak and orchestrations and instrumental track production by David Kauahikaua. Shawn Pimental is Hawaiian music advisor, M. Puakea Nogelmeier is Hawaiian consultant and Mehanaokala Hind is cultural advisor. Kealiʻi Reichel and Stephen Schwartz advised during development.

Jana Anguay Alcain of Waiāhole stars as Hiʻiaka, and Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom, a six-time GRAMMY® nominee whose albums have earned 18 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, plays Pele. Kaʻula Krug is Lohiʻau, and Moses Goods, seen as Moku in the Apple TV series Chief of War, is the Narrator, Kāne and Panaʻewa. The company also includes ʻOʻoe Carr as Hōpoe, Brandee Doi as Wahineʻōmaʻo, Starr Kalāhiki as Kilioe and Chardonnay as Kalanamainuʻu, with Bailey Barnes, Kailana Latham and Makanamaikalani as Pele’s sisters. The ensemble includes Elika Santos, vocal director; Kaleo Pinto, dance captain; Taj Nakoa; Travis O. Asaeli; Jared Paʻakaula; and Mana Moe, with swings Emi Sampson and Jonah Akina Guerrero and on-call swing Mike Ahina. Percussion is led by So Jin Kimura with Jordan Schifino and Adj Lariosa.

With an open-ended run, the production is building a talent base in Hawaiʻi, where artists have long sought opportunities of this scale. It offers its telling with humility, as one telling among many, in service to the moʻolelo and to those who carried it before.

“The Epic Tale of Hiʻiaka” is produced by Michael Jackowitz and Jeffrey Grove for WitzEnd Productions and Kūhiō Lewis for Hawaiian Council. Co-producers are Shari and Ken Eberts, Pulse Productions and Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom, Ken Davenport, Jonathan and Rae Corr, Chuck and Gail Bergson and Ko Olina. Executive producers are Tom Polum and Stacia Fernandez. Hawaiian Airlines is the Official Airline, and Ko Olina is the Official Partner and Co-Producer.

Performance and Ticket Information

• Venue: Ocean’s Edge at Ko Olina, 92-100 Waipahe Place, Kapolei, HI 96707
• Previews: Begin Wednesday, November 25, 2026
• Opening night: Saturday, December 5, 2026, followed by an open-ended run
• Schedule: Wednesday through Saturday, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Full schedule at www.Hiiaka.com
• Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
• Tickets: Show only, $126; standard adult with dinner, $179; VIP, $264. Kamaʻāina discount available at www.hiiaka.com
• Groups: sales@hiiaka.com. General inquiries: info@hiiaka.com
• Age guidance: Recommended for ages 8 and up. The show includes stylized battles, mature romantic themes, mild innuendo and volcanic effects. Infants are not permitted; children 5 and older will need their own ticket.
• Getting there: Free parking in designated lūʻau parking. Optional round-trip transportation from Waikīkī is $30 per person, added at online booking. There is no public transit to Ocean’s Edge.

Accessibility: The venue is ADA accessible. Request ADA transportation at least 72 hours in advance and an ASL interpreter at least one week in advance by calling 808-897-2906.