The Last Queen of Paradise
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A musical about the last days of the Kingdom of Hawai'i.
ACT ONE
The basic setting is the flower garden of Washington Place, an elegant plantation style mansion in 19th century Honolulu. The action is set within three “realms”: naturalistic (as in the scenes between Dole and Liliʻuokalani that are set in 1917), flash-backs, and a dream-like “ghost” state in which Liliʻuokalani’s memories haunt her. These are suggested by “virtual scenery” projections, realistic in the first instance, slightly surreal in the second, and using political cartoons and newspaper headlines and video projections etc. in the third. As the show opens, the set is concealed behind a scrim, on which is projected the moving image of a volcano. The stage is otherwise in near total darkness. Konia and Paki are teaching their adopted infant daughter – the future Queen Lili’uokalani — “The Kumulipo”, the Hawai’ian creation chant. This is contrasted with the account of creation from Genesis recited by the “ghost” of early missionary Sereno Bishop. In the former, the emphasis is on the magic in the darkness; in the latter, it is on “Let there be light”.
This segues into “Washington Place”, sung by supporters keeping watch outside the private home of the now deposed Queen Liliu’okalani. She is still a force to be reckoned with.
The main setting is the garden of Washington Place, in which the elderly Liliu’okalani sits surrounded by flowers, with the Hawai’ian flag flying. It is 1917, and former Hawai’ian President Sanford Dole has come to try to persuade her to make some gesture of public support for the Hawai’ian troops that are serving in Europe. He hopes she will consider raising the American flag over her home. The Queen gives Dole a lesson in “The Meaning of Aloha”, a word that is sacred to the native Hawai’ians.
As Dole leaves, the older Lili’uokalani sings “What Do They Want of Me?” She is surrounded by the “ghosts” of her past, and wonders what she did in her life that was so bad she should lose her country. In the year of her birth, native Hawai’ian historian David Malo makes a grave prediction that they would be “gobbled up” by the foreigners. Then the “ghost” of her brother and predecessor King Kalakaua, the so-called “Merrie Monarch”, is seen relaxing on a wicker chair strumming a ukulele. Liliu’okalani complains that while she has always supported her late brother the King publicly, in private she is troubled by his excessive drinking and gambling. He, on the other hand, believes they did everything they could, but were the victims of circumstances beyond their control.
Kalākaua’s reign leads the missionary party to impose the so-called “Bayonet Constitution” which greatly restricts native Hawai’ian voting rights. At the end of the act, Kalākaua dies.
ACT TWO
On the same morning as she hears of the King’s death, Liliu’okalani is summoned by the cabinet to be sworn in as the new head of state. She is ordered to sign the 1887 “Bayonet” constitution, despite her own (and others) loathing of it. Privately, she expresses her intention to steer her own course. She will not be a pushover like her brother. (“Just Watch Me”)
Lili'uokalani is being pressed by the common people for a new constitution. (The People Request) Just for suggesting that she might change the constitution, she is accused of treason by the cabinet. Thurston explains to his co-conspirators that any course of action may be taken if you choose your words to make it palatable. (“Safety in Numbers”) A “committee of safety” is organised by the annexationists to facilitate her overthrow, and the US ambassador – openly hostile to the Hawaiian monarchy – arranges for a US gunboat to land troops in Honolulu harbour.
The Queen signs an abdication letter in which she “yields to the superior military force of the United States of America”.
The cabinet declares a provisional government under martial law while they seek annexation to the United States. However, incoming president Grover Cleveland is reluctant to accept the Queen’s abdication, as it implies a military conquest on the part of the United States.
Cleveland commissions an investigation into the circumstances of the Queen’s overthrow. This finds in favour of the Queen. It looks at this point that she has won, and that Cleveland will have her re-instated as Queen.
American Minister Willis interviews the Queen in which he asks if she would grant amnesty to the people who overthrew her. She says they should be banished, but it is misreported as “beheaded”. This is reported in newspapers, and turns the tide of American opinion against her. (One Word)
Cleveland then turns the matter over to the US Congress who commissions a second report from Senator Morgan, who finds in favour of the annexationists. An insurrection breaks out against the Republic. The Queen is arrested and imprisoned in the palace for misprision of treason. She agrees to abdicate in order to save the lives of the conspirators. (I Would Rather Die)
In spite of the Queen’s personal appeal to President Cleveland, Hawaii becomes a US possession in 1898. The Queen retires to her private home, Washington Place, where the ghost of Kalakaua tells her he believes they were never intended to win. (Beautiful Failures)
Back in 1917, as the Queen nears the end of her life, a symbolic gathering of the clans occurs in which the old rivalries are resolved, and she once again considers Dole’s request, having learned that a troop ship laden with Hawai’ian soldiers has been sunk by a German U-boat. In their honour she raises for the first time the flag of the United States over Washington Place. She meets a young Hawai’ian girl to whom she can pass on her traditions. (The Meaning of Aloha (Reprise))