‘Ohia Productions / Natalie McKinney smiles broadly, remembering the beginnings of ‘Ohia Productions. Founders Lisa Matsumoto and her cousin Michael Furuya had named the company after the native tree, McKinney says, “because the ‘ohia lehua–after the lava flow–it’s the first plant that comes up out of the ground. We’ve always looked at ourselves as the little plant that could.”

That makes for a fitting image, but no one would have suspected how much rock that little plant would have to shove aside in order to bloom again.

Nearly two years ago, Matsumoto, 43, died after an automobile crash that shocked the local theater community. She had been driving late at night, mistakenly going toward Diamond Head in the ‘Ewa-bound lanes of the H-1–for miles, apparently–when she slammed into an oncoming car. The other driver suffered long-lasting injuries, Matsumoto died in hospital that night, and the autopsy later showed her blood alcohol level to be three times the legal limit. For a long while, no one knew what to think or do. It was hard to move on.

“Part of moving forward for me is not to dwell on [the accident],” said Furuya. “That part of it is very sad. I don’t think anyone is ever going to know what really happened, so searching for the answer to what really happened would be better spent doing other things, by trying to perpetuate [Lisa’s] legacy.”

That legacy includes the “Once Upon” series of fractured fairytales done in pidgin that Matsumoto created early in her career, as well as the vast number of shows that ‘Ohia produced from 1995 up until her death. These include plays such as I Wish … Wishing Tales from Around the World, Voices of the Rainforest, In the Clear Blue Sea, Under the Hawaiian Sky, Beneath the Ocean Blue, Wings of the Islands, Fun with Fables and the one that won Disney’s attention, On Dragonfly Wings.

All were musicals–an astonishing output over a dozen years–and all written with long-time collaborator, singer/songwriter Roslyn Catracchia. The accident affected Catracchia on a number of levels, personally and professionally.

“It kind of froze me for a while,” she says. “Not emotionally. Emotionally, I was living through the whole thing, but as far as my writing goes, Lisa and I were constantly creating something new.”

For a while, it almost froze the ‘Ohia production team as well. They were in the midst of a five-year contract with Ala Moana for The Christmas Gift of Aloha when Matsumoto died. A grant had to be put on hold, they had a school show in progress and without Matsumoto, no new work was being developed. Matsumoto had been both the creative and managerial core of the company and suddenly the ‘Ohia board was faced with the questions of where to go and what to do.

The first challenge was to create an identity that could stand on its own.

“One of the things that always was an issue for Lisa was the connection between ‘Ohia Productions and her name,” said Zan Timtim, executive director of ‘Ohia. “The challenge was always to get the company recognized. She wanted the company name to get out there.”

Catracchia echoes that sentiment: “Lisa was always larger than life, and that’s in everything she does. Even when she was hidden, she could not be hidden. Being larger than life, she attracted so much attention… So many times people would say that this is Lisa Matsumoto’s show.” According to Catracchia, Matsumoto struggled “to get people to realize that ‘Ohia productions was not just her.”

Furuya agrees. “We couldn’t have done it without all these other people,” he says. “All of them believed in what we were doing.”

And like the green shoot sprouting from lava rock, ‘Ohia is re-emerging into the sunlight–as an ‘ohana, as it was before: performers from prior shows like McKinney, Timtim, and Education Director Reiko Ho are now part of the team. They’ve refreshed the board–all but two are new, and they are producing a show this spring at the Hawaii Theatre, The Princess and the Iso Peanut, helmed by ‘Ohia alumus Patrick Fujioka.

The company also has school shows underway with Story Surfers: The Adventures of Gary and Harry: A Tale of Two Turtles, from the children’s book by Matsumoto and Furuya. Next August, ‘Ohia plans to celebrate its 15th anniversary with a potpourri of scenes from past shows.

Challenges remain: Timtim would love a performance space that ‘Ohia could call its own. Money is always an issue, for every producing group in town. But more than that, it’s the effort of re-planting the seeds of the original vision–that of a local theater presenting locally written plays and reaching the children of Hawaii.

“The unfortunate events of Lisa’s passing, I think, will continue to overshadow the body of work and the number of people that were really touched by what ‘Ohia productions did,” McKinney says. “My wish is that the positive side will still be remembered, and embraced, and her contribution, not only to theater but to the arts at large here in Hawaii, will continue on far past any of us.”

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