"Kamau," a play by Alani Apio produced by Kumu Kahua Theatre, will be staged July 20 through Aug. 2 at the Festival of Pacific Arts in American Samoa.

The festival, held once every four years and always in a different Pacific island community, is expected to draw as many as 2,000 participants from 25 nations. The event celebrates the diverse cultures of the Pacific Islands.

To commemorate the anticipated trip, Kumu Kahua will present two "command performances" of "Kamau," at 8 p.m. July 18-19. Tickets are $20. To purchase tickets, call 536-4441, or go to www.kumukahua.org.

Advertiser reviewer Joseph Rozmiarek called the play "a moving and powerful piece on the nature of personal and cultural compromise."

The story centers on Alika, a Hawaiian man who works as a guide for a local tour company to support his adopted family. His employer offers Alika a promotion, at the same time informing him that the company has purchased and plans to build a hotel on the oceanfront land where Alika's family has lived and fished for generations. Weighed down with responsibilities and confused by alcohol, Alika struggles with his conscience as he considers his alternatives.

Kumu Kahua will be part of a Hawai'i delegation that includes Halau Haloa, organized by kumu hula Mapuana de Silva.