Inouye, and "In the Alley" by the prolific playwright Edward Sakamoto, originally written in the 1930s, '40s and '60s.

"It's about how a culture begins to write its own story through drama," said artistic director Harry Wong.

"Reunion" and "In the Alley" were staged by Kumu Kahua in 1974 as part of another "Territorial Plays" production that also featured Bond's "Let's Go See the World." But her "Cane Fire" has never been performed before.

Written in 1936 as part of a school assignment, "Cane Fire" was one of three "Hawai'i sketches" Bond penned to capture life on the Big Island. In the play, a Scots plantation manager tries to assign blame for a canefield fire, and in the process reveals the political machinations and racial attitudes that existed in Territorial-era Hawai'i.

"At the time this was written, theater was still a foreign art form in Hawai'i, and it takes a while for a culture to make (theater) its own," Wong said. "This play seems written by the dominant culture. It's similar to an English melodrama and it operates in praise of the dominant culture. The person running the plantation, even though he's rough and gruff, has a good heart."

Dennis Carroll, playwright and chairman of the University of Hawai'i Department of Theatre and Dance, said "Cane Fire" today comes off as a novelty.

It's easier to see the connection between "Reunion," written in 1947, and contemporary local theater.

The play follows a group of World War II veterans, all members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, as they try to readjust to life back in Hawai'i. One of the first theatrical productions to incorporate pidgin English, the play was warmly received for its gentle humor and dead-on insights.

"These guys fought the war in Europe, the liberated Paris, and then they come back to Hawai'i and they're boys again," Wong said of the play's characters. "This still happens. In a way, local men are always young and in debt to their parents. These guys visited the capitals of Europe but back in Hawai'i they can't get a job. They go home and their sister treats them the same.

"It's interesting because (Toishigawa) took theater and used to it show what was going on at the moment," he said. "She captured an experience that is unique to Hawai'i in a weird way."

Carroll said "Reunion" is also intriguing because it captures a period of transition as local people considered the best means of social and political advancement.

"It's a picture of a generation trying to find itself," Carroll said. "For some people the answer was to move to the Mainland and get educated there. That period lasted maybe 10 or 15 years and was followed by a change in attitude where local people decided that it was better to stay here, to remain in Hawai'i if you were local."

While its observations are pointed, "Reunion" was not perfectly composed by theatrical standards. The characters and situations may elicit appreciative nods of recognition from theatergoers, but Wong said the play lacks a traditional dramatic arc.

Following the line of progression, Sakamoto's "In the Alley," which was later incorporated into the larger work, " 'A'ala Park," combines strong dramatic structure and compelling social commentary.

Sakamoto wrote the play for a University of Hawai'i class in 1961, two years after statehood. It's an unflinching account of racial tensions in Hawai'i, tensions that ultimately explode into violence between locals and haoles in a downtown alley.

"Ed was very interested in the craft of drama and in local issues," Wong said. "He dealt with racism at a time when no one else did."

"Territorial Plays" is a fitting introduction to Kumu Kahua's new season. Following the lead of the UH theater department, Kumu Kahua has carved a sizable niche for itself with productions that chronicle or illuminate the Hawai'i experience.