At Hmong American Peace Academy, Hmong culture is set to take center stage in the middle school’s upcoming theater production, “Jouanah: A Hmong Cinderella.”
The performance – featuring traditional Hmong dress, dance and instruments – marks the middle school’s first theater production. School leaders said the play reflects a broader effort to celebrate and embrace students’ Hmong heritage at HAPA, Wisconsin’s first Hmong charter school.
“HAPA really prides itself on telling the stories of the students who go here,” said Skye Rutherford, one of the play’s directors.
Milwaukee County is home to Wisconsin’s largest Hmong community, with more than 12,500 Hmong residents. Wisconsin also has the nation’s third-largest Hmong population.
Nearly all of the roughly 2,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students at HAPA, located on the city’s northwest side, identify as Asian, according to state data.
“For us having a big Hmong population, let’s celebrate it,” said Maria Beilke, another of the play’s directors.
About 50 middle schoolers are participating in the cast and crew of the upcoming production of “Jouanah,” which runs May 8 and 9. The play retells the classic Cinderella folk tale through a Hmong lens and is based on the children’s book by Jewell Reinhart Coburn.
With the help of Beilke and HAPA’s Hmong culture teachers, Rutherford said, she adapted the script to incorporate other traditional elements, including Hmong wedding and New Year customs, such as “pov pob,” a courtship game in which young people toss balls to get to know each other.
Students have been preparing for the production since January, said Per Law Lar, an eighth grader who is part of the backstage crew and helped create props and set pieces for the play.
In addition to acting, students will play the Hmong flute and the “qeej,” a traditional woodwind instrument, as well as dress in Hmong outfits with bright colors, intricate stitching and flashy embellishments.
HAPA high school students, whose April performance of “Lee Lue: The Musical” went viral on social media, also helped choreograph Hmong dance routines for the play.
At a recent dress rehearsal of “Jouanah,” students in the cast and crew previewed their performance for HAPA fifth graders and other middle school peers. Lar said the play has helped students stay connected to their identities.
“Throughout generations, you might forget your culture,” he said. “Having to do plays about your own culture gives you a reminder that it still exists, that your culture is unique and should be respected.”
HAPA got its start in 2004, founded by Chris Her Xiong, a Hmong refugee of the Vietnam War. The school expanded with a new high school building in 2021. Michelle Ganley, the school’s communications manager, said HAPA high schoolers have performed many theater productions, but the school recently expanded its performing arts offerings at the middle school level.
“We’re very focused on pouring our resources into productions like these so that kids can get up on stage and express themselves,” she said. “So much of this comes back to self-identity, learning who we are and showing that to people who do not know much about Hmong history. It’s a good way to educate others.”
If you go
Hmong American Peace Academy’s production of “Jouanah: A Hmong Cinderella,” takes place at 5:30 p.m. May 8 and noon May 9, at HAPA’s main campus, 4601 N. 84th St. The event is free and open to the public.
The run time is about 40 minutes.
Attendees are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items or monetary donations. Proceeds will be split between the theater department and the nonprofit Hmong American Friendship Association.
Kayla Huynh covers K-12 education, teachers and solutions for the Journal Sentinel. Contact: khuynh@gannett.com. Follow her on X: @_kaylahuynh.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hmong American Peace Academy highlights Hmong culture through theater
Reporting by Kayla Huynh, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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