Happy Easter, one and all
MOMS THE WORD IN LUNG ASSN. EVENT
Four community mothers, including Cha Thompson, the co-founder and retired vice-president of Tihati Productions, will be singularly and collectively honored as the 2024 Outstanding Mothers Awards winners in an event at 11:30 a.m. to 2 p,m. May 26 at the Alohilani Resort in Waikiki.
Three other honorees in the American Lung Association and Lung Force Women’s Cabinet are notable professionals and leaders in the community: Bettina Mehnert, president and CEO of Architects Hawai‘i, Dr. Diane Paloma, president and CEO of Hawai‘i Dental Service, and Angela Pratt, M.D., OB/GYN department chair at Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children.
Photo IDs: Cha Thompson, right; Dr. Diane Palona,below, left; Bettina Mehner, further below right; and Angela Platt, further below left.
Thompson’s company is the largest producers of Polynesian entertainment industry shows in Hawaii and the world.
The honorees acknowledge the crucial, ongoing challenges in lung health, from the impact of COVID-19 to the rise in vaping rates
among youth and the air quality concerns resulting from the Lahaina wildfires on Mau
The ALA providies essential lung health programs and connects individuals to vital resources.
The proceeds raised from the Outstanding Mother Awards, directly contributes to sustaining the Lung Association’s life-saving efforts in the islands.
Sponsorship options include four premium tables of eight, $25,000 two diamond tables, $12,000; one emerald table, $6,000; one pearl table, $3,000.
Deadline for table reservations is May 3; Ad options in a journal, for personal messages, are also available; deadline is April 19.
For details, visit Action.Lung.org, or contact Angela Petersons at angela.petersons.@lung.org or call (808) 437…
Hawaii No Ka Oi
The Hawaii Symphony Orchestra has a slate of shows in the weeks ahead at the Hawaii Theatre:
- Robert Cazimero stages a Hapa Symphony concert, at 7:30 p.m. April 23 and 24. Tickets: $10.50 to $99.00. .
- Beethoven Fest features the HSO conducted by Dane Lam, with pianist Mahani Veave, at 4 p.m. April 27, Tickets: $19:99 to $89.00.
- “LOST” in concert scopes the soundtrack of the filmed-in-Hawaii favorite, at 7 p.m. April 27. Tickets: $19.00 to $89.00
- Ukulele whiz Jake Shimabukuro will strum his stuff in another Hapa Symphony, at 7:30 p.m. May 18. Tickets: $10.50 to $99.00.
- Shoshkovich Five, at 4 p..m. May 19, features Dane Lam, conducting, and Michelle Cann, pianist. Tickets: $10.50 to $99.00.
- Hawaii Theatre box office: : (808) 528-0506…
And that’s Show Biz…
DODGING A VISIT TO THE ER
Just when I thought my path to recovery was on track, I hit a bump in the road yesterday.
While negotiating a turn on my walker, from hallway to bedroom, the walker hit the side of the doorway and I fell onto the carpeted floor.
No injuries, but I simply couldn’t get up from floor to bed. Even with my wife Vi’s help,
I felt headachy, but my temperature had been 97.8 or 98.2 the past two days.
But when I fell, I knew the temp was higher because my whole body was warm. Vi had earlier taken a reading yesterday, but I was asleep in the morn, just like the two days before., when I had no appetite, was groggy, taking over-the-counter meds.
Recalling my feverish spell last August (when I discovered I had a gall bladder abscess problem that spread to my liver), Vi made an ER call despite my “no need” pleas, and minutes later, an ambulance arrived.
The team of two women first responders did the usual: checked my temperature, which was 100.2, took my blood pressure (didn’t ask, but didn’t see the numbers), and asked about the meds I have been taken.
The big question: should I be whisked to the hospital?
I figured, why not? But clearly, I was not an ER-needy patient. The first responders, who are both nurses and doctors, said that all ER rooms at hospitals are jammed to the max. If I wanted to be treated at Queen’s, which has all my medical history, ER patients typically have a 7-hour wait.
If I were to be shuttled to Kuakini or Adventist Health Castle, the wait might be shorter and the trek longer, but the load is equally full.
Their suggestions: hydrate, take Tylenol to bring down the fever, Ibuprofen if needed and – at least for a few hours because I was toasty warm – sleep in the bedroom with the AC on, to reduce the body heat.
And guess what, the advice worked!
Sharing these thoughts, in case you’re in the same boat.
COUNT ‘EM: 4 NEWBIES AT MVT
If It’s new that you want, Manoa Valley Theatre’s 2024-25 season, launching in September, boasts four premieres.
At a glance, here’s what at stake in a longish summary of MVT’s season: An opera company undergoes a madcap quest for a soprano (new); a Caribbean romp has roots in “The Little Mermaid;” an examination of the depth of the U.S. Constitution brings on history of life (new); a man on trial for a crime he didn’t commit enthralls a Georgia town (new), a visit to a Korean-run convenience store is a microcism of life(new), and a tuneful tribute to Broadway’s beloved composer Stephen Sondheim hit all the right notes.
The rundown:
- ”Lend Me a Soprano,” playing Sept. 12 to 28–It’s a take-off of Ken Ludwig’s “Lend Me a Tenor” comedy, equally side-splitting, manic farce, about the misadventures of a hapless opera company attempting to find replacement operatic soprano, amid a tangled web of mistaken identities. A Hawaii premiere.
- “Once on This Island,” Nov. 14 to Dec. 8 – A mystical fairytale, with book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, set in the exotic Caribbean and based on the fairy tale of “The Little Mermaid,” nominated for eight Tony Awards.
- “What the Constitution Means to Me,” Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, 2025 – Heidi Schreck’s boundary-breaking drama is achingly funny, filled with hope and life, tracking four generations of women whose lives have been shaped by the historic document. A Hawaii premiere.
- “Parade,” March 20 to April 6 2025 – A powerful and poignant musical, with book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, A dramatization, with music, of the 1913 trial and imprisonment, and 1915 lynching of Jewish American Leo Frank in Georgia –an exploration of law and disorder of a tragic crime he did not commit. Tony winner in its original run in 1999 and Best Revival of a Musical in 2023. A Hawaii premiere. (Note: closing date not listed in above, in the MVT graphic).
- “Kim’s Convenience,” May 17 to June 8 -– Ins Choi’s heartwarming and hilarious award-winning comedy, about a Korea family running a 7-Eleven-type convenience store, enjoying the hustle and bustle of life. A feel-good ode to generations of immigrants blending in with everyday shoppers that form a microcosm of culture, community, and family in the daily pulse of life. A Hawaii premiere.
- “Side by Side by Sondheim,” July 17 to 27 2025—A musical celebration of the prolific musical genius Stephen Sondheim, Broadway, beloved as greatest composers of songs and lyrics, whose scores and tunes are iconic staples on the Great White Way. Nominated for five Tonys and Olivier Award winner for Best Musical
Season seat renewals are underway through ApriL 15; new subsribers and single-sale tickets will be available soon. Details: (808) 988-6131.
Hana hou for ‘Happily Eva Afta’
Lisa Matsumoto’s pidgin English comedy, “Happily Eva Afta, with music by Roslyn Catracchia, will be staged on June 27 through July 4, at the Kaimuki Performing Arts Center.
It features the perennial characters, like The Wicke Queen, Da Six Menehune, and Hauna and Tantaran, among others. Tickets range from $30 to $46. Information: (808) 988-6131…
Tucker will be honored at ‘Manoa Marquee’
“Manoa Marquee,” Manoa Valley Theatre’s annual fundraising gala, will be staged March 30 at the Monarch Room of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
The event is sold out, but 24 lanai seats – in the beachfront lanai of the Pink Palace – are available, at $300 a person.
The gala will honor Alice Tucker, pIctured left, who now is marking her 50th year as an MVT board member. Tireless and sprightly, Tucker is the longest-serving board member, and a theater buff extraordinaire. I met her several years ago, when I served on the MVT board of directors, and she now resides at Kahala Nui, after rain-caused floods damaged her Aina Haina home.
Cocktails at 5:30 p.m. will precede a 7 p.m. dinner. A silent auction will be held on the hotel’s Ocean Lawn.
Entertainment will be provided by Gunhild Carling & the Carling Family Band.
Details: (808) 988-6131 or www.manoavalleytheatre.com …
Broadwayu grossees for week ending March 17
And that’s Show Biz…
SIGNS THAT EASTER’S A-COMING
Found some wooden cut-outs online, and fastened them to those acrylic photo snapshots, 4 by 6 inch size.
Voila: bright seasonal howdy-do’s, suitable for placement on the check-in counters at the offices.
My doctors have been so helpful in my recovery, from last August’s hospitalization to a Jan. 5 surgery, and these were simply random thank you’s to them.
Happy Easter, y’all!