 Hi, my name is Mary Ann Sasaki. You're watching Life in the Law. I was going to say welcome back, but it's me who should be welcome back, and I've been gone for a few weeks. I've traveled to New York. I haven't seen anybody since the election, so it's been a very busy, almost month or so. Today we're delighted to have Steve Barnes, the vice president of the Gay Men's Chorus of Honolulu, with us to discuss their upcoming show on Sunday. Welcome, Steve. Thank you so much. Oh, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I'm short notice. He is. He came on short notice, which is so terrific. Before we dive into that, which is sort of a pet, it's one of the loves of my life, the Gay Men's Chorus. I just want to say, I think I would be remiss if I didn't just mention that today is obviously Pearl Harbor Day, 75 years ago today, December 7th, 1941. Pearl Harbor was bombed, and, you know, this memory made me think a lot about New York during 9-11. I was just really blocks away from the explosion there. And, you know, something like this, a devastating event like this changes forever the face of a city, and, you know, it's almost like there's a before and there's an after. It's almost like a dream before sort of, and then after it's just in a more alert state. And it's palpable here in Hawaii, the sacrifice and the implications and ramifications of that day. So I just want to say we're going to have some fun today. We're going to be talking about fun things. But I did want to note that it's a solemn occasion and it deserved to be solemnly addressed at least a little bit. So welcome. Thank you so much. Okay. So, well, let's tell everybody, the Gay Men's Chorus of Honolulu is like one of the best shows you'll possibly ever see. I swear to God. I would agree with that. They do two shows a year, you guys do two shows a year, and in June and around Christmas. Correct. And the Christmas show is always a spectacular event. So we should tell people, I guess, where the Christmas show is going to be when and we should tell them frequently so they remember and come and call the box office and buy some tickets. So the show is Sunday. This coming Sunday, December 11th at 5.30 at the Hawaii Theater, the historic Hawaii Theater. So it's a beautiful venue for a night of beautiful music. So 5.30. So we encourage you to come. Lots of tickets still available. So they just opened up the loge seating up on the balcony. That's terrific. That means that seats are going. That's my favorite out there, actually. That's great. So if anybody's familiar with any of the gay men's courses around the world, around the country, what I like about ours is it's a baby. It's a fledgling little troop and it's just getting its legs. It's like a toddler. It's like a toddler stage, right? And it's just so exciting to watch it grow. Thank you. Yeah. How long have you been involved? I've been involved almost from the beginning. I believe it was September-ish of 2012. And then I went to the very first concert, which was at St. Andrew's Priory, the church there. And I was impressed. I was like, I need to be involved. So I joined or I auditioned in January of 2013. So it's been, this January will be four years. And I'm so happy to be a part. And it's definitely a passion and a creative outlet for me. It's fantastic. For all of us. And also obviously the gay men's course welcomes auditions, auditioners, auditionees. What is the right word? It's the way to say that. Potential members. Potential members. You can get your strength, know whatever you want to be, but you have to be a man, right? We do ask that you identify as a man. Yes. But so tell us, let me tell the audience a little bit about how I encountered the gay men's course, which is I was walking along during Pride. And somebody handed me this leaflet. And I was new here in Hawaii. And I said to myself, well, you know, I don't know anyone here. And this looks like a fun thing to do. I had just been out walking in during the parade. I've probably been here two months. And I went to the concert and I was delight. Just, it was just absolutely delightful. There's, it's not just standing and singing this, this little skits and this video. I don't know if you can have videotape and interspersed between the songs. And there's a real arrangement of the production. So is there like a theory or an arrangement of the production this time? Well, there is. The Way to Mary. We're celebrating some music, classic Christmas songs, holiday songs. But we always put our own twist on it. We're not afraid to change the lyrics a little bit. We have a very talented art director, Phil. Phil Hidalgo. Phil Hidalgo, correct. And he is awesome at making things work for us. He's terrific. We have, we do some dancing. We do obviously singing. And there's some acting going on. And we have some special guests. And we really, really work hard to put on a fabulous show. It is a fabulous show. I mean, it's really, you know, I am a person that goes to a lot of arts events. I go to the White Opera Theater. I go to Diamond Hill Theater. I go to local college theater. But this is my favorite of all, because it's so clever. And it's so, you can, the feeling emanates from the audience of the bond between all, among all of you, I think. Oh, thank you. You know, I really, but it's true. It's very, there's a word. It's the usual, it's Heimish, like very comforting, warm, you know, very... Brotherly love. Yeah, yeah. We care for each other a lot. And we really try to enrich and encourage each other. Right. We're all at different abilities. You know, no one's, none of us are professional singers. Right. But we all have a love for singing. And we want to be, we want to give back, give back to our community. Well, you certainly do that. And we want to stand up and say, we're here. And we're proud to be who we are. Right. And that's, I was so happy to find LGBTQ+, I guess it is now, community in Honolulu because I had such good friends in New York. And the kinds of things that the chorus does, the beach cleanup, for example, and just the participation in the parade and just, it's exactly, I mean, it's a spirit in which I think one should live. You know, one should live in community and harmony with other people. And if I had only one complaint about Honolulu is, straight people come. More straight people should come. This is not a gay event. This is an event for everybody. It is. So that's my little task is to spread the word among people who might not know about this corner of the community or might think, well, that's not for me because that's for certain, no, it's not. It's for everyone. And it's fun for everyone. It really is. It's a great time. It's family friendly. We're not doing anything too crazy. No, no, no. It's a lot of fun. People laugh. People cry. But people are always glad that they came. And that is one of the best compliments one can give. Thank you for entertaining me for an hour and a half. It's mischievous. That's a good word. It's mischievous. It's a little, like, clever. It's very clever. And you kind of get into the spirit of that, I think, a little bit. Can you share on the pro... I mean, if you can, I don't want to... But if you'd like to share the program or... And, you know, just some details about how rehearsals have been going or whatever. They've been going good. You know, it's a lot of music. Obviously, we sing off book, which is easier said than done. It's a lot of music to learn. We sing and we have four parts. What is that? I mean, off book. Often we don't have any music in front of us. Oh, okay. For a lot of choirs, we'll just stand there and sing with the open book and holding it. We don't do that. We are more like a Broadway show that we're singing. I was saying, you're a showman. That's why. We're singing. And this is a distraction to have the music. So we want to be able to pay attention to Phil and who can direct us how we need to go. Each song is unique. And there's, like I said, dancing. And it's just a lot. There'll be some solos, special guests, and some featured solos within the chorus itself. So it's just a great, entertaining time of good music and fun. I'm going to say this ad nozium. It's Sunday. Now, it's my problem. December 11th at 5.30 at the Hawaii Theater. Yes. December 7th at 5.30 at the Hawaii Theater. Come support the chorus. You'll get more out of it than you'll bring to it. I guarantee you. That's, once I started going, I could never miss another show. And Phil, obviously, Hildago, who is the musical director, is also the musical director at Diamondhead Theater, isn't he? Or I know he is. He is a featured director mostly focused on the music. He's very musically talented. And he usually often gets tasked with directing the band that is leading it. And sometimes he'll do the whole production as well. But lots of experience. Phil is actually doing something right now that is another production. And I don't know the name. That's why he couldn't be here today. Oh, really? Oh, wow. Everyone's busy doing things this Christmas season. This is like really labor of love by the people involved. It really is. Because it's a lot of work. It is a lot of work, hours and hours and hours. I know. And hours. Yes, it is. It really is. And I mean, when I see the time and effort that people put into it, it's humbling. It's really like all this for us. Well, thanks. Thank you so much. So do you want to talk a little bit about, I don't know, the history of the chorus or where you'd like to see the chorus going? Obviously, we wanted to grow, right? We wanted to be big and famous. We do. Well, we weren't famous, I think, as our least of our desires. But we want to be a group that reaches out to the community that stands for quality. We want to preserve it. We want all of our music. We want it to be the best that we can do. We want to show, have productions that people feel good. They feel good about paying the money, not just to support the chorus, because that's what it does. It's financial support. No one's getting rich here. No, it's public. It's non-profit. Non-profit. We are 501C. And our goal is to just get to the point where we have a good group of committed guys that are willing to show up, you know, showing up as half the battle right there. Right. And then learning the music and really making a commitment to do it for more than just self-gain, which is good. You know, we always have to do things for ourselves and be creative is a great thing. But it's also that reaching out to those around us and saying, we're not afraid to stand up and sing and put on a show for you guys. Right. And yeah, we're going to be a little gang. Yeah, it's okay. We ought to be proud about it. We are. We are. I mean, I think the outer and the prouder is the best way to be. It is. Live your life the way you're supposed to live your life. Exactly. The way you were meant to be. Exactly. And you know, I know here it's a little different, like I said, in New York, but it's changing, getting better every day. Every day. Hopefully. We won't get too much into politics, which I love. But the environment is certainly a welcoming environment. And you know, I love Hawaii because it is open liberal and broad minded. And so I'm comfortable here. I don't think I could live in a place that wasn't, you know, people say, isn't it so different than New York? And I'm like, no, not really. The people are sort of the same. They're sort of, you know, liberal and groovy, kind of cool. And respectful, right? Yeah. Artistic. Yeah, respectful. And people greet you nicely before they react in any other way. They're nice to you first before they... Right. Make an opinion. Yeah, exactly. Form an opinion. Well, I'm going to take a quick break and then we'll be back with Steve Barnes. And we'll talk more about the gay men's chorus of Honolulu and how much I love it. I love you guys. I'm Mary Ann Sasaki. This is Life in the Law. Hi. I'm Donna Blanchard. I'm the host of Center Stage here on Think Tech. On Center Stage, I talk with really amazing artistic guests about what they do, how they do it, and the most important point, why they do it. I think, I hope, the show is inspirational for everyone. I know it's always inspirational for me. I'm also the managing director of Kumakuhua Theater, which is right next door. And I happen to have with me now Will Kahele, who is an artist. We just finished a conversation. I hope you can catch on Center Stage. And we work together at Kumakuhua Theater. Why should people come over there? Because it's a great place to see plays written by local playwrights. Why should people watch this show? Oh, because it's cool and it's great things to know every week. And because you are a very cool hostess. Oh, that's perfect. Thank you. Give me my money. Hi, I'm Mary Ann Gatto. Oh, I'm not Mary Ann Gatto anymore. I'm Mary Ann Sasaki. I've been to New York, and when I'm in New York, I stay with my mother. And I guess I'm pretty much Mary Ann Gatto for the time I'm in Brooklyn. So I still haven't made the complete switchover. So we're here with Steve Barnes of the Gay Men's Chorus of Honolulu, who's having a show Sunday, December 11th. Correct. 530 at the Hawaii Theater. Everybody's welcome to come. Absolutely. And the Gay Men's Chorus is a 501C3 corporation. It is. It is. Non-profit. So tell us a little bit about what that means and what that could mean for the viewers. Well, it means that obviously we survive by the donations of ourselves. We pay a membership to be part. It's a small membership. And we never use that as a, or that's never should be a reason why someone can't be involved. It's a very small amount, but that helps to fund or just like any organization, there are costs involved. And so we also reach out to community. We do some volunteer stuff. We just did a beach cleanup with Mattson and they give a donation for helping with that. And we do singing grand telegrams. We do that at Valentine's Day. And I believe we're about to do that again for Christmas. Oh, that's terrific. So you can order if you want a loved one to get a singing live telegram via telephone. How should they do it? Should they check out the Facebook page? They should. Facebook page. You can put a message there. Reach myself or reach Butch. And we'll make sure that we get that taken care of for you. You want to send a singing telegram? Yeah. Because you know these guys, their voices are terrific. I mean, this is really, this is not a play thing. Thank you. No, really. No, it's a real thing. Yeah. Your voices are terrific. Whoever's receiving it will definitely be pleased and surprised at the songs. And you know, I'd like to say to, you know, so our firm supports gay men's chorus. Absolutely. And I'd like to speak to also other corporations and law firms and say, you know, we're always looking for a way, especially during the holiday season, to do good. To do some good. Correct. And now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't give to large, well-known organizations. You should. But there's a special feeling that comes with giving to a small fledgling organization that really needs, you know, your support. And, you know, I think it's a wonderful way to acknowledge also there's diversity in our offices. There's diversity in our neighborhoods. Absolutely. And to be comfortable with that and to say that. Because I remember when I first came to the firm and I said, listen, I'm going to buy this, whatever, back ad in the program. And they were like, why? And I'm like, because they're my people. There are people. You know, the members of the firm are gay. This is like a great, you want to support this. You want to make sure people know that all kinds of diversity is welcome. So I would encourage medium-sized businesses, large businesses, to support the gay men's chorus because they're doing fine work. But more importantly, your employees will adore you for it. They will think they will adore you for it. And then you'll have happier employees, more productive, and everybody will be happy. And we have a very small budget. But anything that could, at your end, giving, we would love to and be very happy and very grateful if you would consider that or decide you want to buy 10 tickets for the concert and give those out really quick to your co-workers or to... Great Christmas gift. Early Christmas gift, absolutely. And anything is, we are very grateful for whatever anyone can help with, sure. So how did, well, how did you become vice president? Was there a vote or what? They have a secret... A gun to the head. Yeah, right, exactly. What can be the upside? Absolutely be no upside to that. It could only be a lot of work. And a lot of aggravation and a lot of pinching panties. Butch takes care of most of it. Butch Meredith is the president. Butch Meredith is the president. And this organization wouldn't exist without Butch. So Mahalo Butch. Yes, Mahalo Butch. And he's asked me to come alongside. We had a vice president that wasn't able to continue... To fulfill their duties? To fulfill and for various reasons, understandable. So he asked me to step in and to help out and just to basically help carry the load of all the decisions that have to be made and the reaching out and follow up with all the different parts of the show and parts of the administration. Every organization has an administration. Right. And I helped with that. Somebody's going to make it run? Correct. It's going to run itself, right? Because I love it. I love it and I really want this organization to keep moving forward. Life continues to move forward whether you stop or not. We want to continue to move forward. So I'm committed to that and helping the course through that. I think it's so great also when you can do a good thing and it advances an artistic cause. I mean, there are umpteen charities here in Hawaii. Everybody has something. But I just think advancing the arts is... It's got to be among the most noble things you can possibly do. I mean, it just makes everybody's life better, you know? So that's why I really encourage people to come to the show and to donate. And you know, don't be like, oh, my donation is too... Your donation is not too small. Any donation would be welcome, right Steve? We're very grateful for that. We're not proud people here. Well, we're proud, but we're not proud. Yes. I have a great example too of sometimes you just don't know what your impact is. And I had mentioned the Mattson cleanup. We had... We put it on our Facebook page. We publicized it. Everyone was welcome to come and help. And we cleaned up Neal Blaisdale Park over there, Pearl City, just off of Kamehameha Highway. And that place is looking great. I can tell you that. Looking great. But we had... Somebody showed up and wanted to help. They were just from the community. And it was a sister and brother. And she came out because her brother had come out recently. He was being gay. You wanted to have a community. And was feeling torment and was feeling ostracized and all these feelings. And he just wanted... He didn't know anybody gay. So he wanted to come out and hang out with folks that like himself. And it was great. And his sister obviously wanted him to meet others and not feel like I'm all alone. I'm all alone. No, you're not all alone. It's no good to feel alone in this world. No, no, no. Not at all. Well, that's what... Obviously, I'm not gay. But I was like, these are people like me. Sure. These are the kinds of people I want in my life. And if you are a young person and you're looking for community, this is a great place to spend your time. It really is. It's a very positive... The positive vibe. It's an activity where people are creating and doing. And I think that, you know, if I was as a younger person, I could see that the beneficial effect it would have on me. I think... Because I think you can find lots of communities and some are a little bit less productive and creative and, you know... Yeah. We're very focused on our music. We're very focused on getting... caring for one another, but also putting on a show. And if you just want to be involved and you're not a singer, that's okay too. I'm involved. I'm not a singer. I just showed up. We have lots of things to help with and we welcome anyone who wants to be involved. Male or female. Yeah, absolutely. If you want to be involved and help. Just to encourage the community. Sure. Because, you know, cross-pollination, that's how ideas... that's how things are creative. That's how structures are built. Everybody pitching in. And a baby every once in a while. Yes, every once in a while. For his lucky people. So how many members of the chorus are there now? I would say... I think we're at 37 right now. That's good. That's a good number. We had actually just recently about 10 new folks join in the beginning of September. And they've been very consistent and very, very involved, which is exciting. Because a lot of times you have people that come, they come for one or two times, then their life comes about and they get busy and chorus sometimes can be the first thing that they go, I don't have time. It's a real commitment, I think, to do it. Because when you see the professionality of the show and you see how well done it is, you know that these are people who have had to have been working their hearts out. Because, well, they did. I'll tell you one little short thing that's a real favorite of mine was the first time I ever saw on Thursday saying, I'm going to wash that man right out of my hair. I'm going to wash that man right out of my hair. Which is perfect, the nice 40 song, right, considering the special day. And all the guys were tells around their head and they were just adorable. We took this adorable picture and we just were unprepared for it. We didn't know, it was just so cute and so, you know, lovely, you know. And we, it's just, those kinds of things, those kinds of touches that endear you to the public. So keep, yeah. Who's directing? Phil is directing. Phil is directing. He's the artistic director. Oh, he's not just the musical director, he's the director director. He is, he is. He's the, who wears multiple hats. Okay. For sure, yeah. Don Farmer is very involved with production and making sure things, without Don, things wouldn't happen the way they happen also. He's very talented. Farmer is a member of the cast, a member of the community and he's actually a professional. He's a professional, yeah. And I saw him in promises, promises and he was just absolutely terrific. But he's got a personality larger than life so that, don't worry, don't, if you're timid, don't worry because somebody will find you and come and befriend you. Oh, absolutely. We have lots of shy guys that, you know, they're like, I don't know, I'm not sure, I'm nervous. Right, right. But they get there and they, you know, they have some of the fears that you have and if being in front of folks, you love to sing but you're afraid to be in front of folks, just comment. It's one of those things that it's not as bad as you think it is and when you do it, you'll love it. You'll love it. And let me say once more, once more. The show is Sunday, December 11th at 5.30 at the Hawaii Theater. Tickets are on sale. Tickets are going so I, I, what, how many people? We were on the news, we were on the morning show. It was wonderful. It was so nice. We did sing a few songs and they promoted us on that. So I'm, you know, last year we sold so many tickets, right, within the 24, 48 or hour period right after that. So I'm very excited to see what happens today and tomorrow with our ticket sales. Yeah. Well, the large audience, this large and diverse audience is going to, no doubt show up in droves. I hope you guys show up. Please do. So, I just want to thank you so much for coming. So much for taking the time. It's been wonderful. It's my pleasure. Once again, Sunday, December 11th, Gay Men's Chorus of Honolulu. If you don't get to go to the show, just go to their Facebook page and like them and follow and see all the great things they're doing. Singing telegrams, speech cleanups, pub crawls. Yeah, we have fun at those. We do. So, so look them up. Definitely check them out. And I'm with Steve Barnes. I'm Marianne Sasaki. You've been watching Life in the Law. I look forward to seeing you next week.