Richard and June were thrilled to watch their grandson Kapono Pa star in the Kamehameha Schools musical “The Music Man” last month. He played Mayor Shinn.

“I auditioned for the role of Harold,” he says, “but there was pretty much no one else who could play the role of mayor the way I played Harold. I had the really loud voice and I could yell a lot, which was basically my role—to yell at everyone.”

Richard and June say their grandson Kapono Pa has always been a performer.

“When he was five years old he would cut small pieces of colored paper into confetti,” says Richard. “He’d throw it into the air to mark the entrance of whichever make believe character was about to enter our living room, knowing full well that he would have to pick up all the bits of paper.
   

“And when he was about 10,” he says, “he used our video camera to make hilarious video productions with his sister Kimberly.”

Kapono says his grandparents were proud of him for his performance in The Music Man. “They didn’t know I could act like that,” he says. “I don’t think any of my family knew I was capable of that. Yelling and screaming. I never rehearsed at home so they didn’t have any idea what my character was about.”

The Kamehameha Schools student, who will be a senior this year, wrote about the experience of acting in The Music Man for his college applications. “It was one of the bigger things I did this year,” he says, “and I am extremely proud I did it.

“At first I was afraid I wasn’t going to get a part,” he says. “For the audition you had to first learn a dance, even if you weren’t going to be dancing. You had to learn a dance in 15-20 minutes, then go to the front of the room and perform it in front of everybody in the room. We’d get a scene out of the musical and have 15-20 minutes to examine it, study it and bring your own character into it.”

June, who loves musicals, has always given Kapono CDs from musicals.  “Last year we took Kapono and went to New York City,” says Richard, “and we took in The Color Purple, Chicago, Phantom and The Producers.”

Kapono says going to New York City really inspired him in terms of acting. “We went to see all those big famous plays everybody hears about. It got me to thinking that I really like this. It’s not a normal thing everybody gets to do, so if you get a chance do it….”

“I’m ready for next year,” he says. “I want to do it again already.”

While he really enjoys acting, and hopes to do more of it, his college plans are to study business and entrepreneurship. “So when it’s my turn to take over the farm,” he says, “I’m ready.”  — posted by Leslie Lang