Neva Rego, the beloved voice coach to many island luminaries, is back home in Kaimuki following three visits to Straub Hospital this summer and a week’s residency at the Palolo Chinese Home earlier this month.
“I hope it’s the end,” Rego said with a joyful and hopeful lilt in her voice, about the hospital and care home. “It’s so nice to be back home.”
Rego had respiratory issues that lessened her oxygen intake and thus required hospital care, said longtime friend and business partner Betty Grierson. Together, they have coached scores of jazz, opera and Hawaiian music and theater students over the decades at their Bel Canto School of Singing.
An angel provided funding to secure a breathing device that was vital to Rego’s rehab.
“Now she can get hooked up with the machine, with tubes in her nose and over her ears, and breathe,” said Grierson.
But Rego still is not out of the woods. Her weight is down to the 70s, she has had therapy to stabilize walking, and while her appetite has returned, earlier throat surgery and esophageal issues have challenged her ability to swallow.
“She can eat only so much,” said Grierson.
Not surprisingly, their pupils — concerned about the health and welfare of the pair — have rallied to provide time and funds to support at-home needs.
“I wanna go home, I wanna go home,” Rego would tell Grierson while ensconced at the care facility in Palolo Valley. “They were really good with her, but it’s understandable that she wanted to come home.”
A steady flow of visitors to their home/studio has been valuable to Rego’s recovery.
“She does get tired but she loves the company,” said Grierson. “A little boy came to play the clarinet and she enjoyed it very much.”
Her regular treat: “A few minutes off the couch to get some fresh air (on the lanai),” said Grierson.
A speedy recovery, Neva! …
HAPPENINGS
>> Banyan Biggie: Willie K makes a rare appearance at the Westin Moana Surfrider Hotel at 7 p.m. Oct. 27. The “Under the Banyan” event, with premium and cocktail service, will showcase Willie’s gamut of music, from Hawaiian to jazz and blues. A VIP dinner from 6 p.m. features a four-course meal and valet parking, at $150 per person, including reserved prime seating; cocktails with theater-style seating are $55 per person. Reservations: honoluluboxoffice.com. …
>> Then and Now: “The Story of Kapena,” a concert featuring Kapena “then” and “now,” will be staged at 7 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Hawaii Theatre. Led by Kelly Boy DeLima, Kapena has been a prevailing and powerful source on the island music scene for decades; his children, Kapena, Kalena and Lilo, now comprise the group.
Guest artists: Josh Tatofi, Ho‘okena, The Pandanus Club and Maohi Nui. Tickets: VIP, $75; general, $25. Call 528-0856. …
>> More Monty: Manoa Valley Theatre’s “The Full Monty” has been extended for three additional shows: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 p.m. Oct. 1. Tickets: manoavalleytheatre.com. …
ON STAGE
Diamond Head Theatre’s “Ragtime,” which opened Friday, is blessed with two visiting Actors Equity leads: Kent Overshown (playing Coalhouse Walker Jr.) and Lindsay Roberts (as Sarah). It’s a stirring musical, set in early 20th century New York, about three fictional characters struggling with class issues that are relevant today: anti-Semitism, racial discrimination, brutality and immigration. …
Curtain calls at plays enable casts to point to and salute the musicians and techies like the lighting crew. At “The King at I” at Paliku Theatre, the ritual also includes a point-to-the-heavens mahalo to inspirational director Ron Bright. …
And that’s “Show Biz.” …
Wayne Harada is a veteran Honolulu entertainment columnist. Reach him at 266-0926 or email wayneharada@gmail.com.
