‘One Noddah Time’ lives up to its past

You don’t mess with success. In the two decades since the late Lisa Matsumoto wrote "Once Upon One Time" as a UH playwriting assignment, her pidgin fairy tale musicals have become as stylized as noh, the classical theater of Japan.

Not that that’s a bad thing. Matsumoto’s cut-and-paste collages of European-American fairy tales "translated" into pidgin with all their ethnic stereotypes, insults and putdowns, and transvestite "boys will be girls" characters have entertained several generations of island keiki. The UH-Manoa’s summer revival production of "Once Upon One Noddah Time," the second play in the series, is certain to be no exception.

Expect ticket sales to be especially brisk because the show is a reunion for many of the performers who helped Matsumoto develop the original show in 1991.

Patrick Fujioka, the guy who created the character of Da Mean Mongoose, is returning this time as co-director. Denise Aiko Chinen, Colleen Fujioka, Eddy Godoy, Devon Nekoba and Clint Sekioka are only a few of the old-time cast members who are returning for this hana hou.

History aside, Matsumoto’s clever borrowing of storytelling ideas from Kent "K.K. Ka‘umanua" Bowman and Rocky & Bullwinkle’s "Fractured Fairy Tales" is safe, G-rated entertainment for local kids.

Pimp your stroller

Decorate your stroller and head over to the 22nd Annual BayFest at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe next weekend.

SoulTrex, a boutique at Windward Mall, is hosting a "Decked Out Wheels" contest, inviting participants to decorate a stroller, wagon or wheelchair, at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Fest Tent. The three categories for the competition: Hawaiian, Patriotic, and Recycled Materials. Prizes will be awarded to the top finisher of each group. For more information, visit www.bayfesthawaii.com.

After the contest wraps up, the Fest Tent will be converted into a keiki coloring corner from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The E.K. Fernandez Midway of Rides and Games will feature carnival rides and games for both big and little kids all three days.

Fireworks will fill the skies of Kaneohe Bay at 9 p.m. Friday.

For a nominal fee, families can take Coconut Island boat rides on Saturday and Sunday. Or, check out the free display of planes, vehicles and weapons.

Tickets are available at the gate or in advance for $5 at all military ticket outlets and at bayfesthawaii.com. Children 5 and under free. Ten-ride wristbands are also available in advance for $10.

BayFest is open from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, noon to 1 a.m. Saturday and noon to 11 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, call 254-7679.

Family film day to show ‘Cat in Paris’

Catch the screening of "A Cat in Paris," an animated French film about a pet cat leading a double life as a burglar, at the Doris Duke Theatre during Family Film Sunday next weekend.

The film (recommended for children ages 8 and up) will make its Hawaii premiere at 11:10 a.m. and 1 p.m. July 17 during the Honolulu Academy of Arts’ Bank of Hawaii Family Sunday.

Next weekend’s free Family Sunday event, "French Connection," focuses on French artists and will feature lessons in French from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the museum, 900 S. Beretania St.

Continuing the Family Film Sunday series next month, "A World of Animation" from the Children’s Film Festival Seattle 2011 (recommended for ages 5 and up) will feature six short films:"Tally Ho Pancake," "Stoneflies," "Lost and Found," "Two Princesses," "Wonderful Day" and "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On." The films will also play at the Doris Duke Theatre at 11:10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Aug. 21, coinciding with the August Family Sunday event, "Mixed Plate."

The theater entrance is on Kinau Street between Victoria Street and Ward Avenue. Admission to the films is $3 for adults and $1 for kids (13 and under). Tickets are available at the box office half an hour before each screening. For more information, email Gina Caruso at gcaruso@honoluluacademy.org or call 532-8700.