Aloha and Mahalo, Mr. Harrington

(NY Post photo)

Al Harrington took his place behind the lectern. The year was 1966.

He had played football in high school and had returned as a football coach. My expectations were low; all coaches were expected to teach a course. I assumed that freshman European History was not his primary focus.

(Teaching wasn't the priority for my 8th-grade Biology teacher who was also a world-class surfer.)

I was wrong about Mr Harrington. He was fully prepared for his lectures, speaking authoritatively in a voice that seemed almost theatrically trained. He assigned homework from the text every night and got it back to us promptly, marked with bold flourishes.

But what I remember most clearly from those days was the passion with which he spoke, and how he emphasized the points that were important. His wasn't the cheap and easy kind of history teaching, where the students are inundated with dates and genealogical charts, but the one that explicated the forces behind the Renaissance and Reformation, and showed how Napoleon arose from the French Revolution.

As a senior I signed up for AP European History. It was a breeze, and so was the exam, thanks to the preparation from Mr. Harrington three years earlier

In 1972 Al Harrington's talent was recognized by the producers of the original Hawaii Five-O when he was signed to the role of Ben Kokua. His entertainment career took off, and we lost a great teacher.

He died yesterday of a stroke. RIP.

Below is Al Harrington speaking at Punahou School at the groundbreaking for a new sports facility in 1979



Below is the Star-Advertiser's obituary:

Unconditional Love

"Love is patient, love is kind," says the Good Book. Patient love is easy to print on a coffee mug but difficult to achieve.

The love that First Corinthians is referring to is unconditional. How many of us can truly say "no matter what you do I will always love you"? Unconditional love is so exceedingly rare that it's considered an aspect of the Divine.

Conditional love is common. We see it behind family estrangements and, of course, in couples splitting up. One also sees conditional love at the beginning of people coming together. It's the stuff of romantic drama, as lovers take tentative steps toward each other, wondering if they can trust.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, Carousel, celebrated its 75th anniversary this year. A huge hit in its day, Carousel is largely unfamiliar to younger audiences, though You'll Never Walk Alone and If I Loved You are still popular.

Which brings this post back to the original topic. If one Googles "conditional love music", at the top of the search is If I Loved You, which, if one is only familiar with the song, is a revelation when one listens to the entire 11-minute set-piece ("the bench scene") of dialogue and music. Below is a YouTube clip of Broadway stars performing it in studio and street clothes with just a piano accompaniment.

Into the Woods

The first Act of Stephen Sondheim’s musical, “Into the Woods”, begins in a lighthearted fashion, as familiar fairy tale icons – Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, Jack (of beanstalk fame), and Cinderella – mingle with other characters and get in the way of each others quests. Act I ends more or less happily as everyone finds what they’re looking for: true love, riches, or children.

In Act II reality sets in. There is disillusionment, disappointment, and death. Some characters react with anger, some seek revenge, and some leave for what they hope will be a better life. Those who are left accept their lot, and the end of the play, with its finale of dance and song, is unexpectedly uplifting.

I entered the theater with low expectations. The lyrics are as clever as Porter’s, but Sondheim tunes are not as hummable. (I even dozed off in Act I.) But as the characters dealt with adversity in Act II, the primary colors of the various fairy tales turned subtle and interesting. I looked at the youngster. He was captivated.

By the standards of community theater, Broadway by the Bay put on an excellent production at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. None of the voices, whether speaking or singing, or the instrument soloists in the orchestra, caused me to wince. The actors didn’t get in the way of the production. We’ll be back later in the season.