The Left Lane
Wanted: Stage dog for 'Annie' musical

Looking for a pooch to play Sandy

Pooches may be a mixed or pure breed and must have a golden-colored coat, medium build and a calm disposition. Good attitude (especially with children, because the cast is peopled with a number of youngsters) is important, as is the ability to respond to commands.

And, of course, the dog must be available for rehearsals and all performances.

Doggie auditions: 1:30-3 p.m. Sept. 22, theater's Garden Lanai. Play dates will be Nov. 30-Dec. 16. Information: 733-0277.

It was an idea Mosula Purcell had years ago: Find a way to bring together the entertainers who populate the various showrooms in Waikiki.

A picnic at the beach, a friendly game of basketball. But when his good friend, former University of Hawai'i football player Nick Ma'afala, died of leukemia in April, Purcell decided to merge his first idea with another.

Purcell, a musician and dancer at South Seas Village in the Hawaiian Hut, and colleague Pesi Silva organized the "Big Nick" Invitational 2001, a round-robin basketball tournament held Aug. 18 at the McKinley High School gym, raising $2,000 for the Friends of Nick Ma'afala Foundation and drawing about 200 participants from the Waikiki entertainment community.

"It was so great," said Kalo Soukoup, director of the South Seas Village show. "I took my conch shell and blew it whenever someone scored a basket.""

Purcell said he hopes to organize the tournament every year, with proceeds to benefit the foundation.