Posted on: Monday, October 25, 2004

Symphony gets a tad soggy

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Rain once again dripped into the Blaisdell Concert Hall yesterday during a Honolulu Symphony and Chorus performance despite assurances that the hall's leaking roof had been repaired on Saturday.

Ushers brought buckets up to the balcony during Haydn's "Creation" — just as they had Friday night.

The concert hall's event director declined comment yesterday. Other employees said that only ushers got wet and that no concertgoers were hit by the leak.

Before yesterday's 4 p.m. performance, city managing director Ben Lee said Blaisdell officials had been assured that the roof was repaired by a contractor who is fixing the hall's air conditioning system and doing roofing work.

But as rain fell at the end of yesterday's performance, Lee said "they haven't fixed it yet. Apparently finding a leak on a roof is a little bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. We're going to get it fixed as soon as we can."

The city owns and manages the Blaisdell concert hall, exhibition hall and arena. The exhibition hall and arena roofs recently were repaired, Lee said.

City officials plan to meet with the contractor today "so this doesn't inconvenience any of our patrons," Lee said.

Friday night, ushers moved distracted concertgoers out of the balcony and brought in buckets, towels and 30-gallon trash cans to capture the drips.

After Friday's intermission, concertgoers broke into laughter when the soprano opened the second-half performance by singing, "And God said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly."

The next concert hall performance is scheduled for tomorrow night. Lea Salonga, best known for her Broadway role in "Miss Saigon," is to perform at 7:30 p.m.

Yesterday's rain was part of an unusual weather pattern that will last until Thursday, said Tim Craig, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service.

The normal high-pressure system that produces Hawai'i's famous trade winds has temporarily moved east, generating slight winds from the southeast that are bringing in moisture from the tropics, Craig said.

For the next few days, Craig said, the weather pattern should be pleasant mornings followed by afternoon clouds and possible thundershowers.

"The trades will come back Thursday," Craig said. "And they should be even stronger for the weekend."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.