FIVE QUESTIONS
'Dually' musical shines light on homelessness

By Zenaida Serrano
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Boy (TJ Tario) hands the Park Man (Dion Donahue) a sandwich as the Outreach Worker (Matthew Pennaz) looks on in "Truly Dually," which will be presented in readers-theater style beginning today. Ronald Kwon 'Truly Dually' 7:30 p.m. today, First Presbyterian Church; 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Tenney Theatre, St. Andrew's Cathedral; 7:30 p.m. May 10 and 12, Paliku Theatre, Windward Community College Free admission; donations welcome 391-7963, trulydually@yahoo.com

One day while working at the men's shelter, he thought: "What if there was a musical where the men were singing with their (sleeping) mats about life in the shelter in a way that was funny, but serious?"

The random idea evolved into "Truly Dually," a 22-song musical Ullman wrote that seeks to depict in an entertaining, yet realistic, manner the plight of chronic homelessness, and a system of care that brings treatment and provides long-term solutions.

"The play underscores the humanity of homeless individuals, and the respect and dignity that must be accorded to them," Ullman said.

Ullman, a doctoral student in social welfare at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, has become familiar with the homelessness issue through the years. He provides research, grant and planning consultant services to a variety of homeless organizations and in the past two years has acquired more than $10 million in grants and contracts to expand services to the state's homeless.

But with no theater background, Ullman enlisted the help of award-winning composer and musical director Roslyn Catracchia, who embraced the project.

"You can't ignore what's right in front of us, and the homeless people are everywhere. They're a part of our community, which makes them part of our family," Catracchia said. "To me, it's very important to find out: How do you acknowledge the problem instead of ignoring it, and find out possible creative ways to help?"

"Truly Dually" is being presented in readers-theater style, allowing the audience to give feedback after the show to further refine the musical, which is not yet a full production. Show-goers will receive a program with lyrics to all the songs, a glossary and information about homelessness.

We asked Ullman to answer Five Questions about his show:

Why a musical on homelessness, rather than a straight-forward play?

"I actually thought a musical was the perfect medium to show the vitality, humanity and generosity of the homeless people, and ... it's a good way to show the hope that they still have to better their lives."

What does the title, "Truly Dually," mean?

"In the field of mental illness, ('dually diagnosed') typically means a person has mental illness and substance abuse or chemical dependency. ... A lot of different types of homelessness are touched on (in the show), but the chronically homeless are a big emphasis because they are people who have been homeless for years. They are the ones that typically have a high prevalence of mental illness and substance abuse, hence they're dually diagnosed."

Tell me about the way the show is being presented. What's readers-theater style?

"There is no full costuming and there is no big set design; even if there was for this show, it wouldn't be a huge deal just because it would be a park and offices. It also means that (performers) don't necessarily memorize the entire thing."

Of the production's 22 songs, which one is your favorite?

"There's a song called 'Shelter Plus Care,' and that's very important because that's probably one of the most successful programs in housing homeless people with disabilities. It's really important for people to understand that. Shelter Plus Care is a federal program that provides housing subsidy money, similar to Section 8, targeted specifically for people who are homeless and have a disability. The requirement on the money is that it has to be matched by other funds that provide the ongoing support services ... and the care is long-term supportive services, which include case management, treatment services and employment reintegration."

What do you want the audience to learn from the play?

"There's an implicit social-justice message that everyone is complicit in the problem of homelessness we have today, therefore everybody needs to be part of the solution."