HONORABLE MENTIONS: Voice teacher Neva Rego, who has worked with so many local entertainers over the years, will be honored at noontime today at the House of Representatives. Rep. Lynn Finnegan has spearheaded the resolution that recognizes Rego's "excellence in education." Everyone from Broadway star Willy Falk to Tony Conjugacion, from Jade Stice to Jimmy Borges has been coached by Rego. ...

Karen Keawehawai'i and Ku'uipo Kumukahi shared emcee duties at the Hawai'i Convention Center when the Kamaka 'Ukulele clan was honored recently, marking the family business's 90th anniversary. Fred Sr. and Sam Kamaka, patriarchs of the uke company, were present, along with Fred Jr., Chris and Casey, who continue to carry on the tradition of creating top-notch instruments. Of course, an all-star gallery of strummers performed, including Bryan Tolentino, Byron Yasui, Benny Chong, Gordon Mark, Auntie Genoa Keawe, Jake Shimabukuro, Ho'okena and The Makaha Sons. ...

NAME GAME: Details were still in limbo, but expect director Randal Kleiser, whose films include "Grease," "Blue Lagoon," "Flight of the Navigator" and "It's My Party," to conduct an Academy for Creative Media master class April 17 on the University of Hawai'i-Manoa campus. Kleiser heads a Directors Guild of America program that links film school students with Hollywood directors through teleconferencing, giving future filmmakers a real connection in the art. UH is the latest participant. ...

The late Martin Denny, who has a new CD out ("The Best of Martin Denny's Exotica"), is one of three pop music stars with Island ties featured in Dave Nicolson's "On the Road Again," a book that probes 1950s-'60s hitmakers. The others are Robin Luke and Tommy Sands, who previously lived here....

CALENDAR CUES: "An Evening of Jazz With Noel Okimoto" is set for 6:30 p.m. May 21 at the Mamiya Theatre. Should be a wing-ding of an event — Gabe Baltazar also will perform with the Big Jazz Band, along with Andy Suzuki and Nick Manson from Los Angeles. 'Ukulele stylist Jake Shimabukuro is on the roster, too, with Okimoto on drums and Dean Taba on bass. Tickets: $35. ...

Tommy Chong, of Cheech and Chong, brings "The Marijuana-logues" to the Blaisdell Concert Hall, at 7:30 p.m. May 26. Tickets are on sale at the box office and at ticketmaster.com. ...

Diamond Head Theatre will stage "Come As We Were," a benefit that revisits musicals the theater staged in the 1950s, at 6 p.m. April 15 at the Waialae Country Club. Attendees are asked to dress in the spirit of shows such as "Oklahoma!," "South Pacific," "The King and I," "Carousel" and "The Music Man." Tickets for tables of 10 are $1,000, $1,500, $2,500 and $5,000; individual tickets begin at $100. Call 733-0277, ext. 305. ...

ONCE OVER LIGHTLY: Nothing works better than comfort food when the weather's wet and lousy. Ask the entire University of Kansas softball team, which showed up in uniform at Romano's Macaroni Grill on a rainy Monday night for an Italian meal. Ditto Gov. Linda Lingle, who had a bite with pals. ...

With the Hawai'i Theatre docent program (led by Linda Letta and Marian Benham) a decade old, Burton White, theater manager and artistic director, took the entire docent group, plus organizers Bill Petty and Don Conover, to lunch at the Plaza Club after a recent theater tour. At $5, the tour (Tuesdays) offers a peek of the facility you can't see from a seat. ...

Sue Landon, a Hawai'i Theatre volunteer, has emerged as a true angel of music. She bought two pianos, including one donated by actor James MacArthur, at the theater's recent Encore! benefit sale. One is being donated to the Children's Discovery Center in Kaka'ako, the other destined for the Boys and Girls Club. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 525-8055.