6 minute read
DINING
The Curtains Rise Once Again for MAPA
Ahi Wrap, a big, bold, and boisterous performance comes to the Historic ‘Iao Theater.
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By Grace Maeda
For nearly a half-century, Maui Academy of Performing Arts’ thespians, singers, and dancers have entertained and enriched our community.
Bustling with performers running between dance classes and dress rehearsals in MAPA’s studios, the organization offered an abundance of lessons for creatives of all ages to hone their talents and explore the stage. The nonprofit also dispersed troupes of performers and teachers to classrooms across Maui and neighboring islands, reaching 40,000 students each year, until Covid shuttered their operation.
But after a two-year hiatus, the organization is returning to the stage with a knock-out act, “Ahi Wrap.” A the laugh-out-loud sequel to the 2012 production “Lesser Ahi.”
Working with artistic director David Johnston, “Lesser Ahi” was written and performed by Derek Nakagawa and Francis Tau’a. Inspired by the comedy “Greater Tuna,” a two-man show about small-town life set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, “Lesser Ahi” captured the spirit of island life with humor and warmth. In the local two-man show, Nakagawa and Tau’a demonstrated their acting range through multiple characters. The actors played estranged fraternal twins, Andrew and Anden Ahi, as well as all of the supporting characters—both male and female.
The wild antics of the Ahi brothers continue in the sequel “Ahi Wrap,” a two-part show. Audiences attend part one and return to the theater for part two the following
Courtesy MAPA
Playwrights Derek Nakagawa and Francis Tau'a reunite for "Ahi Wrap," the sequel to their 2012 two-man show "Lesser Ahi." Along with Kathy Collins, they play all the characters—both male and female.
Courtesy MAPA
KAOI radio icon Kathy Collins joins the cast of "Ahi Wrap." She shapeshifts into numerous characters including Bang Bang Macadangdang.
weekend. Nakagawa, Tau’a, and Johnston reunite once again to create the playful script. “Getting to write together was a thrill. It was like a roller coaster getting to go again,” Nakagawa said.
This time around, the Ahi crew recruited the actress and KAOI radio icon Kathy Collins. Instantly recognizable for her voice and alter ego Tita, Collins also dials into numerous characters, using her vast experience from her own one-woman shows. She shapeshifts into the uber-macho Bang Bang Macadangdang and then to your quintessential auntie.
“It’s bigger than life—not just a slice of life,” Johnston said. “But it’s still authentic.” With a colorful cast of characters, “Ahi Wrap” is an entertaining, local soap opera, in which locals will recognize a relative, friend, teacher, or neighbor on stage. For visitors, it is a window into the entanglement of comical family relationships on Maui.
Running for three weekends at the ‘Iao Theater, Jan. 28-Feb. 13, “Ahi Wrap” is a two-part show. Part one is showing Jan. 28-30. Audiences return the following weekend for part two, which is on stage Feb. 4-6. During the final weekend, part one returns from Feb. 11-12 and part two runs Feb. 1213. Two tickets need to be purchased to see both parts.
Ahi Wrap
Tickets on sale Dec. 13 $25-45 On stage at the Historic ‘Iao Theater 68 N Market St, Wailuku, HI 9679 Part 1: Jan. 28-30 and Feb. 11-12 Part 2: Feb. 4-6 and Feb. 12-13
For showtimes and tickets: mauiacademy.org
A Willy Wonka-esque Experience
Looking Forward with Makawao’s Maui Cookie Lady
By Jen Russo
Every keiki deserves a trip to the Maui Cookie Lady shop in Makawao, where owner and baker Mitzi Toro has created a Willy Wonka-esque dream squeezed into 326 square feet. The animatronic puppies playing in the Christmas window display set the stage for the confection of fun contained inside, just beyond the giant woodland fantasy tree at the door.
“We call ourselves the cookie elves,” Toro said. “When the kids come in, their eyes get big and they get so excited. I tell them when we go home they bake the cookies in the elf tree.”
She jokes about elves, but the Maui Cookie Lady operation is truly a testament to Toro’s hard work since creating her business in 2012. Always a lover of baking and sweets, Toro was a full-time teacher when she started the business as a side hustle. Toro originally began baking for the nurses who cared for her father, a passion that eventually blossomed into her Maui cookie empire.
“I have been lucky,” said Toro. “I have such a strong team. When you own your own business, it’s not a nine-to-five. It’s from when you wake up, till you go to sleep. I can really rely on my team. We have three full time managers and 12 people, and everybody is so solid.”
The Maui Cookie Lady commercial kitchen is in one of the oldest buildings in Makawao Town, which happens to be the old family home of the Tam family (Eddie Tam may ring a bell). I met Toro there early in the morning and she shared that the building was built 30 years before St. Joseph’s Church. “The front of the house was over here, and this olive tree was hand-carried from overseas by the patriarch of the family and planted in the front yard,” Toro pointed out.
Toro had been looking in earnest for a location to have a Maui Cookie Lady shop. The business was growing, and she had just finished an overhaul of the website, which kept her in the game during Covid shutdowns. “That instrumental business move saved us when the shutdown happened. We were a food business and considered essential so we were still able to ship from Maui.”
She signed letters of intent for a few storefronts, but didn’t follow through on acquiring a brick-andmortar storefront until she found the perfect little spot in Makawao with an antique clock hanging outside.
“Everything just fell into place,” recalled Toro. “It was a bit of preor-
Sean M. Hower Sean M. Hower
Mitzi Toro's cookie empire's brick-and-mortar shop is one of the oldest buildings in Makawao Town.
dained cookie destiny as the owners of our shop had grown up on the property where our commercial kitchen is. We will make one year of being open on Dec. 22. Seeing the way we have evolved in the last year is exciting.”
Alongside her Maui Cookie Lady cookies, gift bags and boxes, Toro sells sweet treats made throughout Hawai‘i. She carries ice cream from Pa‘ia Artisan and 808 Delights, as well as Grandpa Joe’s cotton candy, Kilohana honey, gluten free mochi waffles, local jams, jellies, and popcorn.
“It was an opportunity to bring in other vendors—that was important to me,” Toro said “I love caramel apples, and one of my most exciting finds were these caramel apples made on Maui called The Good Apple. I was the first wholesale account for many of these vendors.”
Toro tells me she has developed more than 220 flavors of cookies over the years but the top five customer-favorites are White Chocolate Mac Nut, Da Half Baked, Kona Coffee Espresso, Birthday Cake, and Anuhea Upcountry Breeze, made with Ali’i Kula lavender, Waihe’e mac nuts, local calamansi, and white chocolate truffle (a creation by Hawaiian award winning musician Anuhea Jams). Toro keeps the best sellers on the menu and rotates with three to four additional flavors each season.
During the holidays, Toro admits she finds the most creativity. This December’s seasonal flavors are Eggnog Rumchata, It’s a Wonderful Whiskey Life (crushed candy cane, velvet cocoa, and Jameson Whiskey scratch made fudge), and “Scrooged” Stuck-At-Home. Scrooged (butter pecan truffle center, candied pecans, Hawaiian sea salt flakes topped with a Kahlua chocolate drizzle) debuted during the pandemic holiday 2020 and she says the name alone made it an instant hit.
Maui Cookie Lady
3643 Baldwin Ave, Makawao 808-793-3172 M-Th 9-5, F 9-6, Sa 9-5, Su 10-4
