On the Scene with Patrick Fujioka

Patrick Fujioka was a junior at Saint Louis School when he was cast in the school’s production of “Arms and the Man.”

Theater has been part of his life ever since.

He was earning a degree in theater at the University of Hawaii at Manoa when he developed the role of Da Mean Mongoose in Lisa Matsumoto’s original college theater production of “Once Upon One Time” in 1991. His working relationship with Matsumoto continued as she wrote, directed and starred in the sequels, “Once Upon One Noddah Time” and “Happily Eva Afta.”

Fujioka met his wife, back then she was Colleen Sullivan, when she was cast in “Once Upon One Noddah Time” in 1992. He proposed while they were in rehearsals for another Matsumoto play, “The Princess and the Iso Peanut” in 1999. They married before the show opened.

Four children later, Fujioka, 55, returned to the local stage on Thursday, playing King Alexander in Manoa Valley Theatre’s summer revival production of “Iso Peanut” at Kaimuki High School.

JOHN BERGER: Lisa Matsumoto’s plays have become perennially popular classics in local theater, but when did you get a feeling they were going to be as big as they are?

PATRICK FUJIOKA: The first time we did “Once Upon One Time.” I had been in shows before but when we heard the numbers that were coming out for the show, and the lines (waiting to buy tickets), and things like that, we knew it was huge.

And then it just snowballed. The audience we pulled in wasn’t the typical theater audience. It was local people, and they would bring their families, and they would tell people.

JB: How did it feel to eventually see another actor as Da Mean Mongoose?

PF: Actually it was kinda cool. It was different, which we appreciated — we went (to the show) thinking “How are they going to do it?” — but it was Daryl (Bonilla) and he’s hilarious. You know eventually you have to let it go.

JB: You met your now-wife doing theater and proposed during a rehearsal. How did that go?

PF: I knew I wanted to ask her to marry me so I asked Lisa to help me out. We did a staged reading of the show and Lisa had written it so the lines were opposing — Yoshi and Alexis, Yoshi and Alexis — and then on the next page it changed to Patrick and Colleen.

We had all our friends there like a normal reading, cameras going, and so I proposed — and she said “Yes!”

JB: In this production of “Iso Peanut” you’re a king. How’s that?

PF: That’s a really nice place to be. After not being onstage forever it’s nice to not have to worry about directing or designing or anything (and) just being an actor.

JB: What do you do when you’re not teaching?

PF: I got four kids and they’ve all gotten into performing arts — especially my oldest, Kimie. She did “Les Miz” at Castle, and then she did “Hairspray,” and even I was amazed at what she put onstage.

Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.