Love for the Eucharist shines in new splendor

Aleena, played by Leia Wenceslao, receives her first communion from Father Peter, played by Edward GEK Keaunui, in the first act of “Adore.” Behind them, from left, are actors Natalie Navarro (Victoria), Vangie Ratcliffe (Aleena and Victoria’s mother), Makanalei Brooks, Carmen Carlson, Victoria Nguyen, Ryan Cabuslay, Genesis Cadelinia, Christian Keaunui, Amelia Luarca, Titus Cadelinia and Michelle Johansen (Sister Fe). (Celia K. Downes / Hawaii Catholic Herald)

*Note: Several shows are now sold out.

By Celia K. Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald

An original musical inspired by the ongoing national Eucharistic revival marks the stage debut of its creator and another opportunity for the island’s faithful to celebrate the Body and Blood of Christ.

Adore follows the journey of a girl whose curiosity leads her to God and the love of her faith. She experiences hardship and pain as she grows up, but finds her way back to God.

The two-act production is performed by Our Lady of Good Counsel School and stars students from Pearl City Parish School as well as parents, teachers and community members.

At a recent rehearsal, held after a warm, busy day at summer school, actors and family members milled around the church’s pastoral center while writer-director Nellani Tabada gathered sets and costumes, arranged props around the hand-built stage, and consulted on sound equipment and microphones.

Tabada, 37, said “Adore” was her first production, but music has long been a part of her life. Her grandfather was a “one-man band,” she said, so the grandchildren in the family played instruments and sang.

The inspiration for “Adore” came about two years ago, Tabada said. Our Lady of Good Counsel’s pastor, Father Santhosh Thottankara of Sacred Hearts, met with school principal Chantelle Luarca and mentioned that he wanted the school to organize a major production. (Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it had already staged two performances.)

Father Thottankara also insisted that the production must be an original and not a piece found on the Internet, and that it must be a National Eucharistic Revival event.

Tabada, who works at the school, said she was contacted by Luarca a day after that meeting and they discussed Father Thottankara’s idea.

“When she told me that the Father had said someone could write it, I was nervous and worried, but I was extremely excited when she said he wanted it for the Eucharistic revival,” Tabada recalled.

“Then she said with a big smile on her face, ‘I’ve been thinking of you and I believe you can do it.'”

The connection with the National Eucharistic Revival provided Tabada with the opportunity to “write my testimony with the Eucharist,” which she has loved since her youth.

As a child, she says, she accompanied her mother every Sunday to an hour of perpetual adoration at Our Lady of Good Counsel. One day, Tabada says, she realized that the monstrance contained the Eucharist, the Body of Christ – and not just a piece of bread.

As Tabada grew older and went through difficult times, she was always able to remember the Eucharist and find comfort in it.

Her musical background, coupled with her love of the Eucharist, made it almost inevitable that the production she agreed to collaborate on would include original compositions.

When Tabada began writing about her faith journey and her beginnings, “it felt like something was missing. (The production) was missing a big part of my personality – the music.”

In fact, she had already written a song that is now part of “Adore.” Tabada said she wrote it when she was 17 out of love for her father and called it “I Feel You.”

However, to complete the musical, she enlisted the help of her friends Nicole Leyco and Aaron Butac to help her write. After more than a year, the production was finished with 10 songs.

“Adore” will be performed at Our Lady of Good Counsel Pastoral Center on June 21-22 and June 28-29. For more information and tickets, visit eventbrite.com. Search for “Adore, the Eucharistic Revival Musical.”