Celebrating Magnificence in our ‘Ohana: Doris & Mark Morisaki, Sharing Exuberance
By Sarah Hodges
It takes a certain kind of courage to get up on a stage in front of hundreds of people, all eyes swiveling to see what’s about to happen. And even more so when it’s for a costume contest, and you’re the only ones who got very dressed up. Enter Doris and Mark Morisaki, heroes to many of us for their genius-level creativity when it comes to Mark’s balloon art and even more for their exuberance and chutzpah.
Doris tells the story. Still and Moving owner Renée Tillotson approached Doris’s husband Mark one afternoon at the studio with an offer to purchase tickets for them to an upcoming ABBA concert as a surprise for Doris. Mark instead tells Doris in advance about the upcoming concert and its accompanying costume contest. Doris, a fan of 70s music, agrees that it does sound like fun.
No rookie to creative costuming, Mark gets right to the preparations. He finds the sequin jacket he’s acquired at a fun and fancy Still & Moving clothing swap. He orders Doris an equally sequin-y sparkle pantsuit. Then, the major preparations: the balloon art. Mark takes a whole day to research and build key elements of ABBA’s signature look: a blue cat and yellow cat, a scepter for Dancing Queen, a full-sized electric guitar. Using balloons and lights, he artfully crafts these pieces, all made to be wearable.
The afternoon of the show, the couple get all dolled up. They park nearby, and then – as they’re walking up to Hawaii Theater – something unexpected hits them. Nobody else is dressed up. A few people here and there have some small touches of 70s style in their outfits. Nobody has a full costume on. Nobody except Mark and Doris, and boy do they stand out!
This event is part of an LGBTQ+ fundraiser, and Mark and Doris assumed that anything they wore was going to be average in comparison to the heights of fashion that can happen in such a place. “Did we misunderstand something?” they ask each other. People comment on their costumes as they walk through the theater lobby. They have nothing else to do but own it.
Their seatmates are a sweet couple they talked to while waiting in the lobby. They exchange smiles and laughs. The lively MC entertains the audience for quite a while, building up to the costume contest. She then invites forward all of the contestants. Mark and Doris’ new friends egg them on, “C’mon, that’s you guys! Get up.” Our heroes laughingly stand and start making their way to the stage.
They haven’t even reached the stairs to the stage when the MC notices them. “What gay friend of yours dressed you two up tonight!?!?” the MC demands. When Doris points to her straight male husband Mark, the MC exclaims “NO!” shaking her head and fanning her palm downward. She refuses to believe that this amazing costuming is Mark’s doing. When the MC finds out Mark is also a gastroenterologist, she’s even more stunned.
A handful of other people are already on stage, mostly in simple, colorful depictions of 70’s fashion. They each walk forward to receive a small moment of glory in the audience’s approval. Then it’s Mark and Doris’ turn. Doris whispers to Mark, “We’re going to have to dance.” Mark nods. Now our Still & Moving starlets begin moving to the music, getting into their Disco dance groove as they’ve done many times before. The crowd roars as the two of them steal the show for the night. Needless to say, they win the prize!
After the show, Hawaii Theater’s photography staff asks to take their photos for the theater’s archives. Quite an honor, Doris acknowledges in her telling of the tale, and another great adventure to add to the Morisaki memory book.
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This post is also available in: 日本語 (Japanese)