Letter: Friends of Queen Theater look to community for support

The following letter is in response to the Queen’s Theater article, dated April 14, 2010. Please stay tuned for future meetings and events surrounding this issue.

Originally formed after the fall of the Varsity Theater, Friends of Queen Theater’s main focus is to create an organization to focus concerned energy into returning the theater to community use.

We felt from the beginning that the ultimate goal is to see her function again as a venue for live theater, films, concerts, and other events. We also felt that the people of Kaimuki should be the ones to ultimately decide her fate.

The group quickly became an umbrella for many creative ideas and energy from those that had long suffered watching their Queen be unused and neglected.  We are lucky that the theater is located in an area where so many talented and concerned citizens are itching to tackle this issue. The Hawaii Theatre, which is now a viable and thriving part of the Renaissance of Chinatown, had to find most of its support outside of the residents.

Currently, we are recording oral histories of past patrons and employees of the Queen that will become part of our application for the Queen’s status on the State Historic Register. That will lead to a grant financing an architectural proposal for the restoration of the building. We continue to look for ways to communicate with residents and business community members.

Our current 1000 Friends of the Queen Campaign gives everyone interested an opportunity to show their support of the project. Prospective signers can add their names by emailing us at [email protected] or become a fan on Facebook.

Nancy Wilcox
President, Friends of Queen Theater