A Show with a Heart

By Susan Herbert
San Francisco Independent
July 23, 1993

"Extravagant musical thrills kids, 'gives back' to the city.

The Fung family and friends did it again. After nearly a year of preparation, the amateur thespians brought down the house with their fourth annual musical romp. This year it was “Borgamation,” a space odyssey.

The toughest critics loved it. Hundreds of city kids gave the production rave reviews during its two-day stand at the Recreation Center for the Handicapped this week.

“It was great,” said 8 year-old Casey Henderson. “Toward the end it got very funny. I liked that part the best.”

Thirteen-year-old Matthew Lee liked the battle and the computer-brained alien leader.

Others who came in groups from summer program all around town, watched the show while seated on the floor in the center’s jam –packed gym and pronounced the show “cool,” “fresh” and “fine.”

Those accolades were reward enough for approximately 50 folks, mostly Fungs, who staged the story of space adventurers who learn the meaning of the word “courage.”

“Personally, I get a happy feeling from seeing others enjoy the show,” said Tim Fung, who is a computer teacher at Commodore Stockton Elementary School when he isn’t Captain Girard, the intrepid commander who is captured by the alien Borgs.

Tim, Gregory, Lenora, Gordon and Larry are all Fungs and few of the driving forces behind this unique contribution to the children of the city.

Gordon, 41, a cardiologist, composes the music; his brother Gregory, 40, a gastroenterologist, designs the stage sets, his sister Lenora, a 38 year–old radiologist design the costumes; his cousin Larry, along with Burton Mar, handles the props; and cousin Tim hams it up.

“We are just a family and a group of friends who grew up in the city, went to public schools and decided to give something back,” explained Gordon, as he worked the bank of sound equipment. Some of the Fungs are related, others are not.

The group which ranges in age from two to 85, is so modest they call themselves simply “Friends of the Rec Center,” but before the year is out they will trod the boards in the inner city with a holiday musical and will be “Friends of Tenderloin Children.”

“We try to make it fun and to teach a lesson at the same time,” said cardiologist Fung. “This year the theme is courage – how to be strong inside and get through difficult things.”

When Captain Girard is captured by the half-human-half-computer Borgs, two young cadets and a band of delightful misfits called the Scraggs bravely go to his rescue.

As the audiences poured out of the gym after the performances, they had a chance to meet with the performers and check out the dazzling handmade costumes.

“Those feathers were glued on one at a time.” Said Carol Yee, describing the fluttering yellow wings of one of the Scraggs.

Scrimping and saving, the costume makers use everything from old computer chips and medical ventilators to orthopedic finger splints and braces to enhance the costumes that are almost other-worldly,

Yee, with her husband commit countless hours and boundless energy to the project every year.

The adults, who work on stage and behind the scenes, give up weekends and evenings to prepare for the show. And the children, who take most of the starring roles, spend hours practicing their lines, songs and movements.

What started during one holiday season four years ago with the Fungs entertaining each other with a play is fast becoming a city gem.

“They are absolutely wonderful,” says Janet Pomeroy, founder and director of the Recreation Center of the Handicapped, now know as RCH, Inc. “They give so much of themselves, and you can see how children love the show.”

After the final performance, the stage, lights and sound system were dismantled and everything was prepared for storage.

“We take few months off and then we start again,” said Yee. “What’s funny is that we are all amateurs, learning as we go."