b'at Saint Louis School in Honolulu; and a few years Your gift to the worldlater, Marianist Father Ted Ley was assigned there as During the past 17 years, Brother Gary has taughtchaplain. The two had met previously and shared English and drama at Chaminade, producing a playtheir love of music when Brother Gary joined Father each fall and a musical in the spring, but he still findsTeds choral music program at Riordan. So while time to pursue his own love of acting. He has wonministering in Honolulu, they seized on the idea of numerous awards and acclaim for that work as a partwriting and producing a rock opera along the lines of TAGThe Actors Groupas well as Diamondof Jesus Christ Superstar. The play was based on Head and Paliku theatres on Oahu.the story of Everyman. Rather than reciting his own successes, Brother GaryThe two Marianists wrote the script, music and prefers to talk about the students in his classes and onlyrics, and produced a show they called Everymania. stage. With an uncanny knack for discovering some-With the help of the Honolulu communityincluding thing that students may not know they possess, hethe governor of Hawaiithey accepted an invitation says, I look for that special gift, the potential in eachto take the show to Melbourne, Australia, as part of student, often a talent he or she hasnt fully recognized.the 40th Eucharistic Congress in 1973. The cost ofALL PHOTOS: DEREK MIYAHARAtaking a cast and crew of more than 50 people, includ-ing the entire school band, on the trip seemed over-whelming. But we raised $30,000 in one month, saysBrother Gary, mak-ing it possible for Your talent is a gift fromSaint Louis School God. How you use it isstudents to take the your gift to the world.trip of a lifetime.Brother GaryBrother Gary Morris, SMgraduated from SanFrancisco State University in 1977 with a mastersdegree in theater. While there, he agreed to coordi-nate a production celebrating the 200th anniversaryof the founding of San Francisco. The project was anenormous undertaking, bringing together a diversecrew of actors, musicians, technical specialists, vol-unteers and government officials. Staged at the base ofthe Golden Gate Bridge, the setting provided the per-fect backdrop for this historic birthday bash.Continuing his nearly 50 years of managing theatrical productions, last fall Brother Gary directed Brother Gary is retiring from Chaminade University Brother Gary Morris, SM, onthe student production of The Last Mass at St. at the end of the school year. His words of wisdom the set of The Last Mass atCasimirs at Chaminade University. The play depictsthe ones he tells nearly every student before going St. Casimirs at Chaminadethe end of an era in a working-class Catholic neighbor- University of Honolulu.on stage: Your talent is a gift from God. How you usehood in Buffalo, New York. Here, the Pazinski clan it is your gift to the world. The same holds true ofgathers to say its final goodbyes to its recently sold Brother Gary. With the world as his stage, this deeplychildhood home and soon-to-be-closed neighborhood religious man and impassioned performer and teacher,church. Homebound while trapped by a storm, the has used his gifts in the service of others and as a giftPazinskis are together long enough to confront and back to God. His longtime friend, Father Ted is resolve lingering family issues and discover the real emotional when he talks about Brother Gary. He isgifts of love. The familys need to make important not only a gifted teacher and performer, but a great decisions togetheramidst both serious and humor- Marianist and true friend.\x00ous sibling banter about responsibility, religion andlifemade it the perfect choice for our university Marcy Cummins is a freelance writer from Cortez, Colorado.community, says Brother Gary.marianist.com/donate 9'