Month: December 2021

I’ve been a subscriber of the Sunday New York Times for decades,  a habit originating back in the day when I picked up the heavy, multi-sectioned behemoth,  purchased at a New York newstand and hauled to my hotel room. It provided data and ads that helped make decisions on which show to see, or not, on Broadway.

I ordered the home delivery option because from far-away Honolulu, it’s not readily easy to find a one-stop resource for news and advertisements about Broadway shows. Yep, online sites and ticketing resources are plentiful, but not the most convenient way to peruse the Great White Way haps.

Thus, the Sunday Times has been wholly and generously a treat for leisurely Sunday reading.

This past Sunday’s edition (Dec. 5) boasted several genuine surprises, in all the right places. Two mentionables, coincidentally, were in the Book Review section. About literacy. About the value of reading. About a voice coming from youths:

• An interview with Bette Midler, caught my eye, since she is a bona fide children’s book author (latest effort: “The Tale of the Mandarin Duck.”)  In one of the questions, on what kind of reader she was as a child, the Hawaii native revealed this: “My mother  (Ruth, with whom I had many phone chats when the Radford grad was en route to superstardom) taught me to read when I was 4, and I became a compulsive reader. My parents left us kids in the Honolulu public library (the main branch near Iolani Palace) every Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., while they did their shopping. I wandered all over. I read Grimm’s ‘Hans Christian Anderson,’ the Betsy Tacy and Tib books, ‘Freddy the Pig,’ ‘The Borrowers,’ ‘The Boxcar Children,’ ‘The Secret Garden’ (very important), a lot of boys’ adventure and magazines. Especially Life! It showed me the world. When I was 12, I read ‘The Lash of the Just’ and I never got over it.” …

•  My poet friend, Frances H. Kakugawa, formerly of Kapoho and Honolulu and now of Sacramento, submitted a letter to the Book Review section, which published it with the headline, ‘Our Own World.’” It read, “James Yang’s ‘A Boy Named Isamu‘ (Nov. 14) is what excellent children’s literature is, the absence of the adult voice interfering in the telling of a story with the intent to teach a lesson or two. Children are surrounded by adult voices in life – in ‘A Boy Named Isamu,’ there are Isamu and the reader alone. This book will also be excellent for readers in their 80s and 90s as they, too, are surrounded by too many adult voices. What a pleasure to stroll with Isamu, awakening our senses to our own world.” …

Other profound discoveries in the Times:

* There is a threat of a shortage of schmear for bagels. New York is sort of the unofficial capitol of bagel-binging, and what’s a bagel — plain, blueberried, or cheesy with sprinkled herbs – without the cream cheese schmear, plain or with flavors. Oy vey!

* So what’s the favored emoji, among the hundreds of variations available? The Unicode Consortium, which monitors these things, says in a Times piece that No. 1 is the laughing-crying-smiling emoji, reflecting a sunshiny day with sprinkles, I guess. No. 2 is the emoji with the red heart, shouting romance or love. Now you can use these with your emails and know that you’re part of the in crowd. …

* ‘Tis the season to be merry, thankful and joyous, that the Bidens are in the White House, and that Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady, is responsible for decking the halls and stairways and thus is the chiefess of Christmas. A Times visit to examine the B.C. (Biden Christmas) indicates that tradition has been rediscovered, with predictable but purposeful trees and decor that reflect, well, taste. Gone are the bizarre, isolating forests of red trees, the white wonderland halls devoid of warmth, from the not-quite-normal and isolationist former lady Melania Trump. Her designs were targets for late night talk show hosts. …

* With the NFL football season nearing its finale – I watch as much as any reasonable fan can – I’ve found the Times’ analyses and previews of the coming week’s games enlightening and essential in the Sunday Sports section. It evaluates and predicts each game – an overview that has as many rights as wrongs, considering the uncertainties, unpredictable and see-sawing season…

And that’s Show Biz. …

Streelight Cadence, whose career as performers began a dozen years ago on the sidewalks, curbs and street corners of Waikiki, is at it again.

For 12 hours today (Dec. 5), beginning at noontime, the foursome will provide its signature music to busk for tips and raise funds for a Kickstarter campaign to help finance new recording, “Midnight.”

The group, comprising  Jonathon Franklin (vocals and violin), Brian Webb (cello), Jesse Shiroma (accordion and percussion), and Ben Chai  (acoustic guitar), will perform from noon at the Logos Bookstore at Ward Village, proceeding to Dave & Busters, weather permitting. The hoopla will be live-streaming via Instagram, YouTube and Facebook, through midnight.

“It’ll be a wet day today but we’re going for it,” the group said in a new posting online. “Come join us for the fun as we sing all day long (literally)  and perform our way into deliriousness.”

With time running out to raise funds for their campaign goal, the group will solicit pre-orders for their CDs, vinyl recordings, music boxes and assorted wares, including sweaters and socks.

Their mantra of, the past, has been “will play for food,” and who knows if that will emerge now, too.

Streetlight has earned two Na Hoku Hanohano Awards and has been Emmy-nominated for a reality TV series.

To watch the live streaming or make a campaign pledge, visit www.streelightcadence.com …

Whee, the people

Vanessa Lachey, who portrays Jane Tennant in CBS’s “NCIS: Hawai‘i,” has landed another first. She already is the first woman to portray the honcho of the “NCIS” franchise; her first book, “Life From Scratch,” was just released on Nov. 30; but landing on the cover of this week’s People magazine, sharing the limelight with hubby Nick Lachey, is perhaps the cherry on the cake.  The profile explores her difficult childhood and her estranged mother, plus the joy of a happy marriage and her family including three kids. Thus, being a mother in her filmed-in-Hawaii role reflects her outlook of family values. …

What’s with Doug Shirai’s garage? The aforementioned “NCIS” utilized the space for earlier filming; and just recently, “Magnum, P.I.” did the same. Is the site on some kind of registry for potential island filming? Just wondering…

And that’s Show Biz. …

If you happen to spot a Hollywood couple in Honolulu in the days and weeks ahead, it just might be Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban.

Online buzz suggests that the award-winning actress and the award-winning country music singer hope to renew their wedding vows in our midst. The ceremony would indicate all is well in the couple’s relationship despite rumors that there has been see-sawing strain and tension in their marriage.

And why Hawaii? Why not? Kidman was born here but her Australian parents — in the islands on student visas — left Honolulu for Down Under residency and she went on to be a globally known actress.

An insider admits,  “They’re secretly organizing an intimate beach ceremony for this winter in Hawaii, where Nicole was born.” OK, she was born here but not on the beach. …

Marquee honorees

“Manoa Marquee,” set for March 26 at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, is the Manoa Valley Theatre’s annual fundraiser.

Honorees this year will be David Kennedy and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Jeffrey Portnoy and the Cades Foundation.

Individual tickets are $325, a hike from earlier gatherings, and premium tables are available at $10,000, $5,000 and $3,000.

Visit www.manoavalleytheatre.com

Stage notes

During a preview performance of the holiday musical “Elf” Thursday night at Diamond Head Theatre, there was a blackout smack dab in the middle of the show, according to director Greg Zane. Friday’s premiere went on without incident. …

With the comeback of ABBA, the Swedish sensations whose tunes made “Mamma Mia” a Broadway and London retro dance party and a singing Meryl Street on film, Farrington High School is on track to be ahead of the curve in rebooting the audience-favorite musical. Director Miguel Cadoy III is helming the revival for six performances from Feb. 25 through March 6. …

And that’s Show Biz. …