Bettah late den nevah.
OK, I wen’ go see – finally – Lee Cataluna’s “Da Mayah” last night (Oct. 4) at Manoa Valley Theatre.
My season tickets back in September conflicted with another event, and this local-style, loco-storytelling hit show was so popular, it was impossible to score seats. Small theater, das why, but MVT wen’ add two more shows this weekend, so I booked front row seats but I’m so sorry I no can advise you to go see this outrageous and hilarious tale about one dude named Lester Perez (Devon Nekoba) because the show closed with a matinee today (Oct. 5).
Lester was the first Hilo mayah elected, a conniving, even incompetent leader who is out-of-control and one buggah with hidden secrets. So yep, there are political darts, but lots more about life and lore of island life, like work skeds, plate lunches, and trust.
OK, pau with trying to sound like Cataluna. “Da Mayah” was her first-ever play, concocted to fulfill a playwriting class assignment, and was first produced by Kumu Kahua in 1998 and originally directed by R. Kevin Garcia Doyle. He also directed this MVT revival; he either has little on his plate, but clearly, he adores loves the cadence of Cataluna’s ability to make everyone smart in the local lingo, and the reunion is wonderful.
The laughs are plentiful. The exaggerations are real. The actors must speak Cataluna-ese since the lines cascade out smoothly like Akala Falls.
The first person you see/meet is Jazzmin (Karen Kuioka Hironaga), who runs a washerette and a karaoke joint, and she’s quite savvy in recruiting audience members seeking their seats to sing. She repeats her quest to sign up more karaoke singer at intermission, and yep, Jazzmin is a jewel in what she has to do. She even lured director Doyle to sing “Sweet Caroline,” a natural choice, since everyone knows when to chime in,“whoa whoa whoa.”
The true star of the show is Sandralene (Elexis Draine), the mayor’s assistant who writes his speeches, monitors his calendar and simply is his right-hand-man who is not properly rewarded or recognized for all the damage control she’s done.
Kalani (Sharon Garcia Doyle) and Kanani (Juvy Lucina) provide hilarious moments and they surely help the show to roll along; they often push the pair of rotating stages, created by set designer Kevin Keaveney, to change the four performing spaces, including the mayor’s office and Jazzmin’s dual launderette and karaoke bar.
Dukie (Stu Hirayama) and Stanton (Matthew Miller) are the quirky gents in the play. Dukie is the cousin of Sandralene, she learns that Derek Pang, an unseen rival of the mayor, lands an undeserved spot in the administration. Further, the mayor wants him eradicated.
Enter, Stanton, the hit man who has emotional baggage and a long rap sheet, who is tasked to murder Derek; Stanton also harbors a thing for Sandra. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Further, there’s a sole tune, “So Ono for You” (words by Cataluna, music by Roslyn Catracchia), staged and sung late in the show.
On another note, it’s great that MVT has reinstated its playbill; now it’s a two-sheeter, folded to create eight pages, and guess what: the customary bios and mugshots of actors (sorry, techies, you are credited minus the bio-mugs) have been revived, presumably for the entire season. Been something I’ve advocated since the pandemic that it was the theater’s responsibility to provide brief notes and pics of the performers and even technicians, as a thank you for those on and off stage, and of course, the show patrons, too. Previously, the data was fully shared only online, not in the handbills provided at the performances, so applause, please, for the comeback. Thanks, Jeff Portnoy and the MVT board…
‘Hamilton’ tops chart, lone $3 million play
For the week ending Sept. 28, “Hamilton” is the lone member of the Broaday $3 million club.
The Top 10:
1–“Hamilton,” $3.773 million
2–“Wicked,” $2,003 milion
3–“ART,” $1.648 million
4–“Mamma Mia,” $1.645 million
5–“The Lion King,” $1.586 million
6–“Waiting for Godot,” $1.618 million
7–“Oh, Mary!,” $1.328 million
8–“Just in Time,” $1.309 million
9–“Death Becomes Her,” $1.295 million
10–“Maybe Happy Ending,” $1.169 million
The complete gross list, courtesy the Broadway League:
And that’s Show Biz…