Author: Wayne Harada

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MAY DAY, MAY DAY: VIRTUAL AND LIVE

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii, and on May 1, there are two celebrations – one virtual on TV, one live in a Waikiki club –worth considering.

The traditional mammoth Hawaiian party at the Waikiki Shell, is only a memory now; the Brothers Cazimero, who staged Lei Day annually for years, pulled the plug a number of seasons ago. Since then, Roland Cazimero died, and Robert Cazimero has tried to carry on some measure of the beloved celebration.

FIRST, THE VIRTUAL ONE:

Robert surfaces again this year, in a televised performance, at 6 p.m. May 1 on KGMB, then an hour later at 7 p.m. on KFVE, with a re-telecast at 8 p.m. May 3 again on KFVE. Facebook Live by Kahuli Leo Le’a will carry the program for worldwide viewing.

Kahuli Leo Le’a is producing the event, “Hawaiian Airlines May Day 2021: Makai’ika’I,” which will assemble Cazimero and his Halau Na Kamalei o Lililehua, along with Keauhou, Manu Boyd, the Ha’eha’e girls, Ka La ‘Onohi Mai o Ha’eha’e directed by Tracie and Keawe Lopes and Halau Mohala ‘Ilima directed by Mapuana de Silva. Billy V. emcees

The mission is to create a robust burst of Hawaiian culture amid the perimeters of your TV screen at home. The scent of freshly-strewn blossons of lei will be missing, unless you abide by the Cazimero mantra for years, “Make a Lei, Give a Lei, Wear a Lei.” Zachary Lum, a member of the group Keauhou, is the producer-executive director of the telecast show, and is staging the production “as Hawaii continues to welcome malihini back to the islands,” he said. “We are eager to utilize online platforms, bringing May Day to wider audiences and delivering an important message through this creative presentation.”

Hawaiian Airlines is the title sponsor of the e-show.

THE LIVE ONE:

As part of his residency at the Blue Note Hawaii club at the Waikiki Outrigger Hotel,Kuana Torres Kahele presents May Day with a plethora of hula and serenaders, creating a tapestry of culture which is part of his signature.Shows will be at 6 and 8:30 p.m. May 1 (doors open at 4:30 and 8 p.m.), with Kahele assembling three wahine kumu hula: Vicky Holt Takamine, Leimomi Ho and Leina’ala Pavoa Jardin, who will share their dancers and artistry, along with unnamed guest dancers.

Tickets: $35 premium, $25 loge and bar zone; call 777-4890 or visit www.bluenotehawaii.com

In addition, there will be designer pop up by designer Manaola.

Social distancing protocol will be observed. Also, Blue Note will offer meal options.

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ALL-DAY BREAKFAST AT ZIPPY’S

Yippee! I’m a breakfast person, morning, noon and night.So the news today that Zippy’s is offering breakfast fare around the clock is something to crow about. Cockadoodledoo!

Here’s the deal:

  • The Meatlovers Breakfast is $10.85. Corned beef hash, bacon, Portuguese sausage and Spam, plus eggs over rice.
  • The Korean Breakfast is $10.95. Korean chicken with a choice of one meat, plus eggs over fried rice.
  • The Bombucha, aka Deluxe Breakfast, is $8.80. Corned beef hash, Portuguese sausage and Spam with scrambled eggs over rice.The images tell the story. Visit www.zippys.com to order and get details.
  • PHOTOS: Top, meatlovers; below left, Korean; right, deluxe.
Meat lovers breakfast
Korean chicken breakfast
Deluxe or bombucha breakfast

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Are you much of a streamer?

Just asking…

Aside from long-established cable TV networks like HBO and Showtime, what of the more current stream services do you subscribe to?I’ve signed up for Disney+, which includes Netflix and Hulu, as well as Amazon Prime.Still on the fence about Apple T.So what are you linked to?

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REVIEW: BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL

BY WAYNE HARADA

“Brighter Days: Reflections and Hope,” the first virtual production from the I’m a Bright Kid Foundation, is a revealing and satisfying demonstration of the magic of theater and the power of inspiration.

 It streamed last night (April 18), originating from the Hawaii Theatre, and will be viewable online through June 18. I urge you check it; this was a major undertaking for IABK.

A select cast of former theater students and actors of the late Ronald E. Bright, along with a group of youngsters who never previously studied under the prolific and influential teacher and director, collectively made “Brighter Days” a beautiful homage to their mentor. His values resonate through the voices, the dancing, and ultimately the joyous smile of achievement, especially noticeable in the camerawork. You can’t fake pride, excellence and satisfaction with the dandy, telling closeups.

Ron Bright, aka Mr. B
Jade Bright

The show marks IABK’s debut in e-theater and celebrates the stage group’s fifth season in these pandemic times. The mission, certainly, is to salute and preserve the 50-year legacy of Mr. B, as he is respectfully addressed by his legions of students and college, then and now.

  • Michael Bright
  • Miguel Cadoy III

What he shared – believe in what you do, try your best, appreciate the community of theatrical peers – was reflected in the choice of numbers that embodied his mana’o and the pure glow of accomplishment in song after song after song.

  • Michael Cabagbag

 Several pre-recorded segments, including an impressive and mobile opening number by singers and dancers beginning in the Kaneohe environs where Bright produced and directed popular shows attracting sell-out houses, then proceeding to the sidewalks of the Hawaii Theatre in the Chinatown area downtown. (Too bad quick glimpses inside the Paliku Theatre, as well as the Ronald E. Bright Theatre nameplate at Castle High School, weren’t included; these were Bright’s arena of creating good times and great memories).

  • Kevin Pease
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With certainty, the live-from-the-stage sequences were spectacular, with stellar troupers reprising their solos from previous performances: Jade Stice (“Spark of Creation”), Miguel Cadoy III (“Lost in the Wilderness”), Kevin Pease  and Michael Cabagbag (“I’d Give It All to You”), Bailey Barnes (“Home”), Michael Bright and Chad Atkins (“The Hardest Part of Love”), and Jade Bright (“Ain’t It Good“). Hidden or obvious messages galore, but the essence and challenges for a good life, linked to hope, love and trust, are there if you li

Jade Stice

Others on centerstage: Susan Hawes, Vanessa Manuel-Mazzullo, Selah Fonda and Alyse Glaser, rendering reflective and updated performances from shows produced in IABK’s four previous seasons, including “The Wiz,” “Songs from a New World,” “Children of Eden,” “Seussical KIDS,” “Once on This Island” and “On Dragonfly Wings.” Younger kids who soloed include Drew Bright, Kaikou Kaimuloa and Austin Pangilinan.

  • Bailey Barnes

And yes, there were several of Bright ohana participants, live or on tape.

A pre-taped “Whistle a Happy Tune,” featuring Kathleen Stuart who played

Anna years ago in Bright’s “King and I” while a Castle High School student and more recently reprised in IABK’s first show, “Brighter Still,” was updated to include children involved in the latter cast. It’s a joy to witness a new breed of IABK evolving.

Devon Nekoba and Jodi Leong, IABK alumni, co-hosted the show. Another high-visibility local actor, Kimee Balmilero, hosts two pre-taped chat sessions with ex-Brighters, including Jordan Shanahan, Chris Bright and Cliffton Hall, shown below with Kimee, and Daniel Boland, Jacquelyn Holland-Wright, Matt Gifford-Tinker and John Bryan in a second e-chat. Talk about tear-jerking memories.

Mary Chesnut Hicks and Jade Stice co-directed, with Clarke Bright as musical director and Miguel Cadoy III as vocal director.

The show will continue to be streamed through June 18 via the IABK YouTube channel, with a suggested $5 donation per person, though other contribution levels are available, $100 for IABK legacy donations or $25 for ohana contributions. Larger sums, of course, are welcome. For details, go to www.imabrightkid.org/tickets

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Two islanders in Disney+ series

Two island actors, with roles in motion pictures, television and Broadway, will appear in separate Disney+ series in the weeks and months ahead.

Keala Settle, best known for her role as the Bearded Woman in Hugh Jackman’s “The Greatest Showman” flick in which she performed the Oscar-nominated “This Is Me” song, will have a recurring role in the just-released “Big Shot” series in which she will be playing Christina Winters, the mom of basketball player Destiny Winters, in the high school basketball  comedy starring John Stamos as coach Marvyn Korn. You may also know her for her Broadway appearances in “Waitress,” “Les Miserables,” and “Hands on the Hardbody,” and the most recent “Rent” revival on TV.

Keala Settle
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Anthony Ruivivar

Anthony Ruivivar, whose TV credits include “Third Watch,” is completing filming of a reboot of “Turner & Hooch,” in which he will perform as U.S. Marshall James Mendez. The series, starring Josh Peck as Stuart Turner, is completing production in Vancouver, B.C., will premiere July 16 and its 12 weekly episodes will air through Oct. 1.  You may recall Ruivivar from TV shows like “Blue Bloods,” “Hawaii Five-0” and “American Horror Story”   and films including “Starship Troopers,” “Tropic Thunder,” and “Race the Sun.”