Wayne Harada, Author at wayneharada.com

November 6, 2022November 7, 2022

MEET THE KALAPANA TRIBUTE BAND

Six musicians will join existing Kalapana members in a two-night tribute to the popular island band. The gig is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 8) and Nov. 9 at Blue Note Hawaii, at the Outrigger Waikiki resort. And it should be heavy with memories and hurrahs.

According to Gaylord Holomalia, who has diligently performed with the band over the past decades, as well as shepherding the act’s legacy, these musicians will join Holomalia and Kenji Sano:

Todd Yukumoto, saxophone.
Stacey Tangonan, drums.
John Valentine, acoustic guitar and vocals.
Alden Levi, acoustic guitar and vocals.
Jordan Kealoha Yamanaka, guest vocalists on two Mackey Feary hits.
Nate Brown, electric guitar.

Doors open at 5 p.m, for dinner and drink service. Tickets: $45 and $35. According to the Blue Note website, the first of the two shows is sold out.

Kalapana has been a beloved and prolific band for nearly 50 years. The journey has been a bumpy ride, however, with unexpected deaths impacting the fan base.

The key members who connected with fans here, on the Mainland, and in Japan, are all deceased: Mackey Feary, Malani Bilyeu and DJ Pratt. Their gift to their fans is the illuminating catalogue of music — including such hits as “Naturallly,” “The Hurt,” “You Make It Hard,” and “Night Bird” — which have provided a vital soundscape of growing up in Hawaii.

Professional musicians, like the ones sitting in with Holomalia (a keyboard who also is a wizard of engineering in the studio) and Sano (recruited from Japan), are all familiar with the Kalapana songbook since the pop island band emerged in the era of Cecilio and Kapono and left its imprint in their music. …

Theater notes

Two island theater groups have announced casts for its new shows.

Kumu Kahua’s revival of Jon Shirota’s “Lucky Come Hawaii,” will play Nov. 9 through Dec. 4 at Kumu Kahua.

The comedy, set in wartime Hawaii, examines a time when a precarious balance exists between American GIs, local Japanese, and West Maui Okinawans. When Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japanese, martial law was imposed in the islands, and the old world clashed with the new, with friction galore, until love and acceptance calmed the world.

The cast features Denise-Aiko Chinen (Tsuyu Gusuda), Andrew Chow (Tengan), Brandon Hagio (Kenyei Shiroma), Stu Hirayama (Kama Gusuda), Kirk Lapilio Jr. (Bob Weaver), Devon Nekoba (Ikehara-San, Understudy: Kama Gusuda, Narrator and Ishi), Marcus R. Oshiro (Narrator, Ishi), Thomalin Sirivattha (Kimiko Gusuda), Noah Kai Nalu Schuetz (Howard Specks), Cori Matsuoka (Understudy: Tsuyu Gusuda and Kimiko Gusuda).

Tickets: $24 to $45. Call: (808) 536-4441 or visit kumukahua.org

Manoa Valley Theatre’s “The Game’s Afoot,” a comedy by Ken Ludwig, will run Nov. 17 to Dec. 4. It is a hilarious mix of murder and mystery, with lots of mayhem, so the show is properly subtitled “Holmes for the Holidays.” It’s set in Connecticut on Christmas Eve, as acclaimed 1930s actor William Gillette invites his Sherlock Holmes co-stars to his eccentric mansion but one of his guests is murdered..

The cast features Mathias Maas as William Gillette, Betty Bolton as Martha Gillette, Adrian Khactu as Felix Geisel, Therese Olival as Madge Geisel, Noah Bilinski as Simon Bright, Rachel League as Aggie Wheeler, Ashley Litz as Inspector Goring, Courtney Booth as Daria Chase, Alexandria Holloway as Radio Broadcaster.

Tickets: $24 to $44. Call (808) 988-6131 or visit www.manoavalleytheatre.com …

Broadway grosses, for week ending Oct. 30

Not surprisingly, the top banana on Broadway continues to be “The Music Man,” which grosses $2.716 million.

Close, but no banana: “Hamilton,” with $1.947million, and “MJ,” with $1.810 million.

The compilation, courtesy the Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz. …

November 5, 2022November 5, 2022

LIFE LESSONS FROM ‘WORDSWORTH’

HILO –‘Wordsworth, the Musical,” a musical fantasy about a poet mouse, is an unlikely resource that tackles life issues such as Alzheimer’s and caregiving, based on poet Frances H. Kakugawa’s two books popular among school children and family audiences faced with dilemmas and seeking comfort and support to turn frowns upside down.

The show made its world premiere last night (Nov. 4) at the Performing Arts Center at the University of Hawaii Hilo campus, after a three-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A core of devoted Big Island collaborators created the show, from previous experiences with Kakugawa, an award-winning poet who also has been an established speaker on AlzheimHer’s and caregiving, founded on her personal experiences of caring for her aging, ill mother.

Kakugawa is a former Kapoho native, who lived in Honolulu while working as an educator and poet. She currently resides in Sacramento.

The musical, playing again at 7 p.m. today (Nov. 5) and 2 p.m. tomorrow (Nov. 6), is a testament to Kakugawa’s work as a writer and a practicing caregiver.

The play focuses on the titular character, a poetry-writing mouse named Wordsworth, and his ‘ohana, living in a rainforest in Hilo. Portrayed by Kamau Beaudet (as the mouse poet, with mouse ears) who is taunted by his peers because of his devotion to writing poems. When darkness and fears evolve, folks start listening to Wordsworth bring back the sun and the fun of life, and embrace poetry as a panacea of things hurtful and haunting.

Jackie Pualani Johnson as Grandma, Kamau Beaudot as Wordsworth

Jackie Pualani Johnson, who wrote the script and portrays Grandma – who becomes forgetful because of approaching Alzheimer’s in the story — demonstrates that her failing memory affects everyone in the circle of life. Kids and neighbors ponder, about Tutu not remembering their names; and ultimately, the words and rhymes of Wordsworth are a rare gift, instrumental in recovery.

Wordsworth’s waltz number with Johnson is a high point, and kids will enjoy seeing him on surfboard with rocker-like “wheels” to mimic riding the waves. Another brief, but fetching moment, involves Jon Sakurai-Horita as Old Mouse, and Mia McGrath as Emily is a standout in the large cast.

The show, directed by Justina Mattos, runs a terse 50 minutes, so is an easy pill to swallow with numerous babes in arms and toddlers in attendance. Scenic designer Ariana Bassett’s vivid colors in the primary set of forest greenery is appealing, and this rainforest boasts rain that resembles bright pearls, a recurring image of rainbows, plus a swarm of butterflies who contribute a variety of dances with impressive Monarch buttery wings while dancing ballet, waltz and modern numbers choreographed with flair by Kea Kapahua.

While not the custom in any rainforest, this one also includes a wing-ding of a circus crew, again in brightly-hued attire (by Lee Barnett Dombroski) reflecting roles of acrobats, clowns and frou-frou dancers.

Wendell Ing’s music taps several forms, including a do-woppish tune, and his lyrics are faithful to Wordsworth’s inspirational views. And there’s everything from a chant to rap, from hula to waltz.

There is one curiosity in Wordsworth’s delivery of lines – in the third person – which could easily be reimagined to make his words more meaningful and effective.
The opening night house had a jolt of sorts, when an errant warning with flashing lights informed spectators to rise and exit the theater, nullified by a voice that this was one of a recurring false alarms.

Tickets: $20 general, $15 UHH students with valid IDs, $7 children 17 and under.

Tickets: $20 general, $7 UHH students with valid IDs, children 17 and under.

And that’s Show Biz, ,,,

October 30, 2022October 31, 2022

‘MUSIC OF THE NIGHT’ & MORE

“The Three Phantoms,” in a two-day visitation at the Hawaii Theatre, is more than three dudes uniting in songs for fellowship and fun.

The show, organized by Broadway vet Craig Schulman, opened last night (Oct. 29) and repeats at 2 p.m. today (Oct. 30).

Schulman, beloved in Hawaii for his two-visit performance as Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables” back in the day, clearly is the centerpiece of the revue though his colleagues Gary Mauer and Keith Buterbaugh. are singularly impressive. Together – in solos, duets and trios – The Three Phantoms (yep, they all have headlined as the masked marvel in their careers) put on a panorama of Great White Way tunes you know or have forgotten.

Over a splendid two-hour retrospective of tunes from Broadway musicals performed by gents, the trio shared 18 songs, in an appealing stroll down memory lane that revived tunes rarely sung today. Schulman, Mauer and Buterbaugh are tenors, able to reach the upper-register notes, but Buterbaugh also has depth as a baritone. And these voices emphatically show that each actor is a leading player in the theatrical spectrum.

I loved the segments that featured awesome overtures/instrumentals, no vocals, including “Oklahoma,” rendered by a tireless and expressive six-member local orchestra featuring John Kolivas, bass; Abe Lagrimas Jr., drums; Todd Yukumoto, sax; Rick Broadwell, trumpet; and Monica Chung, synthesizer.

The show’s pianist-conductor Dan Riddle shaped a rhapsodic and awesome “Phantom” montage leading towards a trio delivery of “Music of the Night,” the highly anticipated ballad with shadings expected from a gang who’s been there, done that. This finale had comedic preludes as the guys feigned singing the tune solo during several false starts that were part of the scheme.

So what, among the numbers, were stunning?

Certainly, Schulman’s iconic signature, “Bring Him Home,” from “Les Miz,” rich with emotional wallop, bringing down the house. He is the actor who has played Valjean in 2,500 performances, the most ever by anyone, so yes, he “owns” the tune. A close second among his conquests: “This Is the Moment,” from “Jekyll and Hyde,” with its requisite roller-coaster vocal dynamics. Boy, his pipes are still sizzling-hot

Certainly, Mauer’s “Gethsemane” from “Jesus Christ Superstar,” embodied the intensity of the Jesus he played on stage.

Certainly, Buterbaugh is expressive medley from “Sweeney Todd,” a show he’s conquered earlier.

The threesome got good mileage from “They Call the Wind Maria,” from “Paint Your Wagon,” one of the rarely-heard-these-days treats.

Perhaps the “Brotherhood of Man,” from “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” underscored the mantra of The Three Phantoms; rapport comes from togetherness, bonding minds, hearts, and spirits. Consequently, “Standing on the Corner,” also a trio entry from “The Most Happy Fella,” reflected a similar sentiment.

The show’s format was logical: background show title templates were flashed, providing clues on what’s coming. And the tunes from each show must’ve required some curating; like, “Damn Yankees,” one of two encore ditties, focused on “You Gotta Have Heart,” a baseball-oriented tune that spills over into everyday life. Heart and hope matter.

The second encore, “White Sandy Beach of Hawaii,” was joyous surprise and the local-song-choice endeared the audience. The Three Phantoms know how to anchor a show!

Access to the Hawaii Theatre was difficult because downtown crowds gathered by the hundreds for a pre-Halloween street party, which blocked sidewalks and made access to parking garages a challenge. Folks attending today’s final matinee shouldn’t have barriers and blockage; the tricks were outside last night, but treats awaited inside…

And that’s Show Biz. …

October 28, 2022October 28, 2022

REMEMBER PAPIER-MACHE LANTERNS?

Remember when jack-o-lanterns were made from papier-mâché?

You could put a candle inside, so the glow made its eyes and mouth bright.

If you added a flame, you probably needed a stick attached to the lantern’s wire or cord to avoid getting burned.

No, it wasn’t safe.

Some kids used these unlighted pumpkins to collect their treats. Back in the day, you didn’t go for the huge haul to fill shopping bags.

You still can get these papier-mâché creations online; vintage ones can cost anywhere from $50 to $400. It would be a collectible item, if its origins date back, say, five decades.

But most kids nowadays don’t carry a jack-o-lantern, which are largely fashioned from plastic, and require a battery-supported “candle” for the glow.

So the question is, are jack-o-lanterns necessary anymore?

If you have a memory of the lanterns from yesteryear, share your thoughts here.

October 26, 2022October 27, 2022

DELIMA PARODIES PAIN OF OLDSTERS

Comedian Frank DeLima, a somewhat regular parody singer-composer, has been silent in recent months but broke the silence a few days back to share and release a pain-centric tune entitled “76 Hormones,” based on “76 Trombones” from “The Music Man.”

The achy lyrics, of course, reflect what is true in senior hood. When you age, you tend to hurt a lot in areas you never imagined. DeLima’s delivery is swift and precise, belying his personal bouts with pain. Of course, the song and the musical are performed nightly when Hugh Jackman stars and sings it on Broadway.

DeLima shared the Meredith Willson tune with me, and I posted it on my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wayne.harada.5 (The program I use to create this column does not allow video).

But you can download it, at www.frankdelima.com, by making a modest donation to his ongoing Student Enrichment Program, in which he provides valuable life lessons for students in public and private schools statewide.

He’s now trying to get the parody stored in his mind, to premiere a live performance at his Blue Note Hawaii brunch show Dec. 11 at the club within the Outrigger Waikiki resort.

“I kinda know it, because it was done a while back, but I need to memorize it again,” said DeLima. When he performs a parody for video release, he usually has the lyrics displayed on a iPad or computer for reference, just so you know his process.

On this one, he collaborated with David “Kawika” Talisman, a sometimes lyricist for parody numbers in DeLima’s shows, who suggested DeLima do this parody. He’s now an active private investigator, though once was a singer and composer in his earlier life on the mainland, but his fingerprints are obvious on “76 Hormones.”

Speaking of seniors, DeLima will emcee the Lanakila Senior Center Thanksgiving Celebration from 9 to 11 a.m. Nov. 16 at the Senior Center. There will be pre-show entertainment from 8 to 9 a.m, featuring Victor’s Kapakahi Group and the Happy Senior Serenaders.

Meanwhile, DeLima will have a mini-performance slot at this year’s Made in Hawaii show, at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at the third floor parking lot above Longs at Ala Moana Center.

Silk Sonic will skip the Grammys

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, the duo comprising Silk Sonic, won’t be participating in the upcoming Grammy Awards. And they won’t submit their hit album, “An Evening With Silk Sonic,” for awards consideration, set for Feb. 5, 2023 in Los Angeles.
Huh?

Mars recently said in a statement he and .Paak will dodge the Grammys.

Not that they aren’t proud of their album.

“We truly put our all on this record, but Silk Sonic would like to gracefully, humbly, and most importantly, sexually, bow out of submitting our album this year,” said Mars, “We hope we can celebrate with everyone on a great year of music and partake in the party. Thank you for letting Silk Sonic thrive.”

Earlier this year, Silk Sonic earned Grammy kudos for the first single, “Leave the Door Open,” which earned Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song.” The album came later so would have been a prime contender for honors in 2023, but by not submitting the album, it’ll give other acts a chance in the spotlight. …

However, Silk Sonic appears to be an Album of the Year nominee at the Soul Train awards next month in Las Vegas. No word (yet) of a pull-out. …

Not one, but Three Phantoms

Just a reminder that “The Three Phantoms” descend upon the Hawaii Theatre stage this week, with shows at 7 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 29) and 2 p.m. Oct. 30 (Saturday). And because it’s Halloween weekend, with folks expected to be donning boo-tiful costumes, the Hawaii Theatre is enabling and welcoming costumed patrons to the shows, too.

Of course, the chief phantom will be Craig Schulman, who has appeared here as Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables” but has played the masked fella elsewhere, with two other phantoms aboard: Keith Buterbaugh and Gary Mauer.

The show will feature the trio in the rich library of gents-sung tunes in a range of Broadway hits, so you’ll likely recognize all the music of the night, some without masks…

And nice supportive gesture for Manoa Valley Theatre to remind its patrons that Schulman will be in town for his own show, but previously did a Manoa Marquee fundraiser for MVT. …

Broadway grosses, week ending Oct. 23

It was back to normal, sort of, with “The Music Man” rising up to $3.023 million, for No. 1.

Of course, “Hamilton” continues to be hot, with $2.041 million. And “MJ the Musical” followed at No. 3, with $1.746 million.

With Lea Michele now playing Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl,” that musical had a $1.723 million gross, its best since the show opened, good for No. 4.

“The Lion King,” still dependable, logged a $1.714 million gross, landing at No. 5.

The findings, courtesy The Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz. …