Darian Keanu Ruiz Aquino will portray the title character in “Dear Evan Hansen,” which opens March 7 in its Hawaii premiere at Manoa Valley Theatre.
The Broadway musical, with tunes and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (with book by Steven Levenson), will be directed by Rob Duval. It will run through March 24, and a holdover is likely.
Ben Platt originated the Evan Hansen role in 2016 and topped the cast for four years thus becoming a bona fide Broadway luminary, earning him a Tony Award for Best Actor and enabling him to move into films, television, the recording industry and since has starred in other plays on the Great White Way.
“Dear Evan Hansen” was nominated for nine Tony Awards and won six trophies, for Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Orchestration, Best Actor and Best Featured Actress (Rachel Bay Jones).
The show explores such life issues as bullying (Evan has social anxieties and depression), and suicide (Connor Murphy, a high school classmate of Evan who feels like a social outcast lacking friends, who takes his own life). Social media also triggers cynicism and fake emails, creating tension challenging trust.
Platt also starred in the film version in a 2021 film version, but the venture was sidelined due to a backlash of criticism that Platt, by then, was too old to play a high school student.
Aquino (pictured) may be remembered for his role in “Be More Chill,” another youth-oriented show at MVT. “Evan Hansen” castmates include Vanessa Manuel-Mazzullo (Heidi Hansen), Ayzhia Tadeo (Zoe Murphy), Presley Wheeler (Connor Murphy), Shane Nishimura (Jared Kleinman) David Weaver (Larry Murphy), Susan Hawes (Cynthia Murphy), and Jenelle Wong (Alana Black). The ensemble includes Pono Lundell, Alana Clayson, David Hurley and Jasmine Haley Anderson).
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and at 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
There’s a new king on Broadway – and he’s a demon and a murderer. For the first time, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” has joined the $2 million club, toppling the reign of “The Lion King.” The Top 10 grosses, for the week ending Jan. 14: 1—”Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” $2.111 million. 2– “The Lion King,” $1,918 million. 3 – “Hamilton,” $1,901 million. 4 – “Merrily We Roll Along,” $1,834 million. 5— “Wicked,” $1,757 million. 6 –” MJ The Musical,” $1,401 million. 7—”Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $1,387 million. 8 – “Back To The Future: The Musical,” $1.218 milion. 9 – “Gutenberg! The Musical!,” $1,208 million. 10—“Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” $1,171 million. The full list, courtesy the Broadway League:
Jo Pruden, often regarded as “The First Lady of Hawaii Theater” for her astonishing and admirable stage performances here, died Jan. 10 at her Mililani home following a long illness. She was 84.
She suffered a stroke in 2021 but was well enough to perform – alongside her husband Jip Pruden — in “Love Letters” in December 2023, at the Brad Powell Theatre at The Actors Group in Iwilei.
It was to be her final appearance in a string of more than 100 shows in a brilliant career spanning 55 years of stagecraft magic.
Jo and husband Jip arrived in Hawaii in October, 1967 and by February, 1968, she was playing the lead in “Send Me No Flowers” at the Little Theatre at Schofield Barracks, a humble beginning of greatness to come.
“I have only praise for Jo’s consummate talent as an actor as many would agree,” said Vanita Rae Smith, a prominent director-producer here and a theatrical colleague of Jo for more than five decades. “She was always in tune with the heart and soul of each character.
“Together, we’ve done over a hundred events, stage productions. Readers Theatre and 30 Schofield Barracks 4th of July Spectacular.
“We performed in Germany, Belgium, Sacramento, CA and Charlotte, NC. We worked together each day for 13 years at Richardson Theatre (at Fort Shafter) where she managed my Army Community Theatre box office. I celebrate my best friends and ohana, Jo and Jip Pruden for 55 wonderful years.”
Indeed, Jo had a wonderful life, sharing her skills in her beloved theatrical life. Her credits and accomplishments were bountiful, beautiful and broad:
She amassed 18 Po’okela Awards, for perfomance excellence, from the Hawaii State Theatre Council.
She was honored in 2007 with HSTC’s Pierre Bowman Lifetime Achievement Award, which spawned a memorable acceptance quote she borrowed a line from “Love Letters,” “If acting is your passion don’t you dare stop doing it for the rest of your life.”
She was a notable isle talent on filmed-in-Hawaii CBS network television, logging 10 performances on “Hawaii Five-O” and five on “Magnum P.I.,” original versions shot here.
She inhabited 48 Readers Theatre shows at Army Community Theatre, and after the ACT terminated stage events, joined numerous readings at the Pohai Nani retirement residence in Kaneohe, then four more plays at TAG when the series relocated town side of the Koolaus.
She did a tour of U.S. Army installations, doing shows in Germany and Belgium.
She worked for TV Guide here, but retired to manage the ACT box office, where Smith was manager and producer who oversaw a range of entertainment events .With her alliance with the Army theater and a compadre of Smith, Jo also had another gig — narrating 25 ceremonies of the Army’s annual 4th of July hoopla for 25 years at Schofield.
Jip and Jo Pruden, at her 2023 birthday dinner.
Shari Lynn Acebedo, longtime friend, recalled Jo’s first trip to New York City with her in 2010, with subsequent treks in 2013, 2015 and 2017. “Brad Powell and Brother Gary were there at the same time,” Shari recalled about the first trip, “and we were able to share some great times. “She hadn’t been to NYC until I suggested that we go. Here eyes were as big as saucers as we strolled down Broadway. Unbridled happiness! We loved to shop, see shows and eat. “
Jo was born and raised in Enterprise, Alabama, and her hometown name possibly inspired her enterprising acting career. She majored in Theater Arts at the University of Montevllo.
Jo’s tenure as a queen of drama embraced a swirl of community endeavors, at theaters large and small, on stages such as Army Community Theatre, Manoa Valley Theatre and its predecessor, Hawaii Performing Arts Company; Diamond Head Theatre, and its predecessor, Honolulu Community Theatre; Kennedy Theatre, at the University of Hawaii, Windward Theatre Guild, Hawaii Theatre, Hawaii Pacific University Theatre, The Actors Group, Starving Artists Theater Company, Oumansky Magic Ring Theatre, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village; and several more.
A short list of her formidable credits include “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf,” “Agnes of God,” “Picnic,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Wolf,” “King Lear,” “The Trip to Bountiful,” “Doubt,” “August: Osage Country,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The American Dream,” “Nine,” “The Cripple of Inishmaan,” “Music Man,” and “Mame.”Besides her husband of 56 years, Jo is survived by a sister, Jayne Pleasants, of Clayton, Georgia.
There will be no funeral service, but a celebration of life event is being planned for the afternoon of Feb. 18, specifics not yet known, at Manoa Valley Theatre….
Personalities
Iam Tongi, Hawaii’s first “American Idol” winner, is on the ballot for a People’s Choice Award.
He is vying, along with TV competition candidates, several from “RuPaul’s Drag Show,” plus candidates from “Dancing With the Stars,” “The Bachelorettes,” “The Golden Bachelor” and “That’s My Jam.”
Winners will be revealed on an NBC special, at 8 p.m. ET Feb. 18…
Vocalist Shari Lynn and keyboarder Jim Howard return to the Paradise Lounge of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, from 7 to 10 p.m. Jan. 13 and Jan. 27, part of her twice-a-month arrangement with the jazz club…
Broadway grosses, week ending jan. 7
All hail the king. Disney’s “The Lion King” roared to the top of the Broadway list, one of only two other shows on the elite $2 Million club.
The week’s Top 10 shows:
1 – “The Lion King,” $2,444 million.
2—“ Wicked,” “2,124 million.
3 – “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” $2,037 million.
4 – “ Hamilton,” $1,968 million.
5 – “Merrily We Roll Along,” $1,785 million.
6 – “ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” 1,708 million.
7 – “ Aladdin,” $1,617 million.
8 – “MJ The Musical,”$1,569 million.”
9 – “Back To The Future: The Musical,”$1,374 million.
Welcome to The Waynies, this column’s New Year’s Day flashbacks/future-gazing tradition to applaud achievers in the just-pau year and likely newsmakers in 2024.
The format has been tweaked over time – we no longer categorize the best in a variety of fields – so we now acknowledge newsmakers who gained attention in 2023 and likely will continue the traction of celebrity in the months ahead.
Thus, these are 10 who made, or are making, a difference.
1 — Ezekiel Kekuna, Young Simba in Disney’s “The Lion King” on Broadway, is Hawaii’s youngest star of the moment, in the midst of a six-month run at the Minskoff Theatre. The Kaneohe lad, who can sing, dance and act, clearly was a great choice for Disney’s Tony-winning hit on the Great White Way. “King” grossed more than $3 million over the Christmas weekend, and likely will be a three-peat New Year’s weekend, as it did Thanksgiving weekend. Holidays are great for this No. 1 family attract. His mom, Sarahlea Gamiao Kekuna, is with him (minors require a parent or guardian in attendance). And not surprisingly, Hawaii fans, friends and strangers who want to applaud this kid’s success have been taking in the show. For that reason, we’re listing Zeke’s January performance dates (he’s alternating the limelight with Albert Rhodes Jr.) so you can secure performance when he’s in action…
2 — Iam Tongi, first “American Idol” winner from Hawaii, staged a Blaisdell Arena concert Dec. 9 and two dates at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, but to take advantage of his “Idol” triumph, he needs several elements: a Mainland tour, an album to support the gigs, and a No. 1 hit record. Also vital: Kokua in establishing an act to hone in on Tongi’s craft and heritage. No denying, he has that sweet voice, the ability to charm and win fans. He has embarked on a tour, but the impact is still uncertain. Will the weeks and months ahead provide clues of his destiny?…
3–Jason Momoa, filmdom’s “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” had the No. 1 film this past Christmas. He was home prior to the holidays, to promote his water brand, Mananalu, the resealable and recyclable aluminum bottle that fans likely will keep for personal use, since its design includes an Aquaman-approved trident image. Momoa also boasts a wine, Dirtbag, via Nocking Point, a spicy Bourdeaux-style red. Momoa’s “Chief of Hawaii” film, about the indigenous people of Hawaii, is his first film he wrote for television (he also stars in it) and it will be among the Apple+ screenings this year. It might be a controversial film, with the Hawaiian community ready to determine if it’s a yea or a nay…
4 –Henry Kapono, male singer, show producer, jack-of-all-trades here. He writes music, produces recordings, performs at Blue Note Hawaii in Waikiki, and embarks on short-term tours on the mainland, while anchoring his godsend gig, Sundays at Duke’s on the beach at Waikiki.
He’s become a brand that’s hard to beat. And Hawaii remains his anchor, happily. “Home in the Islands” is his mantra, after all…
5 –Amy Hanaiali‘i, female singer, has been sharing her music across the island chain but also beyond the reef, including treks to Europe, last year. She also has her own brand of wine. And is president of the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts, which produces the annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards. A well-rounded profile, for sure.
6 –Trevor Tamashiro, executive director of Diamond Head Theatre, is skippering Hawaii’s oldest theater group on its next important journey – greatness and proficiency, now that there’s a new facility on the slopes of Diamond Head. Fundraising continues since the theater wants to expand its facilities where the former theater stood…
7 — Kevin Iwamoto, who did what Taylor Swift has done, buying, and securing rights to his recorded music, but on a less than grander scale like Swift. He, like she, re-recorded some of his catalogue (she did it all). His ’70s music has evolved as a modest but remarkable staple for new global listeners, thereby charting his tunes with a brand-new life last year and continues to flourish this year…
8 — Roy Yamaguchi, whose signature Roy’s Restaurant in Hawaii Kai marked its 35th anniversary in 2023, clearly is a success story continuing to break new ground. Roy’s has enjoyed one of the longest runs in the islands (he has franchises on the mainland and a few abroad). The new year will herald a new role for Yamaguchi – he will head the culinary program at the Kapiolani Community College at Diamond Head, where students already have succeeded in opening and operating a restaurant that helps shape future kitchen magic…
9 – Cha Thompson, retired Tihati Productions co-founder, last year embarked on a new venture, helping Farrington High School students open “Cha’s Closet,” a venture that enables students to buy gently used (and some brand new donations), at thrift store prices: $1 for tee shirts, blouses, trousers, and formal wear from $5. Cha, the self-proclaimed Queen of Kalihi, is a graduate of Farrington, and always eager to kokua that community. Donations are welcome to keep the shelves full…
10 — Stephen Tsai, veteran sportswriter (formerly at the Honolulu Advertiser, currently at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser), is a career devotee of sports reporting. His blanket coverage of University of Hawaii football is unbeatable, but he can cover ‘em all. OK, Tsai is not part of the entertainment realm, but if you envision football as entertainment, he fits the bill here. Tsai was a colleague at the paper, before I retired, and I’m saluting him now, as one of the luminaries of print journalism, because he’s planning to retire in 2024 to begin collecting Social Security. Like his buddy, Ferd Lewis, who exited and retired to escape the frustrations of the diminishing newsroom, Tsai’s retirement will leave a huge gap. He’s served us readers well, and he deserves to enjoy the green pastures of senior hood. Alas, it will be the end of an era…
Hawaii actor Marc delaCruz was performing as Alexander Hamilton in the Broadway hit, “Hamilton,” nearly two weeks ago. But he only did Act 1 – with reason.
It’s the leading role, originated by the author, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and delaCruz had been understudying the part and even played the role a few times since he joined the company more than four years ago at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway.
On Dec. 19, however, after completing Act 1 as Hamilton, delaCruz became an unsung hero. Cast member Kyle Scatliffe, normally enacting the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, became ill midway in the show and had to exit the production by Act 2.
Enter, delaCruz. Because he had also understudied Lafayette and Jefferson, plus King George, he was the go-to-guy that evening, winding up playing three different lead roles, saving the day since he was the only one able to take over the dual roles assigned to Scatliffe.
Standbys don’t often have such short notice to live up to the show biz adage, “the show must go on.” Turns out that another ensemble performer, Alexander Ferguson, was the only available actor ready to step into the shoes of Hamilton, normally portrayed by Miguel Cervantes, who was off that evening. And Adam Ali Perez had to cover Ferguson’s ensemble slots.
Such is the dynamics of standbys and swings, who learn different roles just in case of these unexpected switcheroos. It’s not common for such abrupt changes, between acts, but it happens. I experienced similar change of actors this past summer, when the leading actress in “Some Like It Hot,” apparently took ill by intermission, and her standby answered the call. An announcement was made prior to the start of Act 2 that a sub was filling in for the leading lady to complete the show.
DelaCruz earlier made history when he was the first Pinoy from the Big Island to play the “Hamilton” lead as a standby in the original Broadway company.
Another island actor, Joseph Morales, has been the only other Hawaii actor doing the titular role, first as an understudy in the Chicago company, then as a touring Hamilton crisscrossing the nation.
BroadwayWorld spoke with delaCruz about the nature and impromptu inner-workings of being a standby on Broadway.
DelaCruz usually receives adequate notice if he’d have to take on a role other than the ones he portrays. So, he checks his email and phone but, in the past, commonly with a half-hour notice to prep for a fill-in.
“The most challenging part is not always knowing when you’ll be on, but still needing to be ready,” said delaCruz. “Sometimes we know in advance if the onstage actor has a personal day or vacation scheduled, but most of the time we don’t know we’re on until the day of the show. I’ve gone on with less than half hour notice and jumped in mid show a few times.” He monitors his cell phone and wakes up daily, wondering “Will I be going on this intense emotional journey today?”
A standby has to stay active, exercise and vocally warm up and sing every day. “I review music on a regular basis and stay up to date with notes given from the show, ” he said, and he must report to work daily, whether he’ll be on or not. “Swings can watch the show and keep up with what’s going on onstage, or I’ll watch parts of the show from the house.”
He has admiration for his fellow cast members and appreciates the opportunities he’s had to learn the intricacies and complexities of the show.
“This job has stretched me further as a performer than I ever thought I could go,” he said.
“Hamilton” has multiple swings and standbys who are ready to roll when needed, so “any one of these covers would have done what happened (on Dec. 19) beautifully. “I just happened to be the one in the hot seat that night,” said delaCruz…
All about Eve
In years or decades past, Waikiki would have had scores of New Year’s Eve attractions, large or small.
This year, the countdown shows are few.
Kimie Miner (pictured) headlines a show 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night (Dec. 31), at the Hilton Hawaiian Village lawn. Mana Music Strings provide the accompaniment.
The Green headlines two performances at 8 and 11 p.m. tomorrow night (Dec. 31)at Blue Note Hawaii, at the Outrigger Waikiki resort. The group also performed last night (Dec. 29) and will be onstage again at 6:30 and 9 p.m. today (Dec. 30). The gig is mostly sold out, so check with Blue Note for availability of loge and bar area seating. …
It was a luncheon I’ll never forget. My wife Vi and I hosted Glenn Medeiros and Frank DeLima for a holiday lunch – and gabfest – a few days ago, since neither had seen the other in a coon’s age.
We love these two guys, and their pleasantries on and off stage, so we assembled at Gyotaku Niu Valley, for informal Japanese food.
Oh. What. Fun.
You do recall that Medeiros and DeLima worked together in Waikiki, at the Polynesian Palace, now long gone. Medeiros was a hot crooner with a national hit recording, and DeLima a presiding hottie himself, as the Prince of Portuguese comedy.
Glenn Medeiros and Frank DeLima: Brotherly bond.
Updates and factoids:
Current status: GM, president of Saint Louis School; FDL, on hiatus from his stand-up comedy and school tours of motivational talks via his student enrichment program.
Things I didn’t know: GM still hosts and sings at the Hale Koa’s luau shows four nights a week; FDL recently did a show for local clergy at the Hawaii Prince Hotel, appearing as his fictional Catholic character, Cardinal Vermicelli.
Claim to fame: GM, appeared on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show,” singing his national hit tune, “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You” on national television; FDL, a gig at The Noodle Shop triggered a recording/nightclub career that included hits like “Lucille” and “Waimea Lullaby.”
Little known fact: GM, besides his SL leadership, he’s teaching grad school courses for Chaminade University; FDL, has a dilemma, since his opu has grown, widening his girth so the Velcro on his sash/belt for his Pope’s outfit needs to be updated.
They share a bond of brotherhood: GM and FDL share a bond for life; they roar at each other’s jokes; the former recalls specific show moments (“if you make a mistake in a show, and the audience loves it, keep it in”) and FDL is like an older bro. And they are undeniably committed to Catholicism and education; FDL was a seminary student but opted to serve his mission in life as a comedian in his school of hearty laughter…
Restaurant tidbits
It’s again an open and shut restaurant climate in Hawaii Kai. At the Koko Marina Center, Heavenly is a newbie, next door to the earlier reopened Assaggio. And Fat Boy’s also has reopened its door after renovation.
But down the Kalanianaole Highway corridor, Scratch apparently can’t fight the low tide traffic, and will shut down at the end of the year, at the former Outback locale…
Secret’s out
Robert Cazimero’s two Christmas concerts at the Leeward Community College Theatre featured a dancing dinosaur during the “Me and My Teddy Bear” sequence.
The kumu hula declined to reveal the identity of his halau member doing the frolicking dance moments, so we’ll tell you now, as an aftermath of the secret.
It was Kaipo Dudoit (pictured), son of Horace and Nani Dudoit, who also played the violin in the yule show.
Dudoit indeed is versatile – he sings, too, as all halau members do, too – but he’s also an actor, now awaiting a January production reboot, playing surfer dude David Kawena, in Disney’s live-action “Lilo and Stitch,” which had been halted due to the SAG-AFTRA strike earlier this year and since resolved…
