Methinks not. Let’s face it: Disney’s classic animated feature, treasured by old and young alike, suffices. It’s the beloved version everyone adores and knows. Older generations, for sure, and the current younger folks.
Yet there’s a new 2022 version, a peculiar mashup with live actors and animated figures, with Tom Hanks, of all people, as Geppetto, the elderly clockmaker of tick-tocking clocks. He is sad and lonely in his cottage after the loss of his son.
So he pursues a project – a wooden son?
The revival begins with good intentions and motives, and even includes — why not? – the cartoon film’s anthem, “When You Wish Upon a Star,” the signature of the Disney franchise and theme parks. But why not? Familiarity sells.
“Pinocchio,” directed by Robert Zemeckis, betrays the concept and intentions of the tale of a clockmaker creating, and giving life (without the strings), to a wooden a puppet doll. This Pinocchio goes to school, where he is bullied and maligned, and even goes to a theme park (not a Disney complex), where he becomes emotionally bruised. Reason: he has no conscience and is poised to be someone who seeks to be famous, a journey that thrusts him into a Pleasure Island of threatening horrors.
Tom Hanks, as Geppetto, who creates a wooden puppet boy, in the newest “Pinocchio.”
The bottom line: Pinocchio wants to be real and in fairy tales, that’s a logical wish. Your nose shouldn’t get long if you have this wish; it’s an acceptable goal, after all. As for Hanks, bewigged and bewildered, he visually fills the bill. But the story is the problem.
The script, by director Zemeckis and co-writer Chris Weitz, is quite a mess with a mission gone astray. It should be family-friendly, but it is often frightening; it should be terrific, but it is terrifying in spots. Not a version or vision for the very young,
Cynthia Erivo
Jiminy Cricket is aboard, in animation, and voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, voiced Pinocchio. Cynthia Erivo, appearing as the Blue Fairy, renders the famous “Wish” ditty in live action, so this is a fantasy within a fantasy, and her version is stunning—she has the wand that will make the wooden boy/toy “real.” Her presence is a good intro/promo when she co-stars in the planned film version of “Wicked.”
But be warned: Whether you like or dislike revivals, be informed that Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion version of “Pinocchio,” will debut Oct. 15 at the BFI London Film Festival, then destined to have a theatrical premiere in November, followed by a Netflix kickoff Dec. 9. Online previews suggest a dark, perhaps grotesque, rendering is ahead.
If ever there was an evergreen musical with just about everything, it just might be Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes,” now playing through Sept. 25 at Diamond Head Theatre.
Consider:
Tap dancing , Act 1: You could leave at intermission, when the title tune gets a spirited boost, as energetic tappers click their shoes and sing and dance their hearts out, as if this was the finale. You’d get your money’s worth and feel fulfilled.
Tap-dancing, Act 2: The closing tapper, which brings down the curtain, also is rich with voices and shoes tapping, and yep, might trigger your animated trek to your car. Disclosure: there’s another awesome show-stopper (won’t reveal it) when you’ll momentarily feel like you’re seeing “42nd Street” and “A Chorus Line.”
Career-best performances, from the romantic leads: Jody Bill, as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney, has the pipes and verve and vocalize with skill, and is a knock-out dancer, as well. Andrew Sakaguchi, as stowaway Billy Crocker, is a triple-threat, singer, actor and dancer with batteries that don’t need recharging. He certainly, and deservedly, carries the flag as an API trouper and a poster boy for blind casting that works.
The rich and everlasting score by Porter still connects: his words and music are part of the DNA of the Great American Songbook.
All aboard, for DHT’s “Anything Goes,” sailing through Sept. 25. Cast images not available.
Splendid direction and choreography: John Rampage, who is the unseen skipper of the SS American, the setting for this shipboard, steers through one of his favorite musicals of all time, in what will be the final production in the “old,” soon to be retired Ruger Theatre, which also has been a playhouse earlier known as the Honolulu Community Theatre, and now Diamond Head Theatre; with additional kudos to Caryn Yee, whose tap choreography is a joy to experience (for performers and spectators), with solo, couple, and ensemble units joyfully tapping, tap-tap-tap.
Glorious, colorful and costumes: Karen G. Wolfe has outdone herself with a mountain of wardrobe styles and hues, brightening the needs of scenes involving a diverse lot, from sailors to captains, from angels to devils, from clerics to whomever. Her creations could proudly fill a boutique.
Appealing depth in the secondary roles: Mathew Pedersen, as Moonface Martin; Akiko Schick, as Evangeline Harcourt, mother of Christine Kluvo’s Hope Harcourt; Ahnya Chang, as Erma.
Stage and lighting design:Dawn Oshima’s shipboard set, complete with occasional suites, are inventive yet essential, to address the multi-moods of the time-tested rom-com treasure.
Further, there’s support and efficiency in the other realms of staging a huge musical; like hair and make up by Aiko Schick, and orchestral melodics helmed by Jenny Shiroma, who also is keyboardist, with four colleagues who sound like a band double its size.
Ensemble excellence prevails – the cast of 30 is huge – so their unity and output reflect dedication and generosity, from the show leads to the gallery ensemble folks, who perform with a feeling of genuine team pride. It’s also a thrill to remember young actors making progress and living the joy of theater. I point out the likes off Shane Nishimura, who is part of the ensemble principally as a singing-dancing sailor, but I remember him as a youngster portraying Gavroche in a “Les Miserables” in the past.
Performance schedule: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, at 3 p.m. Saturdays and at 4 p.m. Sundays (no Saturday matinee Sept. 10), through Sept. 25.
It’s not easy to forget Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles and Joel Grey as the Emcee, in the iconic movie version of “Cabaret,” which remains the benchmark for many folks familiar with the musical. And director-choreograph Bob Fosse’s fingerprints are everywhere.
“Cabaret” also has been a revival classic on Broadway, famously securing a perch on the must-see list, especially when Michelle Williams and Alan Cumming topped the cast.
Even the Manoa Valley Theatre’s reboot, with Marisa Noelle as Sally and Gage Thomas as the Emcee, will attract a crowd of rooters. When the material’s solid — and make no mistake, “Cabaret” still has wattage — it’s always gratifying to shout out, “Come to the ‘Cabaret,’ ol’ chum,” to quote a line in the show’s title number.
The basics remain –- music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, the set-in-Germany plot based on the play by John Van Druten, from the book by Joe Masteroff and inspired by stories by Christopher Isherwood. The story is about optimism and survival, amid the politics of Germany’s evolving growth of Nazism, circa 1930s.
MTV’s sleek rendering is ensconced in the tiny theater that has been reimagined as the Kit Kat Klub, “where everything is beautiful.” The spartan but impressive set, by Willie Sabel, is essentially a functioning scalloped curtain framed by bulbs like in a backstage mirror, but magnified in size, with six smaller frames of lights. Seating with tables and chairs (sofas, for premium seats) is augmented by service by waitstaff to deliver drinks and nibbles before the show, and during intermission. The nine-member orch, large for MVT and conducted by Maika‘iNash, is situated on a platform above the last three or four rows of seats, so yes, it’s quite a clubby experience.
The show boasts tunes of romance and yearning, and sexual advances as well as sexual ambiguity are constant.
From the get-go, when the Emcee welcomes the audience into his world, you leave your troubles outside. Thomas has a seductive voice, a sweet gay presence, befitting the club of dreams and hopes, where singer-dancer Sally warbles with passion and seeks a relationship with an American writer Cliff Bradshaw (Nick Amador, charming, sincere) detained in Germany to teach English. The couple’s “Perfectly Marvelous” is an early highlight in the string of familiar tunes from the Kander-Ebb jukebox.
Along the way, Fraulein Schneider (Susan Hawes, loving and honest), who rents a room to Cliff, discovers Herr Schultz (Mo Madke, distinguished and gentlemanly loyal, who’ll be remembered as the fruit man, including pineapple). They share two sweet duets, “If Couldn’t Please Me More” and “Married,” devoid of the raunchy energy inside the Kit Kat.
The cast also includes Ernst Ludwig (Rob Duval, Cliff’s supportive friend) and Fraulein Kost (Sally Swanson, with a luminous voice), who duet on “Tomorrow Belongs to Me.”
The swagger and the seductive tone of the nightclub is demonstrated in the frisky and sensual advances of the Kit Kat female dancers, Frenchie (Alexandria Zinov), Lulu (EmilyNorth), Rosie (Asha DuMonthier), and Texas (Chloe Tower), and gents Bobby (MarcusStranger), Victor (Eriq James), and Max (Sean Kaya). Choreographer Dwayne Sakaguchi managed to orchestrate movement efficiently, despite different body types and skills, on that tiny stage space.
“Cabaret” cast: front, Marisa Noelle as Sally; behind her, Gage Thomas as Emcee; surrounded by Kit Kat girls.
Director Alex Munro pulls all the right strings to make the club feel genuine. And Janine Myers’ lighting design and Lock Lynch’s sound design bring out the twinkle of the production. Costumes by Mailee Speetjens project the vital sexual aura of the Kit Kat-ers, but Sally is often donned with a white shirt, understating and clouding her world of glitter. Lisa Ponce de Leon’s hair and makeup appear suitable for the era. Not sure if all the Germanic accent is on target, and some cast members do better than others.
So willkommen; order drinks; tip well.
“Cabaret” playdates: now through Sept. 25, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with 3 p.m. matinees Saturdays and Sundays.
Tickets: $42 for adults, $37 for seniors and military, and $24 for youths 25 and younger, available at www.manoavalleytheatre.com or at (808) 988-6131.
To mark the 75th anniversary of the birth of the United States Air Force, OLELO Channel 53 (Spectrum) and Channel 1053 ( Hawaiian Telcom) will present the world television premiere of Joe Moore’s 2007 play, “Prophecy & Honor – The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell,” at 6 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 4).
Additional telecasts will be at 4 p.m. Monday (Labor Day, Sept. 5), at 8 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 6), and at 10 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 7.)
“Prophecy & Honor” was a rare theatrical event, with Hollywood names performing alongside local actors. Such casting was a coup then, and remains one of the most ambitious stage endeavors here.
The archival video to be shown is a revised version of a live production staged Aug. 19, 2007, at the Hawaii Theatre. The show was a benefit produced by and for the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.
Joe Moore
Moore penned the play in 1992, which was performed at Diamond Head Theatre in 1993. The central character is Gen. Billy Mitchell, regarded as the Father of the U.S. Air Force, and the drama focuses on his sensational court martial in 1925 for insubordination; he was critical of the nation’s top military and civilian leaders for disgraceful condition of aviation, and not providing a proper pace to air power in organizing the national defense of the country).
Of special interest to Hawaii viewers, the court martial reveals chilling details of his prediction – 16 years before it actually happened – of Japan’s surprise attack of Pearl Harbor, which triggered the start of World War II.
Richard Dreyfuss
Moore appears as Mitchell and Richard Dreyfuss as Congressman Frank Reid (Mitchell’s civilian defense lawyer), and the impressive cast includes George Segal and Terence Knapp as the military prosecuting lawyers, Don Stroud as Mitchell’s military defense lawyer, David Farmer as the court-martial judge, Dezmond Gilla as the Pilot Narrator and Frank DeLima as Congressman Fiorello LaGuardia. Others in the cast include Allen Cole, Matthew Pedersen, Teresa Moore, Bree Bumatai, Greg Howell, George O’Hanlon, Bob Whiting, Rico Tudor and Bill Bigelow. …
$3 Movies!
Today (Sept. 3) is National Cinema Day, with Consolidated theaters offering $3 admission, $3 popcorn and $3 sodas today. (The snack costs are for any size).
But unless you already have tickets to the more popular features, you’re out of luck. Features such as “Top Gun: Maverick,” “League of Superpets,” “Thor: Love and Thunder,” and “Spiderman: No Way Home” are wholly sold out. Regal screens also should have the $3 tickets, if not already gone.
Beats the $7 promotion for tickets at Tuesday shows ($10 at Ward and Kahala). Can’t get any cheaper, unless it’s free!
And all that jazz
The Dan Del Negro Trio will be featured in an evening of jazz at 7 p.m. Sept. 10 at Medici’s at Manoa Maketplace. The combo features Del Negro on piano, Abe Lagrimas Jr. on drums, and Shawn Conley on bass. Doors open at 6 p.m., with dinner service ($75). Reservations: https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/musicatmedicis/5142/event/1285950 or (808) 351-0901 …
The Honolulu Jazz Quartet, led by John Kolivas, does two shows tomorrow (Sept. 4) at Blue Note Hawaii at the Outrigger Waikiki resort. Showtimes are at 6:30 and 9 p.m., with doors opening at 5 and 8:30 p.m. Tickets: $15, $25 and $35. Reservations: (808) 777-4890 or www.bluenotehawaii.com …
Willkommen to “Cabaret,” when Manoa Valley Theatre revives the Tony and Oscar-winning evergreen musical beginning Sept. 8. Finally, the new season launches in September.
MVT will convert its black box environs to reimagine the Kit Kat Klub, the seedy Berlin nightclub, “where everything is beautiful,” as the Emcee declares. The theater will have limited VIP cabaret seating, with tables and chairs, atmospherically creating the vibes of the club.
Up front seats on both sides of stage will put you as close as you can be without being a cast member.
So who’s playing who?
Gage Thomas
Gage Thomas will enact the role of the Emcee, who welcomes the audience as host of the evening. Other cast members: Nick Amador (Cliff Bradshaw), Marisa Noelle (Sally Bowles), Susan Hawes (Fraulein Schneider),Sally Swanson (Fraulein Kost), Mo Radke (Herr Schultz), Rob Duval (Ernst Ludwig), Marcus Stanger (Max). The Kit Dancers are Alex Zinov, Emily North, Taylan Claro, Asha DuMonthier, Chloe Tower, Sean Kaya, Eriq James, with Olivia Manayan the female swing.
Alex Munro is director, Maka‘i Nash is musical director, assisted by Justin Garde; Dwayne Sakaguchi is choreographer, Shell Dalzell is technical director, Willie Sable, is set designer and scenic artist; Calitin Tong is prop designer, Janine Myers is lighting designer, Maile Speetjens is costume designer, Lisa Ponce de Leon is makeup designer, Lock Lynch is sound designer and engineer, Aly Sutton is stage manager, and director assistants are Aiko Denise Chinen and Olivia Manayan.
The Tony-winning show, still running on Broadway and an Oscar-winning film that triggered cinematic interest in musical productions, needs little introduction. Germanic sentiments are high, and the Emcee tracks the tale about the American writer Bradshaw, who is attracted to the saucy Sally Bowles, and embraces folks surviving under the cloud of the Third Reich.
The score, by the prolific duo comprising Fred Kander and Fred Ebb, includes songs that would fit a jukebox, including the title song, plus other memorable ditties shared by different characters, such as “Don’t Tell Mama,” “Perfectly Marvelous,” “Two Ladies,” “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” and “Money.”
Playdates are Sept. 8 to 25, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with 3 p.m. matinees Saturdays and Sundays.
Tickets: $42 for adults, $37 for seniors and military, and $24 for youths 25 and younger, available at www.manoavalleytheatre.com or at (808) 988-6131.
Outside beverages or food are prohibited, but in-theater beverage service will be available, as expected at a cabaret. …
Hot and Cole
Over at Diamond Head Theatre, Cole Porter’s beloved shipboard musical, “Anything Goes,” sets sail Sept. 9, playing through Sept. 25.
The tale involves Reno Sweeney, a nightclub songstress and evangelist, who is booked on the S.S. Americana, sailing to England. Her pal, Billy Crocker, is a stowaway, to be close to his love, Hope Harcourt, but there’s a problem – she’s engaged to Moonface Martin.
So the love triangle has to be resolved, but enroute to the finale, there’s a body of Porter songs and lyrics – think, “Anything Goes,” “Easy to Love,” “I Get a Kick Out of You” and “All Through the Night” – plus tap-dancing sailors and a smidgen of blackmail, all leading up to the grand finale. The characters are based on the original book by P.G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse, and on a new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman.
Andrew Sakaguchi will portray Billy Crocker, Jody Bill is Reno Sweeney, Christine Kluvo plays Hope Harcourt; Ahnya Chang is Erma, and Matthew Pedersen enacts Moonface Martin.
John Rampage is directing, with tap choreography by Caryn Yee and musical direction by Jenny Shiroma
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, at 3 p.m. Saturdays and at 4 p.m. Sundays (no Saturday matinee Sept. 10).
“The Three Phantoms,” a musical revue featuring actors who have played the Phantom, will be a Broadway-extra of sorts, when it plays at 7 pm. Oct. 29 and 2 p.m. Oct. 30.
Craig Schulman
Hawaii theater will remember Craig Schulman, whose performance as Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables,” made him an instant fave of locals, and he is featured with Keith Buterbaugh, Gary Mauer, and Dan Riddle in an evening of Broadway tunes not just from “The Phantom of the Opera,” in which Schulman donned the mask, but not here.
This program will include male repertoire from Great White Way solo, duet and trio renderings of faves from “Phantom,” “Les Miz,” “Miss Saigon,” and other possibilities from “Damn Yankees,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “South Pacific,” and “Kiss Me Kate.”
An earlier version of “The Three Phantoms” previously played here, with a different cast.
After two years of waiting, because of the pandemic, the Tony-winning “Jersey Boys” will finally open Sept. 13 and run through Sept. 25,at Blaisdell Concert Hall.
Yep, the musical about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons will finally make its Hawaii premiere in a two-week run.
You know the hits: “Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Dawn,” ”Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “My Eyes Adore You,” among others.
Tickets previously bought will be accepted for the run, but for questions, visit the Blaisdell box office or visit www.ticketmaster.com to verify the new playdates. Tickets start at $45.
Broadway grosses, for week ending Aug. 28
There were no $3 million shows last week, though the usual top grossing productions prevailed.
“The Music Man” pulled in $2,716 million, for No. 1.
“Hamilton,” at $2,072 million, was No. 2.
“The Lion King,” with $1,795 million, was No. 3.
And at No. 4, “MJ,” the Michael Jackson musical, was a skosh behind “King” at $1,731 million.
