Category: Show Biz

Not surprisingly, there’s turmoil on island radio as broadcast figures were abruptly released earlier this week with scanty warning. This kind of bleep happens often, so Summit Media’s decision to erase the blackboard and start anew is part of the heartbeat of radio.

Tweaking the programming seems to be one of the reasons, though staff reduction and cutbacks can be logically linked to the pandemic, which has businesses trying to balance the book.

And yes, listeners comfortable to tuning in to the voices they hear while breezing along the freeways get huhu about change. It might be rude to say it, but bosses and businesses have little respect and mana’o for valued and dedicated employees. This wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

That’s why there’s a mounting number of Facebook postings about the release of a handful of staff, without the customary two-weeks notice. One day you’re in, next day you’re out. Call it what it is: mass firings.

Billy V, a broadcast voice and face since 1990, whose lone Saturday afternoon slot has been abolished on Hawaiian 105 KINE, was informed by phone of his termination. He previously was an on-air personality on KCCN FM 100 and Hawaiian 105 for nearly 30 years, but longevity didn’t matter.

“I was privileged to work with Hawaii’s best, many of whom have become my radio family,” said Billy V. “As this transition takes place, I am hopeful that the value of Hawaiian 105 KINE and KCCN FM 100 are known to the current owners. The music of our islands, contemporary and traditional, is second to none.”

Perhaps more critically, Danielle Tucker, the voice of island traffic, has been wiped out of Summit’s stations, leaving a void of key and informative public service during morning and afternoon commuter. She provides quick, accurate reports of traffic movement, including accidents, a role she will continue on Hawaii News Now (KGMB and KHON) during afternoon drive.  But radio is key for traffic scrutiny because it happens in real time, not TV. I mean, do you rely on radio at home, unless there’s a hurricane coming or a tidal wave alert?

In island radio, morning drive is key to a station’s popularity and advertising power. Most people tune in to radio en route to work or school, so that is why Michael W. Perry  reigns in the ratings, a “trend” that started in the KGMB/KSSK era when J. Akuhead Pupule (Hal Lewis) built a following inherited when Perry teamed up with Larry Price to continue the KSSK dominance.

Since no one prints or monitors radio ratings anymore, Perry cruises at the perch. Truly, is KSSK the No. 1 station? Where are the Arbitron numbers of the past? Does it matter, since you listen to what you like?

Perry is not part of the Summit lineup – Hawaiian 105, KCCN FM 100, Power 1043 and Krater 95 – but he competes with other announcers to retain the crown. Radio, like TV (think Hawaii News Now, aka KGMB and KHON), has become a “group” commodity, where multi stations function under one owner. That’s why when there’s a sweep of talent, more than one are shown the exit door.

Billy V is a TV journalist now, so his reactionary blogs are informative, not argumentative.

In one posting, he said Patti Ponimoi will be general manager, and Micah Banks will be programming director, adding a comment from Randy Chase, executive vice president of Summit Media, who said the stations are “committed to Hawaii and serving the Honolulu community. While we recently made some difficult business decisions, I can assure our listeners and advertisers that we are not changing the format of any station in our cluster. More so than ever, we will continue the tradition of Hawaiian music and celebrate the culture on FM100 KCCN and Hawaiian 105 KINE.”

The question is, why fix it if it’s not broken? We’ll have to wait and see what evolves.

The portals of Hawaiian radio have featured a host of dedicated announcers, including Krash Kealoha, Kimo Kahoano, Skylark Rossetti, Iaukea Bright, Randy Hudnall, Donovan Solto, Mele Apana, and Harry  B. Soria Jr.

Tucker, who has been doing traffic reports two decades, said in her post: “I won’t be able to communicate traffic conditions to you over the radio. I’m no longer employed by the radio station group I’d been with for 20 years. I’m not the only one released, and that takes some sting out of it, but the suddenness is jarring.”

Indeed, but she functioned in her own sphere, reliably reporting the doings on the road, but when a station does housekeeping, it sweeps out some valuables. Tucker is one of those media gems…

And that’s Show Biz. …

‘Tis been a good season for family newsletters that normally flourish during the holidays. I don’t do these recaps of my life and experiences, mainly because I do ongoing Facebooks postings or columns throughout the year.

This past Christmas, I pored through some of newsletters that came with either a family portrait or a Christmas card, and wowie — some tidbits of joy and milestones provided appealing revelations of achievements. Some do terrific reportage of the past 12 months; others try but are not particularly precise in reportage. Not that it matters, but you need to have the smarts to make your chats appealing.

One of the best do-ers of these recaps is Mo Bright, widow of Ron Bright, mostly because her family is so active, there’s never a lack of news.  Back in the day, birthday celebrations were highlights of the chats. They still are, and if you want to send a shout-out to Mo, who admitted turning 80 this past year, and her eldest son, Clarke Bright, celebrated his 60^th, do so, belatedly.

But clearly, her ‘ohana accomplishments are something to shout about; show biz run through the family DNA, making the profiles involving. FYI, Clarke is maestro of the Royal Hawaiian Band and wife Lynell grooms and teaches chorus kids at Kamehameha. Their children, Chris and Candace Bright, have moved back to Hawaii, settling into a family rental in Waipahu. He continues to write film scripts and is a photography hobbyist, and occasionally performs on stage. She completed her final year of residency at a Sacramento hospital. Younger brother Timbo resides in New York and will be watching for Broadway auditions.

Jodi and Lee Stein (she’s the only Bright daughter) are formally retired now; their eldest daughter, Lauren, has a new beau in Jared Rish, a Naval officer. Their daughter Mio, Mo’s youngest grandchild at 10, is an outdoors sort who finds joy in swimming and ju-jitsu.

Michael and Jade Bright continue life as educators; he, as a math teacher at Kamehameha, and she, as a kindergarten teacher at Ahuimanu. Their eldest, Caity, is a university student and Target employee. Brother Drew, a freshman at Castle High School, is a theater enthusiast who played the role of Dmitri in the Castle Performing Arts Center’s “Anastasia” last month at the Bright theater named after his grandfather Ron. Other brother Colton is in middle school at Kamehameha, and he delivered an oli at Disney Aulani this past summer.

Of course, a roster of Bright-ers were part of a virtual performance of the I’m a Bright Kid Foundation’s summer special, “Brighter Still.”  That tag could be applied to the heartbeat of the Bright ‘ohana, brightening the casts whenever feasible. …

The Tanaka camp

Nanci Tanaka, widow of singer Teddy Tanaka (formal surname, Chinen) devotes much of her time as a River of Life Mission volunteer, but their children have show biz and education-related jobs.

Daughter Harmoni and her husband Dan Cruz reside in Manhattan Beach, Calif., where she is an attorney for Amazon Films International and he is vice president at Disney for marketing and partnershiup for Marvel Studios. Their son Cameron Takashi and daughter Caia Kiyoko are Loyola Elementary students, too young for show biz yet.

Son Nate Chinen and wife Ashley, along with daughters Athena and Rosalie, moved from New York to Philadelphia. He previously was a jazz critic for the New York Times, and now writes a blog and is associated with WGBO/National Public Radio, enabling the NPR station a digital footprint in jazz.

Another daughter Sheri, and hubby John Gizis, are professors at Rowan and Delaware Universities, respectively…

Words worth sharing

Frances Kakugawa, a poet from Kapoho and a former school teacher who now is a noted and published poet as well as motivational speaker on Alzheimer’s and caregiving,  completed her fifth Wordsworth book (awaiting a publisher’s green light). She says a musical based on the first two volumes of her Wordsworth mouse character’s adventures, has been further delayed till next spring, when the University of Hawaii at Hilo will stage “Wordsworth the Musical.” A Hawaiian language version will be taped for a future Hawaiian festival event.

The pandemic, nearing its third anniversary, has turned Kakugawa, a very active senior citizen, into an online shopper – and briefly transformed her into what she calls “a dysfunctional alien, 10 on the Embarrassment Scale.”

She used to do in-store buying at Trader Joe’s and Raley’s in Sacramento, where she now lives.

She hustles her carts through the check-out counters, but on one occasion, she walked off unknowingly not paying till she was stopped with a shameful “Ma’am, you need to pay for your purchases.” Her retort later: “This is what online purchases will do.”

Her newsletter didn’t include  a chuckle but she shared an incident on Facebook.  An Amazon order was shipped to her home; anticipating delivery, she left her front gate open so the delivery person could place it close to the home. But a thief stole the wrapped box, forcing her to report the misdemeanor to Amazon, who promptly agreed to resend the order. And then the errant box returned, opened with a book sticking out. “Not a reader,” said Kakugawa. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

If you think only Honolulu theater groups have it bad, what with the uncertainty of COVID-19 and Omicron variant, consider the devastating Broadway situation.

At least seven of nearly 30 shows have had to shut down because of the virus; that includes “Music Man,” whose leading man Hugh Jackman, is recovering from COVID. He’s set to return to the limelight Jan. 6.

But former Honolulan Kevin McCollum, who has been a successful and prolific Tony Award-winning producer (“Rent,” “Avenue Q,” “In the Heights,” “Something Rotten”), has been experiencing a rough season this year because of the surge in pandemic cases.

He is the lead producer of “Mrs. Doubtfire,” a new title based on the Robin Williams comedy film which went dark because of the virus, and the tepid reviews haven’t helped. The show lost an estimated $1.5 million during its closure, according to McCollum, and no one knows how long it can remain in business.

McCollum also is a producer of the acclaimed London import,“Six” which is trying to stay alive, too.  “We are resilient,” McCollum told ABC. “We are New York and we have our stories to tell as long as everyone is healthy to tell them.”

We earlier  mentioned that McCollum also is a producer of Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” film musical, which has opened to mixed reviews and unexpectedly sparse audiences considering its $100 million budget, so yes, it’s not been a merry season at all. If you stay long enough for the end credits of the film, you’ll see McCollum’s name.

Meanwhile, “Ain’t Too Proud,” the revival of the hit musical on the life and times of The Temptations, has just returned to the active list, after an earlier shutdown. It’s been a popular vehicle with oodles of hit songs and great choreography, but the odds of drawing audiences in challenging times has forced this show to shut down for good in January, following similar closures of the revived “Waitress” and “Jagged Little Pill” recently.

And yes, the season’s traditional Rockettes show at Radio City Music Hall, is history amid the  COVID crisis, normally a highly popular attraction on the Great White Way.

Broadway may be back, but clearly, it’s a problematic time to visit. The weather outside might be frightening, but the climate inside some theaters might be fearsome, too, since the virus still is a relevant issue not under control …

A song for New Year

Kathleen Stuart, a former Kaneohe resident and a proud Ron Bright student, has recorded a video performance of “Next Year’s New Year’s Eve,” a suitable tune for this time of the year.

Now a New York resident and performer, she enlisted local artists to do a video of the tune, composed by Patrick Dwyer in 2013 and featured in a 2017 musical revue, “ThirtyWhatever,” in which Stuart performed.

You’ve seen the actress over the decades, in Castle High School performances directed by Bright, and more recently in I’m a Bright Kid Foundation’s production of “The King and I,” and in Manoa Valley Theatre’s Hawaii premiere of “Allegiance.”

You can view the video at https://youtu.be/H38HvLWJIX0 …

And that’s Show Biz. …

Looks like the Grinch has shut down and canceled Diamond Head Theatre’s holiday hit, “Elf, the Musical,” last night (Dec. 22) and tonight (Dec. 23), which were to be the final two performances.

OK, it was the pandemic that shuttered the pair of shows, an abrupt and unfortunate circumstance which saddened and distressed director Greg Zane.

“Extremely upsetting,” he said in an online post. “Not how we imagined this joyful production would finish its run.  As some know, I invest my whole heart and soul into a production; that’s what I taught. That’s what I’ve learned from the artists that I admire and that have mentored me. If not, then why do it?”

The villain was the pandemic – though specifics on whether it was Delta variant or the newer Omicron threat that led management to put an early end to the run, in the name of safety.

The theater’s notice to ticket holders for either show – me included – disclosed that the cancellation was “due to notice of a positive COVID case here at DHT,” with no other specifics.

As far as we know, state leaders like Gov. David Ige or Mayor Rick Blandiardi had not issued new measures to shut down the shows.

Most recent alerts forewarned the growing influx of Omicron cases, but the protocols alluded to social distancing, hand-washing, sanitizing and vaccination including booster shots. Caution and avoidance of “large” crowds had been issued, but not monitored or forced.

These abrupt cancellations are hitting events nationally; a cluster of Broadway musicals, including “Hamilton,” has had temporary closures, and even the legendary Radio City Music Hall Rockettes Christmas show has been shuttered due to COVID. Several NFL games have had to reschedule, since football players have contracted the virus.

With Christmas and New Year gatherings and celebrations imminent, folks should maintain awareness and take precautions to avoid the virus. …

Piano and popovers

Elsewhere, things are looking up. Pianist Noly Paa has opened at Azure Restaurant, at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, where he serenades from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. today (Dec. 24) and tomorrow (Dec. 23) and again Dec. 29, 30 and 31. …

Not certain if Paa has been reinstated at the Sunday brunches at the Halekulani Hotel, which have been resumed without fanfare. But forget about going this weekend or next – it’s sold out. Understandably, it’s Waikiki’s best buffet (like the normal days, with self-served goodies to select). And home of those yummy signature popovers. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

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