Category: Stage

In her Diamond Head Theatre debut as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl,” Becca Brake turns in a star-making performance, hitting all the right notes and delivering all her solo vocals with powerful confidence.

Not an easy task, considering she is working in the shadows of Barbra Streisand, who originated Fanny Brice on Broadway and later in the film.

Hello, gorgeous!

Brake starts off slowly, then going full-throttle-furiously, chewing her lines in rat-tat-tat swiftness, and conquering every one of her solo vocals with stunning flair and finesse.

Not surprisingly, audiences are cheering and applauding.

The show, about a hungry-for-fame singer from New York’s Lower East Side, features a musical score by Jule Styne (music) and Bob Merrill (lyrics), based on a book by Isobel Lennart.  It’s a made-for-the-stage story of talent and eagerness overtaking the odds and challenges of the uncertainties of stardom, in the era of vaudeville and  the Ziegfeld’s Follies.

John Rampage, DHT’s seasoned director-choreographer, is the perfect choice to helm and mount “Funny Girl,”  which is the fourth revival  of the classic over the past six decades,  Rampage knows the road map to this one, steering  his cast of 29 –  tap dancing has been his specialty – with the spirit of the era. And yep, he  knows how to party hearty with a corps of dancers who also sing…a strength of DHT musicals.

The show is well cast, with Mark Sanders (debonair, smooth talker) as gambler Nick Arnstein, who marries Brice; Shari Lynn (a stalwart Jewish mother, with a firm perspective of life), as Mrs. Brice;  Joe Martyak  (profound business man, and a star-maker), as Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.; and David Weaver (loyal, supportive best buddy of Fanny) as Eddie Ryan, the  talented dancer-choreographer.

Brake carries the burden of singing and delivering the show’s familiar hit songs – “I’m the Greatest Star,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “People”  –all in Act 1, with a couple of duets with Nick. Brake still dominates the song count in Act 2, with such novelties as “Sadie, Sadie” and “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat”  rendered with the company.

Jenny Shiroma efficiently conducts the orchestra of seven; the opening overture here is not exactly the best (not the fault of the musicians).

The techies deliver where it counts: Dawn Oshima’s lighting design and Michael Minor’s sound design work hand in hand; Miya Yoshimoto’s hair and make-up design project the look and style of an earlier time.

Kyle Conner’s and Dawn Oshima’s set design – depicting backstage of the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York, circa 1924 —  is a curiosity, with a pair of moveable stairways as the centerpiece. There’s a lot of old-time roll-on/roll of set pieces, like Fanny’s dressing room, lots of furniture (sofas, chairs, tables) and a couple of recurring “drops” (a faux brick wall, a reflecting and glittering curtain). It’s all effective, considering the time, and a reminder of old times before the new DHT launched, when set pieces were on wagons and relied on cast and stagehands to push and pull.

Playdates originally were through June 7, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Thursdays, 3 p.m. Saturdays and 3 pm. Sundays. Extension dates have been announced for Saturday June 13 and Sunday June 14.

Tickets are $43 to $70, at www.diamondheadtheatre.com or 808-733-0274…

And that’s Show Biz…

I’m old enough to remember the casting controversy of the Engineer role in “Miss Saigon,” a Cameron Macintosh hit in the 1990s. And this theatrical friction recurs in the current theatrical satire, “Yellow Face,” now at Manoa Valley Theatre.

Jonathon Pryce, a Welsh actor, was cast to play the Engineer in the Broadway launch of “Saigon,” which was an affront to the Asian community.  Playwright David Henry Hwang, best known for scripting “M. Butterfly,”  rightfully cast an Asian, B.D. Wong, to play the leading role.  But Hwang was not silent about the “Miss Saigon” development.

Pryce, Wong and Hwang are smack dab in the middle of the casting conversation and  its implications, in Hwang’s  bold and “Yellow Face”  production, which plays like a mockumentary with a volley of vitriol.

Reyn Afaga is DHH (as Hwang is called) and he leads a small army of Asian and part=Asian performers, who argue, agree, yell, shout and spew out opinions like bullets in this theatrical drama en route to becoming a social and satirical comedy. The players form a vigorous and vital animated ensemble, directed by Reiko Ho, herself a seasoned and savvy director of numerous Asian-content works in her career. “Yellow Face” easily could be the most explosive  and controversial entry in her list of credits.

“Yellow Face” is easy to watch as it dismantles real-life drama and repurposes it  into onstage comedy, examining and exploring the elements of farce, racial discrimination,  cultural identity.

Nicholas Gianforti plays Marcus Gee, an actor cast as  “The King” in “The King and I,” and mocked as a fraud, since he is not Asian but trying to legitimize the role popularized by Yul Brynner (who was part Asian).

Other players are Brandon Caban, who is the constant announcer in a wave of informational bursts of headlines and quips from newspapers like the New York Times and the Post; Sam Bui is Henry Yuah Hwang (NYH), the father of DHH who idolizes Frank Sinatra and  “My Way;”  Elizabeth Ung is Leah Ann Cho; Anastacia Narrajos is Jane Krakowski; Angeline Roselani Han is Carla Chang; and David Tang is Stuart Ostrow. All cast members take on numerous smaller roles and also actively move  or remove furniture and set pieces as needed.

MTV’s recent series of in-the-round staging is over, as “Yellow Face” is staged in the more conventional proscenium format, though there’s no proscenium. Before there’s any stage action, the performance space is kind of blank canvas; Willie Sabel’s stage is all black but takes on different hues thanks to lighting; the open space enables romping by the entire cast, with selected props, and Janine Myers’ lighting and Sarah Velasco’s sound direction work their magic. Amber Lehua Baker’s costumes are  suitable and functional and Kelly Belle’s props are comprised mostly of tables, chairs, and stools.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays; a matinee has been added at 3 p.m. May 23; and two performances also have been added at 7:30 p.m. May 30 and 3 p.m.. May 31.

Tickets: $25 to $47, at (808) 988-6131 or www.manoavalleytheatre.com

Around town

Hoku Zuttermeister has been performing at Roy’s in Hawaii Kai, doing  informal sets on the lawn outside of Roy’s downstairs bar. According to Robbyn Shim, who does p.r. for Roy’s, the entertainment community has been stopping by the catch him in action. Among Zuttermeister’s pals tuning in: Nina Kealiiwahamana, Robert Cazimero, and Manu Boyd. Nothing like attracting celeb listeners…

With the extension of the “Ke Kilo Lani: Robert Uluwehionāpuaikawēkiuokalani Cazimero” exhibit till May 30, another panel discussion has been added to the series at Gallery ‘Iolani at Windward Community College, adjoining Paliku Theatre.

Zachary Lum, a member of Keauhou and a Gent from Halau Na Kamalei, will moderate.

The final panel discussion will be from 6 to 7 p.m. May 21, and the panelists will be members of Cazimero’s halau, the Gentlemen of Hālau Nā Kamalei o Lililehua, who will discuss their learnings and perspectives of the exhibition.

For tickets, register at https://www.waheafoundation.org/

Gail Mack, Lance Luke, Keith Hiraoka and Bobby Nishida will perform from 5 to 8 p.m. today (May 17) at Mango Street Grilll in Wahiawa. For reservations, call Daryl at (808) 627-5451. Same number, to preorder a prime rib dinner…

The musicians also perform from 6 to 8 p.m. May 29, at The Edge, at 31 N. Pauahi St. Reservations: (808) 888-3228; $5 cover prevails.

And that’s Show Biz…