Category: Stage

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LOCAL LINK IN NEW ‘HEIGHTS’ FILM

Kevin McCollum, an executive producer of the just-released “In the Heights” musical film, brings an island link to the summer’s first hit film.

McCollum, who earlier co-produced “Heights” in its Broadway incarnation, has had a New York career spanning 25 years. He has earned the Tony Award for Best Musical for “In the Heights” (2008), “Avenue Q” (2004) and “Rent” (1996).  In the upcoming Broadway season beginning Sept. 14, McCollum will be represented with “Six” and “Mrs. Doubtfire,” two newbies on Broadway.

He also previously produced “Motown: The Musical,” “Something Rotten,” “Hand to God” and “The Drowsy Chaperone” on Broadway.

Kevin McCollum

His film credit this year will be the new vision of an old favorite, “West Side Story,” directed by Steven Spielberg.

McCollum was born in Hawaii, the son of Sue McCollum Gereben; she  appeared in “Hawaii Five-0” and was active with media groups including the Honolulu Press Club. …

Meaningful numbers

In the aforementioned “In the Heights,”  there’s a bunch of numbers for a hot lottery ticket, and the sum of $96,000 as the amount of the prize.

Jon M. Chu, who directed the film, has a particular interest in figures, so the 96,000 number is the title of the lavish water and swimming pool production number.

But New York Magazine’s Vulture wing also reports the background story on the lottery ticket number: 5-7-16-26-33.

Turns out Chu’s wife Kristin Hodge was hapax with their second son, the film was being shot, and as the director of “Crazy Rich Asians” shared this cooky series of reasons of why those figs were assembled: 5 is his wife’s birthday month; 7-16 is their daughter’s birthday; 7-26 is their anniversary date and also the due date of their son.

“When I showed my wife (the numbers), she was like, ‘You know our anniversary is the 27th, right? And the baby is due on the 27th,” he was quoted. But a few weeks after the shoot, the boy was born … on July 26, “so he had my back,” said Chu. And rightfully, the toddler was named Jonathan Heights Chu. Imagine the story he’ll share when he grows up. …

Fashion focus

Bruno Mars says his fashion muse is Cher.

Bruno Mars

Well, maybe he was kidding when asked whose style inspired him.

InStyle interviewed Mars, the superstar from Hawaii, and Mars credited Cher as his muse. The changed his mind and said he is his own muse.

Amusing? Maybe.

Mars is the inspiration behind his Ricky Regal lifestyle brand, named after his alter ego, and the Lacoste fashion house describes the Mars product thusly: “Inspired by a lust for life and an entrepreneurial Midas touch.”  It’s a luxurious but sporty line. …

The Emmy goes to …

The Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Hawaii News Now, and Ballet Hawaii were bestowed regional Emmy awards recently from the Northern California competition.

HTY’s TV show, “The HI Way,” earned three awards:

  • For Arts/Entertainment – Long Format: “Da Holidays: The HI Way” (NMG Network/HTY), Jason Cutinella, Katie Pickman, exec producers; Eric Johnson, producer.
  • For Arts/Entertainment – Long Format: “Pono: The HI Way.” Same creators.
  • For Informational/Instructional – Long Form content: “Racism: The HI Way,” episode eight. Same creators.

Hawaii News Now won three::

  • For Hard News Report – “On the Frontline: Honolulu EMS,”  KGMB/KHNL Hawaii News Now. Allyson Blair, reporter; Jonathan Suyat, photographer.
  • For Historic/Cultural – Long Format: “Queen Liliuokalani Keiki Hoike,” KGMB/KHNL Hawaii News Now,” Guy Sibilla, Wendy Suite, exec producers; Mary Beth McClelland, producer; Josephine Kristine, director-editor; Kennedy Carson and Lacy Deniz, hosts.
  • For Spot Announcement/Campaign – “Ballet Hawaii’s #Arts Beyond Covid,” KGMB/KHNL Hawaii News Now/Ballet Hawaii. Pamela Taylor Tongg, exec producer; Stasia Droze Jost, producer-director-writer-editor; Deborah Glazer, producer-director-writer-editor…

And that’s “Show Biz.” …

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‘SUNSHINE BOYS’ POSTPONED A SECOND TIME AT HAWAII THEATRE

Update: After this column was posted this morning, I got an email from Joe Moore, announcing yet another postponement of “The Sunshine Boys.” Thus, the following column has been revised.–Wayne Harada

For the second time since the pandemic shutdown began nearly two years ago, the production of “The Sunshine Boys” — which was listed in an email announcement from the Hawaii Theatre — has been delayed again.

New performance dates are June 16 through June 26…in 2022.

The comedy, by Neil Simon, will feature Joe Moore, Hawaii’s longtime most-watched news anchor on KHON-TV, and his one-time Army buddy, Pat Sajak, the host of the wildly popular syndicated “Wheel of Fortune” game show.

“Mighty kind of you featuring ‘The Sunshine Boys’ in today’s Show Biz column online…and I hate to disappoint, but for the second year in a row, the Covid pandemic has forced us to postpone the show for a year,” said Moore in an email. “Large gatherings are still not allowed under the state’s restrictions, so rather than perform the show to a widely spaced, one-third capacity audience who might might not feel comfortable in a large crowd yet,  Pat and I along with Greg Dunn, head of Hawaii Theatre, decided it best to postpone the benefit run as we want to raise as much money as possible for the theatre.”

Joe Moore

On a family note, the play also will mark the professional acting debut of Bryce Moore, son of the newsman. Bryce previously co-starred in “Under the Blood Red Sun,” a made-in-Hawaii film.

The supporting cast also will include Therese Olival, Robert Duvall, Jeanne Wynn Herring, Matthew Mazzella,  Bart DaSilva, and Robert Doan.

Moore and Sajak have frequently performed together on stage in Hawaii. Because one lives here and the other on the mainland, rehearsals are frequently done virtually.

Pat Sajak

Moore portrays Willie Clark and Sajak is Al Lewis in the play about the reunion of vaudevillian vets tapped by CBS to do a TV special. Willie Clark’s nephew (Bryce Moore) attempts to bring the duo together, but longstanding grudges and friction resurface, and the question of ageism raises doubt about whether the duo can succeed and mend the broken bridges of the past.

Rob Duvall, a multiple Po’okela Award winner, will direct.

Performances will be at 7 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, with additional matinee shows at 2 p.m. Saturdays, through June 27.

Tickets; $30 to $75, available at www.hawaiitheatare.com.

Chai opens newest, KALO, with Hawaiian food

Chai Chaowasaree, owner-chef of Chef Chai’s, has opened a new restaurant, KALO: Hawaiian food by Chai’s, in the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel Waikiki Beach, at 400 Royal Hawaiian Avenue at Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki. Spada Bar and Restaurant previously occupied the site.

Chai Chaowasaree

KALO offers a range of Hawaiian small plates, side dishes and entrees including a Hawaiian sampler, pineapple lobster curry, grilled rib eye steak and oxtail soup, served from 4 to 10 p.m.

“I chose the name KALO because it honors one of the most important staple foods among native Hawaiians,” said Chaowasaree of taro, the iconic diet item among Hawaiians.

A breakfast menu – with variations of eggs and Portuguese sausage, pancakes, poke bowls topped with fried eggs, beef stew with rice – will be served beginning July 1 , from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Reservations: 931-6222…

And that’s “Show Biz.”…

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REVIEW: ‘FOREVER PLAID’ IS FOREVER GLAD

“Forever Plaid,” a modest, nostalgic off-Broadway musical about a fictional four-part-harmony group, has been extended for four more performances (through June 13) at Diamond Head Theatre. Go see it, if you can; you’ll be forever glad.

The “Forever Plaid” foursome: front, Will Thomson as Sparky, rear, Tyler Devere as Jinx, Ryan Michel as Frankie, and Scott Fikse as Smudge. — Photo by Brandon Miyagi, courtesy Diamond Head Theatre.

It is the perfect confection for this ongoing pandemic, with a small  four-member cast, an orchestra of two, and one set against which four lads appear in sort of a dream sequence since they perished in a crash en route to a gig where they specialize in boy-group harmonics of the 1950s. The title alludes to the group’s fondness of plaid, and there are four of ‘em, and they idolize the Four Freshmen.

That’s all the subtext you need to know to enjoy this stroll down memory lane.

Tyler Devere appears as Jinx, Scott Fikse as Smudge, Ryan Michel as Frankie, and Will Thomson as Sparky, whose vocal ranges, when combined, result in sweet harmonics suitable for songs of the era, including “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “No Not Much,” “Rags to Riches,” and “Moments to Remember.”

As lovingly directed and choreographed by Andrew Sakaguchi, who played Smudge in a 1997 mounting of this bon-bon at the unlikely Waikiki restaurant-club called Hula Hut in 1997, “Forever Plaid” represents the naivete and niceties of a kinder, gentler time in entertainment.

Its flashback motif works, in this era of pandemic stress, and DHT’s revival is an opportune vehicle to move back into show mode, albeit with caution and safety. Masks are required for entry and watching, and social distancing protocols remain. The tradeoff is a feel-good feeling as you exit the theater.

The show, created by Stuart Ross, lowers the bar considerably in the production realm, but succeeds in keeping reality in check; DHT has a full slate of creative talent at play, without the overhead of an overblown product in a financially distressed time.

The four gents are genial and appealing, engaging in minimal but essential choreographics, which require some dancing feats but more hand motions and body action. Agility is a must, for a visually hilarious panorama of  3 minutes and 11 seconds of the antics during an Ed Sullivan Show, embracing such warm remembrances including Topo Gigio, my-name-Jose Jimenez, jugglers and accordionist, spinning plates and hula, Senor Wences and his hand puppet Johnny, in the host’s “really big shoe.”

Remaining shows: 4 p.m. today (June 7), 7:30 p.m. June 11, 3 and 7:30 p.m. June 12 and 4 p.m. June 13. Tickets: $22 at www.diamondheadtheatre.com.

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BROADWAY OPENINGS: ‘MJ’, ‘TINA’ AND ‘SIX’

Three new titles will join the Broadway reopening pulse this fall and winter.

“MJ,” a musical with 25 Michael Jackson songs, will bow Dec. 6 at the Neil Simon Theatre. The production will explore and magnify the energy behind the man in the mirror, who is one of the undisputed entertainment legends.

“Tina – the Tina Turner Musical” will resume production on Oct. 8 at the Lunt-FontanneTheatre. It was one of the hits of the past season, but shuttered because the pandemic. The show is a stunning and inspiring comeback story of the superstar who challenged the bounds of racism, sexism and ageism, becoming the radiant Queen of  Rock ‘n’ Roll.

“Six,” which has become an international, premieres Sept. 17 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.The concept is to trace 500 years of the the six wives of Henry VII, reimagined as the tudor queens and pop princesses with 21st century girl power.

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HTY’S ‘HI WAY’ NOMINATED FOR EMMYS

The Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s “The HI Way” television series has been nominated for six regional Emmy Awaards.

The theater group had to pivot from live productions to virtual because of last year’s pandemic, and since March 2020, the resident ensemble has produced 21 half-hour episodes that have connected with more than 4 million views via TV stations.

“HTY’s shift to digital production would not have been possible without the incredible support we received from our community partners,” said Becky Dunning, HTY managing director. Supporters included government and foundation grantors, she said, along with corporate donors and community individuals “who recognized the importance of keeping Hawaii children engaged and excited about learning during the pandemic.”

Eric Johnson, HTY’s artistic director, commended teachers who embraced the show’s content for distance-learning and in-person classes, and said the shows “celebrates what is unique about our culture, lifting up local stories and perspectives, and celebrating the values of diversity, environmental stewardship and aloha.”

Gerard Elmore

The six nominated episodes are “Pono,” “Respect Racism,” “Energy” and “Da Holidays,” with a special nominee in Gerard Elmore, who directed “Surfing.”

Episodes for season three are now televised on Hawaii News Now stations as well as the theater’s website, www.htyweb.org.

Season four premieres in fall of this year. …

DHT’s nostalgic ‘Forever Plaid’ opens May 28

“Forever Plaid,” an off-Broadway musical  brimming with nostalgia and tuneful oldies, opens May 28 at Diamond Head Theatre, eight performances through June 5. Facial masks are required to attend, with social distancing protocols prevailing, meaning limited seating in the theater.

The show has a heavenly twist;  four buddies named Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and Frankie head to a gig when a school bus collides with their car, terminating their career. But the stars were aligned and the group’s fate is reborn so the foursome can continue its musical journey.

The show is a tribute to 19502 guy-group music – think the Four Seasons from another era – with emphasis on four-part harmony. Thus, the score features the likes of Four Freshmen, Four Aces and Four Lads and titles such as “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “No Not Much,” “Moments to Remember,” “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing,” “Rags to Riches,” and “Shangri-La.”

Andrew Sakaguchi returns home from New York to direct and choreograph, with Maika‘i Nash conducting the orchestra.

The cast features Tyler Devere as Jinx, Scott Fikse as Smudge, Ryan Michel as Frankie and Will Thomson as Sparky.

Playdates: 7:30 p.m. May 28, 7:30 p.m. May 29, 4 p.m. May 30, 7:30 p.m. June 3, 7:30 p.m. June 4, 3 p.m. June 5, 7:30 p.m. June 5 and 4 p.m. June 6.

Tickets: $22 at diamondheadtheatre.com …

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Remembering Willie K

Willie K will be remembered in a Celebration of Life in the form of a drive-through from 2 to 4 p.m. May 18 at the Wahikuli Wayside State Park on Maui.

Willie K

The Kahaiali‘i ‘Ohana – Willie’s family and friends – is presenting the drive-through, in a one-way traffic route below the Lahaina Fire Station.

Some traffic restrictions will be in place, with no-left turns and no-parking in the nearby lots.

Uncle Willie, the beloved entertainer, died May 18 2020,

He is widely known for his expansive musical repertoire, ranging from old-style Hawaiian to the blues, from operatic arias to country tunes, from contemporary Hawaiiana to jazz. He was a regular at several Maui sites and the Blue Note Hawaii club in Waikiki, where he serenaded his fans monthly until illness prevented him from performing.

Willie Awihilima Kahaiali‘i is survived by his wife, Debbie Kahaiali‘I and children Karshaun, Max, Lycettiana and Antoinette. …

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And that’s “Show Biz.” …