Actor-producer-writer Daniel Dae Kim, the “Lost” and “Hawaii Five-O” actor who’s a sometime resident of Honolulu, recently was honored at the NYU Tisch School for Arts.
Winnie Holzman, an American playwright, screenwriter, and producer, also was an honoree. A Tisch grad like Kim, she wrote the book of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Wicked,”” and also co-wrote the screenplays for the movie version of “Wicked” and next year’s Part Two, “Wicked for Good.”
Kim earned his MFA in Tisch School’s Graduate Acting Program in 1996. His son Jackson also is an NYU grad.
Like Father, Like Son: Dad Daniel Dae Kim. left, with son Jackson, right.
Kim’s a man for all seasons, and an entertainment icon for all reasons. He’s become a prolific and pertinent Asian resource in recent years, widening his savvy and significance in everything, on camera and off.
Kim is a powerhouse TV figure: He’s completed three TV series with more than 100 episodes – the Hawaii-originated “Lost” on ABC and “Five-0” on CBS, and he appeared in and also produced “The Good Doctor” on ABC.
He’s big in voicing: In season one of Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” Kim voiced General Fong in one episode, but in season two, he’s playing Fire Lord Ozai in the live-action adaptation. He voiced seven episodes as Hiroshi Sato in “The Legend of Korra,” an animated series.
Kim, in “The King and I.”
He sings — when going theatrical: He’s successfully conquered the musical stage, starring as the The King of Siam in “The King and I” at London’s Robert Albert Hall and on Broadway at Lincoln Center. Last year, he also starred in a comedy, “Yellow Face,” at the Todd Haimes Theatre. But no vocalizing here.
Next up: Kim is producing and will star in a spy series, “Butterfly,” already filmed in South Korea, where he was born (in Busan). It is his first multi-season scripted series where he plays the lead role. Amazon has not set a release date.
Still simmering: “Makawalu,” a feature film initiated by the Hawaii International Film Festival, which he has agreed to executive-produce. The ambitious project will be co-directed by eight Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) filmmakers, the first of its kind in the islands
He’s got the spirit: Yes, he lives in Hawaii as often as feasible, traveling to wherever and whenever a project beckons. He also has residences in New York and Los Angeles, but for Kim, it’s Hawaii No Ka Oi. It’s all about the aloha spirit…
It’s sort of been a Broadway musical explosion on local stages. A lot of fare, with flair.
An epidemic, in a good way.
And perhaps, the best is yet to come.
Broadway frenzy is everywhere. And growing. Song and dance casts are popular. So are familiar show titles from the past, revived for a new generation. Something new often generates big box office, too.
First off, that three-show “Broadway in Hawaii” season starts next Tuesday (April 22), with the Hawaii premiere of “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical” playing for a week at the renovated Blaisdell Concert Hall. Following later: “Six the Musical,” a frisky, discofied parody of the six wives of King Henry VII, in a two-week residency beginning June 17, culminating in “Chicago,” the John Kander/Fred Ebb evergreen opening a week’s engagement beginning Dec. 2.
For many seasons, Diamond Head Theatre has flourished with Broadway musicals; “Grease” just wound up a run, with “Man of La Mancha” following May 22 and “The SpongeBob Musical” expected to have a huge underwater frenzy beginning July 18.
DHT’s earlier 2023-24 roster was chockfull of musicals: “Mamma Mia!,” “My Fair Lady,” “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” “Kiss Me Kate,” “Tootsie,” and “Frozen.”
DHT’s forthcoming 2025-26 season is anticipated to be one of the biggest slates yet, with “Come From Away” making its Hawaii premiere Sept. 12, to launch the parade of shows. Revivals of “West Side Story” starting March 20, 2026, and “Funny Girl” beginning May 22, 2026, will fill seats. And “Les Miserables,” 40 years old and still with an immense heartbeat (meaning a blockbuster pulse), caps the coming season’s agenda beginning July 31, 2026. Do you hear the people sing? You will! And with a new tech/set designer aboard, anticipation is higher than ever, for visual splendor along with stellar acting.
Manoa Valley Theatre just closed a held-over staging of “Parade,” and earlier mounted a splendid “Once on This Island.” “Side by Side by Sondheim” will conclude the season beginning July 17. And during its 2025-26 season, watch for two Broadway biggies, “Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” starting Nov. 13, and “Spring Awakening,” beginning March 19, 2026. It’s amazing how much MVT can pack in its little space!
The I’m a Bright Kid Foundation will follow up its stunning “Newsies” hit from last summer, with a revival of “Gypsy,” playing for three weekends Aug. 8 to 24 at Paliku Theatre, Windward Community Theatre. Everything’s coming up roses for the organization, which continues to perpetuate and preserve the legacy of the late teacher-director, Ron Bright, remembered for his superb high school shows with student casts over the decades when he was primarily a high school director, and later a disguished force in community extravaganzas with adult performers.
Speaking of high school theatrics: The Broadway fever has spread to high school slates. Among them:
The Kaimuki Performing Arts Company just staged “Beetlejuice.”
Farrington High School scored points from kids with its “Moana 2.”
Kamehameha thespians and Mililani High casts tackled “Hadestown.”
Iolani said hello to “Hello Dolly!” at Hawaii Theatre.
HTY season celebrates communities
The Honolulu Theatre for Youth, now in its 71st year, still is perking and creating stories and plays that celebrate Hawaii’s many communities.
The season is themed “Stories From Hawaii and Beyond,” and explores tales from around the globe and even outer space. Four world premieres are among the offerings.
“An important part of growing up “local” is being surrounded by the beauty and complexity of the many cultures that make up our community here in Hawaii,” said Eric Johnson, HTY artistic director. “This in turn, ignites curiosity and aloha for people and places beyond our shores. This season celebrates stories from this pace and invites us to look beyond as far as our imaginations can take us, from outer space to the plains of Africa.”
The season at a glance:
“Tales of the Sun and Moon,” is a world premiere by Reiko Ho and the HTY Ensemble, comprised of myths and legends from Hawaii and cultures around the world.
“Line Circle Sphere,” by Danica Rosengren and HTY Ensemble, an interactive exploration of art in collaboration with Capitol Modern: The Hawaii State Art Museum.
“Uncle’s (Mostly True) Stories of the Philippines,” by veteran company member Hermenigildo “Junior” Tesoro and the HTY Ensemble, a piece celebrating the history and peoples of the Philippines.
“Annika’s Elephants,” by Annie Evans, helmed by Pam Arciero, ‘Sesame Street” veteran and native Hawaiian puppeteer, early 2026. The tale is about a young Kenyan girl who befriends a baby elephant and explores the current plight of Africa’s elephants.
“Joseph Kekuku and the Voice of the Steel Guitar,” returns in February and March, paired with “Pa ka Makani.” The former is a story by Moses Goods in collaboration with the Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings, and the latter,” by Lokomaika‘i Lipscomb, Hanalei Marques Marzan and Annie Cusick Wood.
“The Tiny Tree,” by Annie Cusic Wood, plays in April. It is an interstellar adventure including songs, puppets and a multitude of characters.
“HAPA: The Musical About Being Many Things,” by the HTY Ensemble and Moses Goods, will be staged April through May, as the season’s finale. Playdates of public performances have not been announced.
The late Jade Stice, an extraordinary singer-actress on the Broadway and Hawaii theatrical scene, is the inspiration of The Dragonfly Awards, a new scholarship program providing tuition assistance to students in a core summer program conducted by the I’m a Bright Kid Foundation.
Jade’s ‘ohana is sponsoring The Dragonfly Awards to honor her memory and legacy and to provide financial assistance to youths and families with an interest and commitment to participate in the program she loved so much … and perhaps inspire future Jade Stices.
Jade Stice: Former Bright Kid
Jade was one of the co-founders of IABK and served as the artistic director of the summer musical theater arts education program, staged every summer until her untimely death last June.
The dragonfly element is apropos, since Jade directed the very first full-length musical production for IABK, “On Dragonfly Wings,” in 2017.
The inspirational musical, written by the late Lisa Matsumoto, with music composed by Roslyn Catracchia, is a story of transformation and self-realization, goals that Jade and the summer program staff shared, to motivate every student, to instill skills in acting and dancing, and to discover the joy of participation in the theatrical experience.
The summer activity – education, culminating in a musical performance – had been Jade’s passion and trademark — and has fueled the IABK engine to promote and preserve the legacy of the late teacher-director, Ron Bright. The acclaimed mentor nurtured and inspired hundreds of students in his remarkable career,at Castle High School’s theater, now bearing his name, and he also was a luminary at Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College, where he directed some of his best-ever work.
Jade was Bright’s first student to land a role in a Broadway production, “Miss Saigon,” in 1991. Since then, numerous former Bright students – Bright Kids – have landed roles on the Broadway stage, in such mega-hits as “Wicked,” “Aladdin,” and “The Lion King.”
The Dragonfly Awards will cover tuition for the core afternoon program only.
Former Army buddies Pat Sajak and Joe Moore again will team up for a summertime show, “Prescription: Murder,” July 31 to Aug. 10, at the Hawaii Theatre.
Sajak, the incomparable host of the long-running TV game show, “Wheel of Fortune,” will play Dr. Roy Flemming, and Moore, the veteran news anchor at KHON, will portray Lieutenant Columbo, in the Original Columbo Mystery Thriller.
It’s a longtime summer ritual for the TV twosome, to hone a stage show for their Hawaii fans, with proceeds benefitting the Hawaii Theatre..
The play, by William Link and Richard Levinson,inspired the TV series “Columbo,” which starred Peter Falk.
Rob Duval wiil direct, with local actors Therese Olival, Amy K.S Sullivan, Bryce Moore and Aiko Chinen also participating.
Performances will be at 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with matinees at 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
It’s a good time to be Filipino on Broadway – a handful of notables are starring in Broadway attractions this year, according to ABS-CBN, a Filipino media company based in Quezon City, Metro Manila in the Philippines.
The best-known Filipino actress in the world is marquee favorite Lea Salonga, who was the first Asian actress of Filipino ancestry to win a Tony Award (and an Olivier Award) for her performance as Kim in “Miss Saigon” in 1991.
Lea Salonga, the world’s best known award-winning Filipino actress.
Salonga now is co-starring with Bernadette Peters (also a Tony winner), Jasmin Forsberg and Camille Liwanag in “Old Friends,” a Stephen Sondheim revue, now at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
In 2023, Salonga also had a cameo role in “Here Lies Love,” the musical biography of Philippines first lady, Imelda Marcos, featuring an all-Filipino cast, a first for Broadway.
Nicole Scherzimger, starring in London-produced”Sunset Blvd.”
Hawaii’s Nicole Scherzinger, former Pussycat Dolls lead singer, is starring as Norma Desmond in the acclaimed revival of “Sunset Boulevard” at the St. James Theatre. It’s a role she originated in the West End and imported to New York last year. And yes, Scherzinger is of Filipino heritage, too.
Marc delaCruz of “Hamilton.”
Hawaii also can claim two other male Filipino performers in current hit shows: Marc delaCruz is a standby to play the lead of Alexander Hamilton plus other key roles in “Hamilton,” at the Richard Rodgers Theatre; and Zare Anguay is a swing actor, dance captain and fight captain in Disney’s “Aladdin,” at the New Amsterdam Theatre.
Zare Anguay. of “Aladdin.”
Filipino American trouper Eva Noblezada has assumed the role of Sally Bowles in “Cabaret at the Kit-Kat Club,” at the August Wilson Theatre.
And Darren Criss is Oliver in “Maybe Happy Ending,” at the Belasco Theatre.
Among other Filipino actors on Broadway now:
Kay Siba is Katherine Howard, one of the six wives of King Henry VIII in “Six: The Musical,” at the Lena Horne Theatre.
Daryl Tofa is Two-bit Matthew in “The Outsiders,” at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
Angelica Hale is Trisha in “Boop: The Musical,” a newcomer at the Broadhurst Theatre.
Jhailyn Farcon is Imogen and Alaina Vi Maderal is Gwynne in “& Juliet,” at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
Nico De Jesus, Raechelle Manalo, and Niki Saludez are ensemble members in “Hell’s Kitchen,” at the Shubert Theatre.
Kay Trinidad is Fate and KC Dela Cruz is a swing actor in “Hadestown,” at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
Jessica White is in the ensemble of “The Great Gatsby,” at the Broadway Theatre.
Jeigh Madjus is Baby Doll and Heather Makalani is in the ensemble in “Moulin Rouge,” at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
Lissa DeGuzman is Elphaba standby in “Wicked,” at the Gershwin Theatre…
A reimagined, existential ‘Mulan’
An up-front advisory: “I Am Mulan,” opening today (April 9) at the Earle Ernest lab Theatre adjoining Kennedy Theatre at the University of Hawaii, is not recommended for young children.
The play’s subtitle, “Rewriting the Legacy of a Timeless Heroine,” sets the tone. This is not a Disney princess fable; youths 13 and older may attend.
Elizabeth Ung, an MFA candidate, has written and directed an existential dramady that reimagines the popular heroine into five distinct personas – a battle-hardened veteran, a modern American-born Chinese, a romantic dreamer, a politically charged revolutionary, and an irreverent, gender-fluid performer – all trapped in a surreal purgatory known as Dìyù.
Another challenge: the production is multi-lingual featuring English, Mandarin, and Cantonese languages.
The storytelling taps a rich tapestry of history – from the origins of “The Ballad of Mulan” in 4th-century China through turbulent periods such as 1930s Shanghai, the 1966 Cultural Revolution, and the late 1980s New York City AIDS crisis, to the contemporary impacts of COVID-19.
Lily Hi’ilani Okimura, left, with Jill Sanders.–Christine Lamborn photo.
An all-Asian ensemble includes alum LilyHi’ilani Okimura as ABC Mulan, alongside Justin Fragiao, Qi Zhang, Ariean Jimenez, and Jill Sanders.
The design team includes set designer Lacey Tuell, light designer Tyler Kanemori, projections by Alison Bruce-Maldonado, and costumes by Kāneikoliakawahineikaʻiukapuomua Baker.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. today (April 9) through Saturday (April 12) and at 2 p.m. Sunday (April 13). Tickets: $8 to $18, available at manoa.hawaii.edu/liveonstage/mulan Information: (808) 956-7655…
Washington beats Clooney in the Broadway grosses
Denzel Washington and Jake Glynenhaal have regained the No. 1 spot on the Broadway gross competish, for the round-up, for the week ending April 6. George Clooney slides to No. 2.
“Merrily We Roll Along,” the uncanny 2024 Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical, will be rolling out sometime soon as a motion picture to be released by Sony Pictures Classics.
Thus, the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth show — once a failure in 1981 before becoming a box office hit after it opened in October 2023 till its closing in July 2024 — has been preserved for the ages. The music and lyrics are Sondheim’s; Furth did the book.
This is the show, if you recall, that was initially a box office dud in 1981, when it ran for 14 previews and 44 performances. “Merrily” was then mothballed until its first-ever revival in 2022, leading up to its phenomenal sell-out fave in 2023 through 2024.
And the reverse storyelling chronology – the show biz tale unfolds at the ending and works toward the beginning — will give the production a new life as a cinematic release. Fans who couldn’t score tickets in its run at the Hudson Theatre will finally have an opportunity to see what the buzz was all about.
“Merrily” examines the friendship, the friction, and possible erosion of workplace best friends, whose lives intersect with highs and lows, with some alienation and many challenges.
Daniel Radliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez in “Merrily We Roll Along.” Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Jonathan Groff portrays Frank Shepard, an ambitious composer who wants to be a producer, who thrives alongside his longtime friends, lyricist Charley Kringas (played by Daniel Radcliffe) and writer Mary Flynn (enacted by Lindsay Mendez). Groff and Radcliffe earned Tonys, with a third Tony bestowed on Jonathan Tunick for orchestrations.
Maria Friedman directed the show and was a Tony nominee, and her illuminating vision made her characters come alive with vitality and vigor, drawing in the spectators.
Can’t wait from the transformation from stage to screen; imagine there will be a DVD release, too. Since this was my favorite Broadway show last year, I’d buy the DVD…
Clooney’s ‘Good Night’ still tops Broadway grosses
The rankings haven’t changed on Broadway. The pair earning more than $3 million last week, dominated again this week. Translation: George Clooney reigns as the top grossing actor via his “Good Night, and Good Luck;” and Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal maintain their second place slot with “Othello.”
