Category: Stage

Manoa Valley Theatre’s revival of “Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” is stunning and seductive with a syncopation of elements that give it its specific pulse.

This becomes obvious, in the early moments of the production, when musical director Joe Pacheco’s nine-piece orchestra starts the rhythmic tones from an angular huddle on stage left, quickly joined by the splendid ensemble appearing in synch and unity of movements of James Wright’s expressive choreography on “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” a charismatic and expressive intro to theatrics to come.

Director Stephanie Conching has the skills of a maestro, moving her actors like notes in an aria, yielding visual soloists and ensemble choruses that clearly lighten and brighten this dark, sinister work by Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and Hugh Wheeler (book), from an adaptation by Christopher Bond.

I’ve seen perhaps six or seven “Sweeney” productions over the decades, and each has its own  personality and pizzazz.

I recall the original, directed by Harold Prince, with Len Cariou as Todd and Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett, in a mammoth staging with even a catwalk, and the less-is-more version when Patti LuPone sang and played the tuba. And yes, I took in the latest Broadway revival in July directed by  Thomas Kail, with Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford (with voices from heaven).

But worry not this one is as good as it gets. This cast is remarkable, rich in depth and definition, creating vivid characterizations.

Sally Swanson is Mrs. Lovett, Kyle Malis is Sweeney Todd.

Kyle Malis, with shiny bald pate, is a Todd with a huge baritone voice and is cut-throat spooky with a blade. Not to worry; no blood splashes since the red stuff are fabric which flows whenever there’s a victim in the barber’s chair.

Sally Swanson, as Mrs. Lovett, has a huge personality and projects power and assurance. But her bakery to peddle her meat pies made from victims of Todd’s barber shop upstairs, is mostly a tray and table with a meat grinder downstairs. She is a co-conspirator in the crimes.

Kenna Shafter is Johanna, Miguel Cadoy III is Anthony.

Miguel Cadoy III, as Anthony, the suitor infatuated with Johanna, possesses the show’s most romantic voice, singing “Johanna,” one of the repeating tunes in the score; Johanna, played by Kenna Shafter, is the daughter of Todd, has a sweet demeanor demonstrated on “Kiss Me,” a duet with Cadoy, as they plan to run away together.

Kimo Kaona, as Judge Turpin, is corrupt  as they come – manipulating and menacing as a dishonest father, lording over Johanna as his prisoner.

Buffy Kahalepuna-Wong, left, as the mysterious Beggar Woman, has threatening entrances and exits, so she brings bold presence to the crowd, an oracle not to be dismissed. And she possesses a secret identity.

Rocco Bechirian, as Tobias, renders an unexpected beaut of a tune, “Not While I’m Around” with Swanson.

Mira Fey’s set design is a two-level wonderment, with three staircases (the ork’s nestled ‘neath one) and barely enough space for Todd’s new barber chair, with the seat dropping corpses to the first floor. At MVT, real estate is limited, and Fey manages to compact doorways and corridors with efficiency, allowing a spacious central dance floor, if you will, for the large ensemble.

Costume designer Amber Lehua Baker showcases vintage styles to suit a range of body types, and Lisa Ponce de Leon’s hair and makeup live up to her usual magic. Willie Sabel’s scenic contributions are eye appealing.

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Janine Myers’ lighting design and Hanale Ka‘anapu’s sound design are fitting for the needs, with two levels of consideration.

“Sweeney” is a box office hit, but here’s a tip: three more performances have just been added Oct. 6, 7 and 8. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

“Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

A musical by Stephen Sondheim, with book by Hugh Wheeler, from an adaptation by Christopher Bond

Where: Manoa Valley Theatre

When: Remaining shows, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22 and 29,  3 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23 and 30, and  3 p.m. Sept. 24; extension shows at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 and 7, and 3 p.m. Oct. 8.

Tickets: $25 to $45, available at www.manoavalleytheatre.com or (808) 988-6131.

Less is more, as the adage goes, and more or less, “Celebrate 60 Years” – the tribute applauding the six-decades-long career of the late Ronald E. Bright (pictured below) legendary director and stage mentor – succeeded in capsulizing Mr. B’s impact on the cultural scene here.

The show, which ran nearly 2 ½ hours last night (Sept. 2) at the Ron Bright Performance Center at Castle High School, had more highs than lows, but it clearly needed Mr. B’s intervention to keep the momentum going. More or less, the program was nostalgic fun — but needed tweaking.

Unable yet to drive due to health issues since early August, I took a cab ride to and from  the Kaneohe theater, anticipating a crisp celebratory evening. As a follower and journalist cheerleader for Mr. B. for nearly 60 years, I couldn’t miss this one. But yikes, the taxi journey seemed a tad smoother than the show.

The event was a collaboration between the Castle Performing Arts Center (CPAC), where Bright had roots in creating a high school theatrical program like no other, and the I’m a Bright Kid foundation, which was organized after Mr. B’s death to preserve and perpetuate his dreams and legacy.

The problem: the well-intentioned show lacked a director, though the leaders of both camps —Karen Meyer, who succeeded Bright at Castle, who has been at the reigns for 22 years, and Ligaya Stice, a former Bright Kid who now is the executive director of IABK – managed to serve up a fond remembrance of Mr. B, then and now.

The issue was the erratic range of voices of reflections – wonderful at best, overlong at worst – because of the neglect to monitor time and content. If you were there, you know who was splendid and who was not, and it came down to time; when Meyer had to go on stage to nudge one reflective voice to scurry and hurry away from the podium due to a lack of brevity, that’s where the less-is-more guideline applied. Most speakers were spot-on perfect, however.

Two Bright Kids allies: Allan Lau, left, and Devon Nekoba, right.

The performances were astounding, considering the range and variety:

• “Harmonious,” a remarkable dance sequence by Marcelo Pacleb’s 24 VII Danceforce company, was visually and aurally impressive, with Broadway-quality movements and costumes and projections that had bursts of “The Lion King,” and now-and-wow dances and vocals to stun the eyes and the ears.
• “This Is Me,” featuring the IABK summertime institute youths, was a reprisal performance with a message-marvelous theme from “The Greatest Showman.” A worthy hana-hou specimen of the ongoing good work inspired by Mr. B.
• The family vocals on “A Million Dreams,” also from “Showman,” tapped– for the first time – dad Michael Bright, mom Jade Auguay Bright, and their kids, Caitlin, Drew and Colton Bright . A splendid union of talent.
• Caitlin Bright, literally was “On My Own,” soloing on the “Les Miserables” heart-tugger, and demonstrating the stage is in her future, should she want to focus and go for it.
• “For Good,” an anthem from “Wicked,” was a demonstration that former Bright divas Kimee Balmilero, Saralea Gamiao Kekuna, Jodi Leong and Ligaya Stice still have the prowess and pizzaz to deliver a ballad.
• Miguel Cadoy III, the Farrington High School educator, earned hurrahs for his “Man of Mancha” solo, “The Impossible Dream.”
• The brotherly song of challenges, “Anything You Can Do” from “Annie Get Your Gun,” showed the playful rapport between brothers, Ezekiel Kekuna and Ezra Kekuna.
• Michael Bright led the opening notes of “If You Believe,” as others chimed in on the Mr. B-chosen anthem from “The Wiz,” now kind of an alma mater among Bright Kids; it was an appropriate show-closer finale, a tune that all youths and adults in a Bright show, then and now, learn by heart and its spirit lives in their daily lives. Believe, and you’ll achieve.

Two archival montages from Bright’s early years as director-teacher and snapshots of various casts in the variety of musical productions over the dates, were fun to watch but both lacked captions to indicate show title and year. One clip had promotional captions that did not have vital what-and-when dates.

Because Sept. 2 would have been Mr. B’s 90^th birthday, the cast and the spectators sang “Happy Birthday” to their mentor, and pieces of cakes were shared with folks departing the theater. For sure, Mr. B was smiling approval from his heavely perch.

And appropriately, Mo Bright, widow of Ron, was properly and affectionately declared as a vital element with a legacy in her own right, having been the sidekick of Ron at all productions over the decades.  She believed, back in the days, and continues to believe in his work and his disciples.

And that’s Show Biz. …

Ron Bright, the beloved director-drama teacher, was an inspiration to the scores of theater students he mentored.

A show marking his 60^th anniversary at Castle High School, will be staged at 7:30 p.m. day  (Sept. 2) at the Ron Bright Performing Arts Center at Castle. Today also marks his 90^th birthday.
His wisdom about performers, audiences and the venues has been shared before; the I’m A Bright Kid foundation periodically shares this  savvy behavior guide at shows. (This last appeared in IABK’s “This Is Me” playbill).

With the curtain rising on the 2023-24 theater season this month, the advice here is universally applicable.

Thanks, Mr. B!

Two theatrical milestones will be commemorated when the Castle Performance Arts Company (CPAC) and the I’m a Bright Kid foundation (IABK) collaborate to stage “60 Years of Castle Theatre” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 2) at the Ronald E. Bright Performing Arts Center at Castle High School.

Ron Bright, pictured left, has been the eminent resident, inspirational director and educator, who staged musicals at Castle during his tenure beginning in 1963. He has been mentoring a flock of young theater buffs over the decades, many who ultimately made the cut to star in Broadway musicals after graduation from Castle.

The event also coincides in what would have been Mr. Bright’s 90^th birthday on Sept. 2. He retired in 1988 and died July 7, 2015, at age 81.

A third historical moment will unfold, too,  when the Michael Bright family – Michael is Mr. B’s second son —  vocalize together for the first time, on “A Million Dreams,” the power ballad from the film, “The Greatest Showman.” Michael will be joined by wife Jade and their children (and Mr. B’s and Mo Bright’s grandchildren) Caitlin,  Drew and Colton, a familial moment that surely will have Poppa beaming and applauding from his heavenly perch.

Mo Bright, joins Ron Bright, at the keyboards.

“It’s such a wonderful feeling, to have them performing and singing for the first time as a family,” said Mo Bright. “I’m so proud of all of them.”

Mo has been part of Mr. B’s life and times from the get-go, with a ringside seat for most of the prime spectacles staged by him. She was always an onlooker, offering comfort and support from the sidelines, and was a valuable assistant to Mr. B, logging notations for the shows.

“It seems like only yesterday,” she said of the passage of time. “Sixty years? The memories are still fresh in my mind.”

She’s been Auntie Mo to all the stage youngsters, for nearly all the times he’d assemble a cast and rehearse in his inimitable style, creating opportunities leading towards opening night. “I may have missed a few shows,” she sighed, referring to the times she was pregnant with sons Michael and Clarke Bright and daughter Jodi Bright Stein.

Ron Bright and son Clarke Bright prep for “West Side Story.”

This joint project between CPAC and IABK means all collaborative hands will be on deck from both theatrical teams, with CPAC’s Karen Meyer rehearsing and staging Castle’s students and IABK’s Ligaya Stice coordinating elements from her camp, the mission being to share the story and history of the theatrical seeds planted and nurtured on the Kaneohe campus.

Curiously, there’s no director per se, and while there will be the noticeable presence of 24-VII, the versatile dance group led by Marcelo Pacleb, there’s no bona fide choreographer credited nor a vocal or musical director.

Emcee chores will be shared by Wally Tavares, Castle ’72, and Devon Nekoba, frequent Bright-directed singer-actor who also is a radio deejay now.

Regulars to Mr. B’s Castle shows, as well as his post-retirement productions at Paliku Theatre at the Windward Community College, will recognize the faces and voices of performers Kimee Balmilero, Jodi Leong, Sarahlea Kekuna, Allan Lau, Miguel Cadoy III, Kalea McLagan  and the aforementioned Nekoba.

The Ron Bright Theatre is home of the Castle Performing Arts Center.

The show will embrace memories from pre-Castle Theatre productions at Castle Gymnatorium and Benjamin Parker School, to more recent IABK endeavors at Paliku, providing an arc of triumph reflecting the spectrum of the Bright learning curve.  The musical fare will run the gamut, from “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” from “The Sound of Music” to “On My Own,” from “Les Miserables,” and from “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better” from “Annie Get Your Gun” to “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman.”

“Celebrate 60” is the first of two Ron Bright productions this month.

“An Evening of Rodgers & Hammerstein Classics,”  produced by the IABK foundation, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 and 30 and at 4 p.m. Oct. 1 at Paliku Theatre, at Windward Community College. The show will feature such signatures from the R&H vaults including “The King & I,” “South Pacific,” “Oklahoma,” “Carousel” and “The Sound of Music.”

Details:

• “Celebrate 60”

Tickets: $20 adults 18-64, $10 students 18+, seniors 65+, military. A collaborative production by CPAC and IABK foundation. Tickets: https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/75807

• “Rodgers & Hammerstein”

Tickets: $32 premier; $27 adults;  $22 seniors, students and military;  $17 youths 6-13; free, toddlers 2-5; $17, floor seating (ticketing required for all). Produced by IABK. Tickets: https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/75827 or imabrightkid.org/tickets

Local boy Morales in China tour

Local boy Joseph Morales, who has been one of the touring Hamiltons in the family of “Hamilton” companies, is one of several Broadway leads who are touring in “Next Stop Broadway,” in prestigious multi-cultural gigs in China, arranged by Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment.

Keri Rene Fuller and Joseph Morales, are touring China.

Morales joins Jen Colella (“Come From Away”), Keri Rene Fuller (“Six”), and Zachary Piser (“Dear Evan Hansen”) and they’ll represent America in shows at the Shanghai Grand Theatre, the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center, the Nanjing Lichi Theater, the Chengdu City Concert Hall and the Shanxi Opera House. Performances began Aug. 23 and run through Sept. 10.

Top Chinese performers also are part of these  presentations, themed “A Star-Studded Night of New Broadway Classics.”

Morales, a Wahiawa native who is a former Bright Kid performer, also starred in Lisa Matsumoto pidgin English musicals before finding his calling in “Hamilton,” in which he played the title role in Chicago and several national tours. …

And that’s Show Biz.. …

The I’m a Bright Kid Foundation will commemorate the 60^th anniversary of a  true theatrical legend, the late Ronald Bright, with a special show at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 2 at the  Ron Bright Theatre on the campus of Castle High School.

Bright was the beloved teacher-director, who not only instilled the love and tradition of the stage to hundreds of youthful actors with his productions, but broadened his popularity by building a loyal community of theater-goers, initially at the Castle gym, but later at the Castle Theatre now named after him.

The show be a musical jointly produced by IABKF and the Castle Performing Arts Center.

Bright, pictured below, was the founder of the arts center and director of all the musicals staged at Castle before he retired;  2023 would have been his 60^th anniversary of mounting Castle shows.

The date is significant, too, coinciding with what will be Mr. B’s 90^th birthday.  He was born Sept. 2, 1933  and died at age 81 on July 7, 2015.

The nature and content of the production has not yet been revealed, but likely will include tributes linked with songs and dances from iconic musicals that helped shape Mr. B’s legacy. But surely, somebody —  even the full ensemble – will render his trademark tune, “If You Believe” (from “The Wiz”) — which has been a powerful and perfect mantra to perpetuate his memory.

IABKF will also present “An Evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein Classics,” its fall musical attraction, at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29  and 30 and 4 p.m. Oct. 1 at Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College. The venue is where Bright continued to direct musicals that were on his bucket list: “Les Miserables,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” and “Miss Saigon.”

Numbers from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s legacy shows,  comprising “Sound of Music,” “Oklahoma!,” “South Pacific” and “The King and I,” will be featured in the Paliku show.

Tickets:  For “Celebrate 60!,” $20 adults, $10 students; for “Rodgers and Hammerstein,” $17 to $32, at www.imabrightkid.org/tickets

‘Moana” star Cravalho tackles ‘Evita’

Auli‘i Cravalho, pictured below, the voice of Moana in Disney’s animated film “Moana,” just completed singing the title role of Eva Peron in“Evita” in a concert version of the hit musical, July 31 and Aug. 1 at London’s Royal Drury Lane.

It was her West End debut.

A concert version of a Broadway musical generally means a full cast performs the show, with minimal costumes and few sets, if any, but supported by a large orchestra to enhance the “concert” element.

The 30-piece London Musical Theatre Orchestra provided the music.

Her co-star as Che Guevara  was Matt Rawle, who played the role in a London revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical. …

Broadway grosses, week ending July 30

The leaders of the Broadway pack still top the charts, as summer biz continues. And two shows posted more than. $2 million!

The Lucky 7:

1–“The Lion King,” $2.813 million.

2– “Wicked,” $2.139 million.

3 — “Hamilton,” $1.873 million.

4 — “Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” $1.774 million.

5 — “Funny Girl,”: $1.672 million,

6 — “Aladdin,” $1.619 milliion.

7 — “MJ, the Michael Jackson Musical,” $1.598 million.

The complete list, courtesy The Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz. …