Category: Updates

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BROADWAY NOTES: ‘GYPSY’ ENDS AUG. 17

“Gypsy,” currently in a revival production starring Audra McDonald as Mama Rose, will close Aug. 17 at the Majestic Theatre. The windup will have played 28 previews ad 269 performances.

The show originally was to be on Broadway through Oct. 5.

While McDonald has been wowing audiences, she didn’t win a Tony earlier this summer and grosses have not been as strong as anticipated. Consequently, “Gypsy” has not earned a Top 10 slo regularly in the weekly tallies.

Audra McDonald as Mama Rose in :=”Gypsy.” The show closes Aug. 17,

I would have loved seeing her, but I missed traveling to New York this year and won’t plan to during the rest of the year.

Ethel Merman originated the role in 1959, but I’ve not seen her. However, I’ve taken in the other revivals, starring Angela Lansbury in 1974, Tyne Daly in 1989, Bernadette Peters in 2003, and Patti LuPone in 2008…

Bright Kids staging ‘Gypsy” Aug. 8 to 24

A Hawaii revival of “Gypsy” will be produced by the I’m a Bright Kid Foundation for three weekends beginning Aug. 8 and continuing through Aug. 24 at Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College. Jacquelyn Holland-Wright, an alumnus of Castle High School, will enacting Mama Rose. Curtain times are at 7:30 p..m Fridays and Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays.

Tickets are $22 to $44, available at www.iabk.org …

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The return of the masked Phantom?

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legacy show, “The Phantom of the Opera,” shut down in 2023, after a history-making 35-year residency. It’s Broadway’s longest-running musical of all time.

But that masked hero, who sought the favors of Christine, apparently will make a comeback, specific timetable unknown.

Lloyd Webber, however, has been teasing a sequel from the opera house ghost. While the show’s working title is “Masquerade,” the Phantom likely will be haunting show-goers again, perhaps next season…

‘A Chorus Line’ marks 50th anniversary

A one-night special, celebrating the 50th anniversary of “A Chorus Line,” was staged Juiy 27 by and for the original cast members of the Tony-award winning show.

The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, staged the production at the Shubert Theatre, for 15 years – from 1975 to 1990 – the home of “A Chorus Line.”

Original cast member Baayork Lee remounted the original Michael Bennett backstage musical with Bob Avian choreography.

Special guests included members of the original 1975 singers-dancers, including Kelly Bishop, Wayne Cilento, Baayork Lee, Priscilla Lopez, and Donna McKechnie, joined by special guest performers Charlotte d’Amboise, Jessican Lee Goldyn, Robyn Hurder, Francis Jue, Krysta Rodriguea, Jessica Vosk, Anthony Wayne, Tony Yazbeck and Leigh Zimmerman.

The production is known for its icoic finale formation number, “One Singular Sensation,” known for its synchronized formation of the single row of pomp and circumstance dancing, complete with top hats…

TV notables to co-star in murder mystery

They are former Army buddies, and legendary television figures, who have a penchant to take on stage roles, doing dramas, comedies and mysteries.

It’s all for charity, for Fox/KHON lsland news anchor Joe Moore and his former military pal Pat Sajak, the celebrated “Wheel of Fortune” host of the syndicated game show

Pat Sajak, left, and Joe Moore will co-star in “Prescription Murder” ar the Hawaii Theatre.

Moore, still in the news anchor seat, and Sajak, who’s retired but still occasionally appears as a guest host, started co-starring in plays at the Hawaii  Theatre. It started 24 years ago, when they starred in Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple,” and they’re still going strong.

This year, the pair is taking on “Prescription Murder,” the original Columbo mystery thriller by William Link and Richard Levinson, whose work became the inspiration for the “Columbo” mysteries on TV.  Performances will be from July 31 to Aug. 10.

Moore will take on the part of Lt. Columbo, the somewhat disheveled, bumbling detective who made Peter Falk a star, and Sajak will be Dr. Roy Flemming, a brilliant psychiatrist, intent on murdering his wife. The show is a give-and-take, back-and-fourth and cat-and-mouse escapade of thrills, wits and chuckles.

Moore says, this “will likely be our final time on stage together.”

Rob Duval is directing, and the supporting players include Bryce Moore, Therese Olival, Amy K. Sullivan and Aiko Chinen.

Tickets range in price from $42.50  to $87.50,  available at www.hawaiitheatre.com/prescriptionmurder or (808) 528-0506…

A steadfast trio dominates the $2 million club

Summertime means longstanding Broadway favorites – the kingpin trio of “Wicked,” “The Lion King” and  “Hamilton”—are the lone  members of the elite $2 million club. The recent closing of a hot ticket, “Sunset Blvd.,” opened a slot in the Top 5, and surprise, surprise, “Aladdin’s” magic earned the show the No. 4 position.

The Top 10:

1–“Wicked,” $2.386 million

2—”The Lion King,” $2.324 million

3—”Hamilton,” $2.736 million

4—”Aladdin,” $1.610 million

5—”MJ, the Musical,” $1.394 million

6–“Maybe Happy Ending,” $1.382 million

7—“Just In Time,” $1.316 million

8—“Death Becomes Her,” $1.251 million

9—“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $1.246 million

10—”The Outsiders,” $1.237 million

The complete list, for the week ending July 27, courtesy the Broadway Guild:

And that’s Show Biz…

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ADDENDUM TO MEDICAL UPDATE

So, it’s been six  days since my back-related surgery at Queen’s Medical Center.

Some afterthoughts:

  • Can’t take a shower till Friday, and the alternative has been wipes. Wipe the head, face, arm, legs, back, head, and everywhere else. Refreshing, but not nearly as satisfying as a shower.
Me, with the yellow socks provided to risk-fallers at Queen’s. It’s keeper for chilly morns.
  • My doctor removed the magnet from a no-longer-functioning alternative system and replaced it with a different but comparable product. It’s a device – call it a neurosurgical gizmo – that is an alternative to back surgery, the batter sending vibes to the brain that the pain is not that, well, painful.
  • So It’s like sitting in an idling car, waiting to put your foot on the gas pedal. In this case, I’d use a “connector” to get the energy to ease the pain. So, for now, still awaiting the keys to operate the vehicle, so to speak.
  • But Michael Chrysler, Boston Scientific representative in Hawaii, called this morn to check on me and the device that has been implanted. He stopped by the house to monitor and moderate it, so it’s kinda like ready to roll, but for the next few days, I’m asked to avoid touching any buttons in a remote device since it’s programmed in a trial run phase. Yes, I can feel a subtle buzz now.
  • Meanwhile, my wound area – on the left side of my butt – is tender and fragile. The bandage zone is becoming hues of pink and gray, bruises that indicate healing. But it itches as hell, but scratching’s not allowed.
  • Sleeping has not been easy; I’m a toss-and-turner, moving in all directions. When I this way or that, over the bandage, it hurts a skosh. And awakens me. No pain, no gain.
  •  And do you remember I mentioned the bright yellow socks, which Queen’s provides for folks who have fall risks?  Showing proof – just so you believe me. It’s truly a keeper, for those rare 65 degree morns in winter.
  • Further, the doc visits still forthcoming. And a possible colonoscopy. And a CTscan. And, gulp, a potential unrelated surgery in my tummy area, since I have intermittent minor pain in the center of my stomach, and also on the left side. Still no prognosis of what’s happening there; hence, doc visits and select probes. Not looking forward to drinking something that will enables dyes to be seen during the Ctscan; still hope the colonoscopy (and the stuff you need to drink before the procedure) is off the radar.
  • Otherwise, all’s well, sort of. Have to visit the diagnostic lab tomorrow for another round of lab tests. So the beat goes on…
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A BLISSFUL ‘SONDHEIM’ AT MVT


“Side by Side by Sondheim” is a truly blissful concoction and everything you might expect as a musical.

On Manoa Valley Theatre’s chic set and staging, it is a resourceful and resounding success that celebrates and explores the many riches in composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s vast and varied songbook.

It is a marvelous, intimate, and delightful production, performed by a magical, inspired and dedicated cast of six – three ladies, three gents—and backed by an astonishing and tireless musical conductor who shines and steers through every note as a one-woman orchestra.

The show is simultaneously a musical, a play, a recital and an experiment. And it’s also a show-within-a-show, when – in Act 2 – the ensemble performs on a makeshift stage hidden behind a billowing white curtain in Act 1. Parodies and medleys of Sondheim’s hit contributions in the Broadway catalogue are joyously shared in off-the-wall delivery.

The entire program is an enlightening lesson in Sondheim-ism, with a mix of narratives from the actors who perform solos, duets, and – well, you get the idea – in a stunning examination of the composers’ styles. And natch, of lyrics, too. His aren’t the easiest tunes to deliver. (Ask any veteran actor who’s been in one of his shows).

The cast, side-by-side from left to right: Andrew Simmons, Jasmine Haley Anderson, Lisa Konove, Kim Anderson, John D’Versa, and David Weaver.

The cast is a wonderment. The women are Kim Anderson, Jasmine Haley Anderson and Lisa Konove; the guys are John D’Aversa, Andrew Simmons and David Weaver.

Each singer is star-caliber, with the sense of intensity of vocalizing, no matter the mood. Everyone is capable to handle a comedic number, right before mood-changes and the tension of romantic ballads.

Highlights are plentiful, but apologies – coming off a surgery last week, it’s a bit of a strain to take notes in a darkened theater and MVT’s abbreviated playbill no longer offer deserved credits of who sings what.

Disclosure: MVT has an online program, but song titles and performers are shamefully neglected here, too, since “Side by Side” unreels 30 titles plus montages/medleys from “Gypsy,” “West Side Story” and “Company.” These professionals should be rewarded with proper recognition. .

Side-by-side again, top: J. Anderson, K. Anderson, and D’Aversa; bottom, Konove, Simmons and Weaver.

A short list of highlights, however, include “Barcelona,” “The  Boy From…” “You Must Meet My Wife,” “Send in the Clowns,” “I Never Do Anything Twice’” and :”Anyone Can Whistle.”

Suggest you take in the show and discover your own favorites and highlights.

What will impress you, too, the moment you enter the theater, is that awesome set. It looks like a condo with open-house appeal,  and  was created by Jax Pitts, combined with Willie Sabel’s scenic artistry. There’s a sofa, a recliner with a footstool, a staircase to a second level entrance/exit, a shelf containing books and central wall depicting paintings and an oversized screen with rotating images, often as backdrops to select tune deliveries.

Miki Yamamoto

The piano, manned by the indefatigable Miki Yamamoto, is hidden beneath the stage that will host a hilarious series of medleys.

James Wright, director-choreographer, knows the value of pacing. He moves his actors-singers-dancers with fluidity and finesse, so the savvy twirls never sidetrack or diminish the camaraderie of the teamwork.

And his casting is impeccable. The two Andersons and Konove, plus D’Aversa, Simmons and Weaver, could easily step into a touring company of “Side by Side” tomorrow.

Janine Myers’ lighting design and Timothy Manamtams’ sound design complement each other.

There’s credit for costumer (Kanani Sato) but no and hair-makeup credit, so if the ensemble tended to this chore themselves, kudos. The looks suit the performers.

MVT is on a roll, with consistency of show choices, delivering first-rate productions back-to-back.

“Side by Side” thus winds up yet another successful season…

And that’s Show Biz…

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‘Side by Side by Sondheim

What: A musical revue of composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s music, originally produced on Broadway by Harold Prince.

Where: Manoa Valley Theatre

When:  7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 pm. Saturdays and Sundays, through July 27

Tickets: $25 to $50, with discounts available for military, senior citizens and youths 25 and under, at (808) 988-6131 or https://ci.ovationtix.com/35307sidebyside

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SOAK IN DHT’S ‘SPONGEBOB’ HIT

Diamond Head Theatre has plunged into the whirlpool of fun of “The SpongeBob Musical,” a marvel of stagecraft based on Nickelodeon’s spirited cartoon character and its undersea antics.

Originally dubbed “SpongeBob SquarePants,” the show- — minus the squarepants – is a colorful enterprise of quirky characters residing in Bikini Bottom, whose quiet lives are upended by a volcanic eruption falling and wiping out the sea community.

The real accomplishment is the coming-of-age triumph of the technical crew at DHT, which has had frequent  difficulty creating satisfying sets in its still-new theater with fly space that hadn’t been available for more than 100 years.

The sets are remarkable. including this one with underwater rainbow. Photos by Brandon Miyagi, courtesy

Thus, SpongeBob has arrived to rescue and resolve the techie production ills of the recent past, making this perhaps the best-ever, cohesive DHT enterprise.

Advisory: this is not a kiddie show. It’s family-oriented, with wide appeal to adults and parents. So, take a plunge and savor the silliness of SpongeBob.  

Chad Navarro, strumming uke, is SpongeBob Squarepants.

The saga of the undersea community threatened to lose its home is one of bonding to challenge and upend and survive the explosion of underwater mountains.  

Meana Stone is Sandy Cheeks, who has a great voice,

“SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical” – the formal official title –was a huge hit with both critics and spectators and earned 12 Tony Award nominations for it run at the Palace Theatre at Times  Square.. I saw it and laughed and applauded and adored this cartoon transformed into a live-action stage musical.

Then, and particularly now, “SpongeBob” satisfies with terrific sets, boasting bright and bold costumes, and a spirited cast plus, inventive staging, strong performances, and all the bells and whistles of a triumphant show.

Greg Zane, an islander with Broadway credits, is the bright mind and master and logically the influence to glue the elements together. He’s attracted skilled techies, along with an inspired  corps of actors and dancers, to give “SpongeBob” its energetic heartbeat. As director and choreography (and a former actor-dancer himself), Zane’s zest is a gift well shared.

On stage, diminutive Chad Navarro is a tireless SpongeBob, who sings, prances, and dances like a wind-up toy, and his character is notably optimistic to inspire his sea buddies to become the village that bonds and unifies in a time of crisis.

Nathaniel Ryan-Kern is the four-legged Squidward Q. Tentacles.

His BFF is Patrick Star (Zack Oldman, who has comedic traits, and late in the Act 2, a sleek and sensational dancer), and the characters include Squidward Q. Tentacles (Nathaniel Ryan-Kern, navigating with four legs), Sandy Cheeks (Mehana Stone, bearing a powerful voice), Eugene H. Krabs (Lee Nebe, who runs the Krusty Krab restaurant and bears. a pair of claws), and Sheldon J. Plankton (Pressly Wheeler, an antagonist with vibrant pipes).

The whacky denizens include pirates, sea anemones, sardines and more.

Deanne Kennedy’s awesome scenic design features a splendid oceanscape of a warm light blue with coral accents, against which appears a four-tiered underwater rainbow in Act 2, and a pair on instances of glistening jellyfish descending from the fly space in the first act, and circular bubbles falling from above in the second act. Further, there are a pair of underwater “mountains” on wheels that move and turn with grace and they’re quiet, and silent in movement. Overall, these design elements elevate appeal and provide an element of finesse.

David Decarolis’ lighting is phenomenal, from bright of the day to darkness during the volcanic eruption, with occasional flashes creating dramatic effects.

Tim Manamtam’s and Sarah Velasco’s sound design complement the lights and occasionally augment onstage dramatic moments, like footsteps when the four-legged Squidward character tromps off stage, and visual elements of fog and strobe lights.

Emily Lane’s costumes and Aiko Schick’s hair and makeup design go hand in hand, with very bright colors on styles and outrageous hairdos for the entire cast of 20-plus. You can’t find the garb or the wigs at second-hand shops, so a sizeable budget was well spent.

Sage Nguyen is Pearl Krabs, in Emily Lane’s glorious costume and Aiko Schick’s pink wig.

Kyle Conner was props designer, Jared Paakaula was associate director, and Evan Autio choreographed the “I’m Not a Loser” sequence in Act 2, with Squidward and the anemones.

Jenny Shiroma’s music direction involved an ork of eight, with three keyboards and to guitars, and the music covered a range styles, with tunes tapped by producers. Thus, the score features songs by Steven Perry and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Cyndi Lauper, They Might Be Giants, Plain White T‘s, David Bowie and Sarah Bareilles.

There’s a multitude of other gems and surprises, if you look hither and yon, like the clever formation of a pineapple, which is the home of SpongeBob, a ticking aerial clock above the theater proscenium, and remote-controlled crab in a couple of scenes. All joyful stuff, in a landscape of unpredictability…

And that’s Show Biz…

“The SpongeBob Musical”

What: A musical by Stephen Hillenburg, with book by Kyle Jarrow, based on Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” cartoon

Where: Diamond Head Theatre

When: 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, plus 3 p.m. Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 9

Tickets: $41, $52 and $68, at (808) 733-0274 or www.diamondheadtheatre.com

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QUEEN’S FOR A DAY: IT WENT WELL

Well, it went well.

Talking about my Same Day Surgery yesterday (July 17) at Queen’s Medical Center.

The visit was to replace an outdated Abbott neuromodulation device and replace it with a new, compatible  Boston Scientific version. It’s part of the therapy to control chronic lower back pain and soreness in my sciatic right leg.

Me wearing the hairnet

Some things haven’t changed,  when I last underwent this procedure:

  • I’m still a risk for falling. Soon as I checked in, I received the customary wrist band, which  boasts your name and birthdate. But because of my mobility issues and could fall,  I must wear a yellow band with a “Fall Risk” declaration. For safety’s sake.
  • Those silly hairnets still are issued. Necessary, I suppose, but no one looks great with this bonnet.

However, some things have changed:

  • Socks for the fall prospects are bright yellow like corn on the cobb. Yep, had to put them on, but they were comfy!
  • Those horrid open-back gowns are still donned openly but now there’s a bunch of snaps at both shoulders, to enable easier access for aides to paste body switches on your chest. Or check your heartbeat.
No denying, the Fall Risk wrist band is for safety’s sake.

There’s quite a village to get patients “fixed,” so it’s not a surprise to get a pre-op visit by your doctor (mine is Dr. Jeffrey Loh), plus a retinue of staff/nurses, like nurses, anesthesiologists, and others who buzz in to take blood pressure, temperature checks, and more.

I also had a pre-op visit, as well as a post-op visit, from Michael Chrysler, the Hawaii rep of Boston Scientific, who donned what looked like scrubs – but he wore a very special red head net. He regularly visits the hospital when a client/patient has a device implanted. I’ll have learned how to properly utilize the new acquisition. And medical insurance should cover the cost of $20,000.

So: I have a new device installed, and that means a wound on the mend. Dr. Loh had to oversee the removal of the old one and the installation of the new one. This involves a magnet that transmits signals to wires attached to the spine.

I’m on antibiotics for a week – pills must be taken once every six hours – and I have a follow-up office visit with Dr. Loh next Friday, where Chrysler will meet me and run through the how’s of operating a controller that will help me navigate the Boston model.

The downside of the surgery? I cannot shower for a week, nor can I wet and/or remove the bandage protecting the zone where the magnet was installed – on the left cheek of my butt. I had a request to Dr. Loh to be sure the magnet was attached deep enough to avoid the fate of the Abbott magnet, which was inserted with a bit of a tilt, which was awkward and a bit painful when I moved around when asleep.

Of course, my wife Vi continues to be an angel in these medical quests. She was bedside before and  after the procedure. Thanks, hon; that’s dedication.

A postscript: I didn’t miss it earlier but thought about it now.  For some reason, I wasn’t moved to a recovery room like in past procedures. I recall recovering patients were asked and served juice and a cracker when asked “are you thirsty” or “are you hungry?”   Must be an inflationary issue to cut back. —