Category: Updates

Happy Boy’s Day, to lads and dads and males young and old.

May 5 is Boy’s Day — also now known as Children’s Day –and traditionally,, households in Japan and Hawaii fly carp over or outside their homes, in keeping with practices in Japanese culture. The carp is known for its strength and determination.

Shown here is a Boy’s Day notecard I creaeted some years back. And yes, a carp is depicted, on a mini-pole, with flying streamers.

Feast on this:

I have come across three perfect meals – for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – that I’d like to share and suggest you try.

My favorite new breakfast is the sukiyaki at Heavenly Island Lifestyle at Koko Marina Center. It’s a hearty, fulfilling Japanese meal comprising an oishii entrée of sukiyaki, with beef, onions and tofu, swimming in a yummy broth.

The sukiyaki is served in a steaming pot, complemented by a slightly poached egg that you pour into the pot so it self-cooks. A bowl of miso soup is a hearty waker-upper; I opted for white rice and a side of morning ocha (green tea). All together, the fare is near perfection. I wish there’d be konnyaku, the gelatinous and translucent noodles common in Japanese broth dishes, to join the party.

This morning marvel is $17, and like the restaurant’s name, heavenly…

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For lunch, who doesn’t enjoy a BLT sandwich?

Zippy’s always has made a great clubhouse but shelved it during the pandemic.

But ordering it is tricky; it’s not on the menu, and it’s not a take-out option.

If you’re in the right dining room – I’ve had it at the Kaneohe restaurant, the Hawaii Kai restaurant before the dining room was shuttered, and most recently at the Kahala eatery twice – you’ve got to ask about availability.

The three-slices-of-bread classic, which comes with the requisite bacon, lettuce, and tomato, is anchored with oversized cocktail toothpicks to keep the sliced rectangular pieces in place. I order a side of fries (it could be included, but I’m not positive) but because I’ve been eating less than before, I usually eat two of the four wedges and  take home enough for a next-day lunch of dinner. A minute or so in the microwave rejuvenates the BLT, but eating cold is OK, too.

But remember: you can’t order this as a takeout item; it’s served as a dine-in option, where available. It’s about $20. …

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For dinner, try the beef donburi bowl at Don Quijote’s, available where plate lunches, musubi and other prepared meals are sold.

The donburi is served in bowl that features a bed of rice and a perfectly seasoned serving of thinly sliced beef, translucent onions, and red ginger. But wish there would be some konnyaku noodles here, too, to ramp up the flavors. All you need is a quick nuke and a great appetite. Cost: about $8…

Bon appetit…

Mother’s Day will be a mixed bag this year if you’re planning outings to salute Mom.

For starters, Blue Note Hawaii, the jazz club at the Outrigger Waikiki resort, has lined up three different events over two days, on Saturday May 11 (a day before the actual Mother’s Day) and Mother’s Day Sunday May 12:

• KSSK Radio and its morning drive team, Michael W. Perry & The Posse, will make their debut at Blue Note with  a May 11 event will feature a live radio broadcast, presumably with the usual talk story guests, capped by a concert by Henry Kapono and his band sharing a repertoire of C&K classics. Doors open at 8 a.m. prior to the 9 a.m. radio show. Tickets: $125 for premium seating, $99 for loge seating, and $89 for bar area seating. Reservations www.bluenotehawaii.com or (808) 777-4890.
• Chamber Music Hawaii will present Billy Childs, a pianist-composer, performing with CMH’s Tresemble, at 6:30 p.m. May 11. The program includes “The River, The Bird and the Storm” and “Two Elements A Day in the Forest of Dreams.” Doors open at 5 p.m. for beverages and meals. Premium seating, $35; loge and bar area seating, $25. Reservations: www.bluenotehawaii.com or (808) 777-4890.

• Frank DeLima & Na Kolohe, featuring David Kauahikaua and Bobby Nishida, offer a Mother’s Day Comedy Brunch show, at 1 p.m. May 12 at Blue Note. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. for beverage and meal service. DeLima is best known for his ethnic gags targeting Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, but he favors Portuguese and Filipino routines. His repertoire includes a Japanese sumotori and a Chinese game show host, but his brand also includes musical parodies of prevailing political issues and personalities. Premium seating, $45; loge and bar area seating, $35. Reservations: www.bluenotehawaii.com or (808) 777-4890.

• Josh Tatofi headlines a Mother’s Day buffet brunch concert May 11 at the Hawaii Convention Center. Timetable: 9 a.m., vendor marketplace; 10 to 11:45 a.m., brunch buffet with music by A Touch Gold; noon, Tatofi performance. Tickets: $175 adults, $90 children 3 to 11, free for  keiki up to 2 years old. Reservations: www.hawaiiconvention.com 

Na Leo marking 40^th anniversary

Na Leo Plilimehana, Hawaii’s most successful girl group, is marking its 40th anniversary this year.      

The trio, comprised of Nalani Choy, Lehua Kalima and Angela Morales, were Kamehameha Schools classmates, when they entered and won the “Brown Bags to Stardom” competition with their “Local Boys” tune, which would become the group’s signature tune.

Na Leo will mark its four decades with a concert from 7 to 9 p.m. May 8, at Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College.  Also featuring Kamuela and Ka‘ihi Kimokea.

Proceeds will support scholarships for WCC music students through the Kanile‘a ‘Ukulele Hawaiian Music Scholarships.

Tickets: $15 to $75, at www.wccmusic.eventbrite.com …

And that’s Show Biz…

It’s May 1 –Lei Day! The motto is, “Make a Lei, Wear a Lei, Give a Lei.” Happy May Day, one and all!

“Hell’s Kitchen” and “Stereophonic” lead the 2024 Tony Awards with 13 nominations apiece. Both just premiered on Broadway, in a season lean on sure-fire blockbusters and a win might ramp up exposure and popularity.

“Kitchen” features tunes by Alicia Keys, focusing on a region of New York, where success looms outside your  front door or window. The show just opened April 20.

“Stereophonic” is a musical by David Adjmi, about a rock band on the cusp of greatness, with music by Will Butler. It premiered April 19.

The Tonys will be televised live June 16 from the David H. Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center.

“Hells Kitchen” has been nominated for 13 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

The nominations in key categories:

Best Musical

“Hell’s Kitchen”
“Illinoise”
“The Outsiders”
“Suffs”
“Water for Elephants”

Best Play

“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”
“Mary Jane”
“Mother Play”
“Prayer for the French Republic”
“Stereophonic”

“Stereophonic” is nominated for 13 Tony, Including Best Play.

Best Revival of a Musical

“”Cabaret”
“Gutenberg! The Musical”
“Merrily We Roll Along”
“Spamalot”
“The Who’s Tommy”
“The Wiz”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Brian d’Arcy James, “Days of Wine and Roses”
Brody Grant, “The Outsiders”
Jonathan Groff, “Merrily We Roll Along”
Dorian Harewood, “The Notebook”
Eddie Redmayne, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”

Best Performance by an Actress in a leading role in a Musical

Eden Espinosa, “Lempicka”
Maleah Joi Moon, “Hell’s Kitchen”
Kelli O’Hara, “Days of Wine and Roses”
Maryann Plunkett, “The Notebook”
Gayle Rankin, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

William Jackson Harper, “Uncle Vanya”
Leslie Odom, Jr., “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”
Liev Schreiber, “Doubt: A Parable.”
Jeremy Strong, “An Enemy of the People”
Michael Stuhlbarg, “Patriots”

Best Performance by an Actress in a leading role in a Play

Betsy Aidem, “Prayer for the French Republic”
Jessica Lange, “Mother Play”
Rachel McAdams, “Mary Jane”
Sarah Paulson, “Appropriate”
Amy Ryan, “Doubt: A Parable”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Will Brill, “Eli Gelb, Stereophonic”
Jim Parsons, “Mother Play”
Tom Pecinka, “Stereophonic”
Corey Stoll, “Appropriate”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Quincy Tyler Bernstine, “Doubt: A Parable”
Juliana Canfield, “Stereophonic”
Celia Keenan-Bolger, “Mother Play”
Sarah Pidgeon, “Stereophonic”
Kara Young, “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Roger Bart, “Back to the Future: The Musical”
Joshua Boone, “The Outsiders”
Brandon Victor Dixon, “Hell’s Kitchen”
Sky Lakota-Lynch, “The Outsiders”
Daniel Radcliffe, “Merrily We Roll Along”
Steven Skybell, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Shoshana Bean, “Hell’s Kitchen”
Amber Iman, “Lempicka”
Nikki M. James, “Suffs”
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, “Monty Python’s Spamalot”
Kecia Lewis, “Hell’s Kitchen”
Lindsay Mendez, “Merrily We Roll Along”
Bebe Neuwirth, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”

Best Direction of a Play

Daniel Aukin, “Stereophonic”
Anne Kauffman, “Mary Jane”
Kenny Leon, “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”
Lila Neugebauer, “Appropriate”
Whitney White,  “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”

Best Direction of a Musical

Maria Friedman, “Merrily We Roll Along”
Michael Greif, “Hell’s Kitchen”
Leigh Silverman, “Suffs”
Jessica Stone, “Water for Elephants”
Danya Taymor, “The Outsiders”

Best Choreography

Camille A. Brown, “Hell’s Kitchen”
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, “Water for Elephants”
Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, “The Outsiders”
Annie-B Parson, “Here Lies Love”
Justin Peck, “Illinoise”

Best Book of a Musical

Kristoffer Dias, “Hell’s Kitchen”
Bekah Brunstetter, “The Notebook”
Adam Rapp and Justin Levine, “The Outsiders”
Shaina Taub, “Suffs”
Rick Elice, “Water for Elephants”

Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics), Written for the Theater

Adam Guettel, “Days of Wine and Roses”
David Byrne and Fatboy Slime, “Here Lies Love”
James Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, “The Outsider”
Will Butler, “Stereophonic”
Shaina Taub, “Suff”s

Best Orchestration

Timo Andres, “Illinoise”
Will Butler and Justin Craig, “Stereophonic”
Justin Levine, Matt Hinkley, Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance), “The Outsiders”
Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone, “Hell’s Kitchen”
Jonathan Tunick, “Merrily We Roll Along”…

Zeke’s May performances in “Lion King’

As a courtesy to Ezekiel Kekuna, the Kaneohe lad starring as Young Simba in Disney’s “The Lion King” at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway, we offer you his list of performance dates for the month of May.

Zeke is the midst of a six-month run (interrupted by a recent injury) but is back in the Prideland.

This sked is helpful for island fans, family, and friends to plan trips to The Big Apple to possibly take in a performance in the hit show. If you’re booking tickets for a specific day, check this sked to make certain that Zeke is doing the role, since he’s alternating with another young actor…

Broadway grosses, week ending April 28

Broadway’s box office leaders have maintain their appeal over the past few weeks, with only “The Lion King” at the $2 million-plus level.

The Top 10:

1 – “The Lion King,” $2,196 million.

2—“Wickked,” $1,926 million.

3—“Hamilton,” $1,847 million.

4—“Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club,” $1,701 million.

5—“MJ the Musical,” $1,600 million.

6—“Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” $1,519 million.

7–“Merrily We Roll Along,” $1,464  million.

8—“Aladdin,” $1,439 million.

9–“Moulin Rouge the Musical,” $1,433 million.

10—“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $1,126 million.

The full list, courtesy the Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz…