Feel the chill? Diamond Head Theatre has secured the rights to be the first community group to stage the Disney film-turned-stage hit “Frozen,” involving Elsa and Ella and amid a wintery wonderland.
The popular musical – a Hawaii premiere — will top DHT’s 2023-2024 season and will be staged July 26 through Aug. 11, 2024.
It will replace “My Fair Lady,” originally pegged in that time slot. Thus, data in an earlier DHT season mailer are now incorrect and obsolete.
Current season subscribers will get first dibs in securing tickets, through May 19, 2023.
The new season will include “Mamma Mia!,” “Scrooge, the Stingiest Man in Town,” “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” “Kiss Me Kate,” and “Tootsie,” with “Frozen” winding up the season.
New season subscribers will have to wait till early summer to order tickets. …
Tony nominees will be named May 2
Nominees for this year’s 76th annual Tony Awards will be announced May 2, in a ceremony hosted by Lea Michele, currently starring in “Funny Girl,” and Myles Frost, , last year’s Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Michael Jackson in “MJ, the Musical.”
The announcement will be streamed via the Tony Awards’ YouTube channel
The actual Tony Awards program will be staged June 11, originating at the United Palace in Washington Heights, New York, and airing live via CBS…
Symphonies important
The Hawaii Symphony Orchestra staged four free concerts at the Hawaii Theatre for school keiki and their teachers, with 3,200 listeners tuning in April 20 and 21.
What a splendid treat. The HSO’s Fund for Education and Community Engagement partnered with other community resources to make the shows possible. Others engaged in the endeavor included Hawaii Theatre’s Partners in Arts Program, the U.S. Forest Service, the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture, and the Arts, and DOFAW (the Division of Forestry and Wildlife). Students in grades 4 through 12 were eligible to attend, and the performances focused on music and themes connecting classical music, hula, art, science and the importance of Hawaii’s native forests, linking visuals with live performances.
I recall, from way back in time (and memory), that I saw and heard my first symphonic music when the Honolulu Symphony, the predecessor of HSO, performed “Peter and the Wolf” at the McKinley High School Auditorium. The maestro was George Barati, just to indicate how long ago this was, and while the Hawaii Theatre already was standing, it likely was waiting for the renovation that came, and Blaisdell Concert Hall was not yet erected.
I was not wholly mesmerized by the classical genre, but the early exposure was an important revelation: that there was a spectrum of music I would explore in the years to come. …
And that’s Show Biz. ….
Hi Wayne:
I have enjoyed reading your Entertainment items since your days at The Honolulu Advertiser.
I was wondering if you recall singer John Denver performing at The University Of Hawaii and The Church Of The Crossroads in early November of 1969. I believe I once read an interview that you did with John and his record producer Milt Okun that may have appeared in the November 12 (?), 1969, Honolulu Advertiser. John had just released his first album on RCA Records and was on a promotional tour. He was not a big star at that time and so he performed at small venues just to help publicize his material.
I would appreciate any information that you can share with me.
Thank you.
Steve