Note: this column has been updated; Jay Larrin’s show times were incorrect in earlier postings.
Jay Larrin, tapped as a Lifetime Achievement Award inductee by the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts earlier this year, will make a rare concert appearance at Na Kupuna Nights May 28 at the Hawaii Convention Center in Waikiki.
Larrin, a singer, pianist, composer and poet, will be the featured entertainer, in an event produced by the Hawaiian Music Perpetuation Society, celebrating Na Kupuna of Mele Hawaii. He also is a seasoned Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner, known for a body of work that includes “The Snows of Maunakea,” “The Ko’olaus Are Sleeping,” “Molokai Lullaby” and “Little Lei Lady.”
The event also will feature Halehaku Seabury and Bryan Tolentino, singers and ukulele artists, who also are previous Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners.
There are daytime and nighttime components for the event, celebrating island music, food and arts and crafts.
The schedule:
- 3 to 8 p.m. – E Ku’ai Kakou, “We Shop,” with Hawaiian inspired vendors.
- 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. – Kani Ka Pila, with Kuuipo Kumukahi, at the rooftop breeze way.
- 5:30 p.m. – Doors open for dinner, with a 6 p.m. opening protocol.
- 6:15 p.m. – Dinner service, featuring Hawaiian food.
- 6:15 p.m. – Performance by Halehaku Seabury and Bryan Tolentino.
- 7 to 7:30 p.m. – Raffle drawing and a silent auction.
- 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. — Jay Larrin performance on piano.
Tickets: $79, includes concert, dinner and parking; visit www.hawaiianmusicperpetuationsociety.com …
‘Sunshine’ postponed again
For the third time in as many years, “The Sunshine Boys,” featuring Joe Moore and Pat Sajak, has been postponed again until June 2023, due to the enduring pandemic crisis that will elevate some protocols, like face masking and crowd controls, in the weeks ahead.
The show has been on the summer slate at the Hawaii Theatre throughout the prevailing health concerns; it was to run from June 16 through June 26 this year. Clearly, the development of another rescheduling is a whirl of misfortune, yet again.
“With COVID cases rising for eight consecutive weeks and the Health Department predicting the numbers will continue to rise for an undermined amount of time before they go down, we felt the only responsible and sensible thing to do in the interest of public safety was to postpone,” said Moore, veteran KHON-2 news anchor, who has regularly staged theatrical productions co-starring his one-time Army buddy, Sajak, the longtime host of “Wheel of Fortune.”
“Big disappoint for all of us,” said Moore about pushing back the Neil Simon comedy for another year. “Three strikes and we’re out,” he shared in an email, and Moore was to announce the postponement in the 6 p.m. newcast on Channel 2 today (May 19).
“We’ll try to get out from under the cloud of COVID or whatever new virus might emerge,” he said. The uncertainty of restrictions of attendance numbers of large groups also was factor in the postponement.
Moore also revealed that the Hawaii Theatre had $50,000 worth of tickets sold a month before the “Sunshine” launching, when the decision was made earlier this morning to wait another year. “It wasn’t ticket sales I was worried about, it was the safety of theater-goers with so much COVID in the community,” said Moore.
Thus, it was the right call to postpone now, to enable ticket holders to plan ahead and also avoid possible COVID infections when huge numbers are in the same space amid the uncertainty of the virus.
Those with tickets for the scheduled June playdates may hold onto their tickets for next year’s performance, or accept a Hawaii Theatre gift card to enjoy another show.
“It’s been a tough time for the non-profit theater and folks’ support now is more important than ever,” said Moore.
The rescheduling for 2023 means another year of long-distance phone rehearsals and Zoom sessions for Moore and Sajak, which has become a routine for the two buddies in the past, and another delay is, indeed, frustrating.
The theater’s website, www.hawaiitheatre.com, should provide other specifics, though had not been updated to reflect the postponement yet when we checked midday. …
And that’s Show Biz. …