Six musicians will join existing Kalapana members in a two-night tribute to the popular island band. The gig is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 8) and Nov. 9 at Blue Note Hawaii, at the Outrigger Waikiki resort. And it should be heavy with memories and hurrahs.
According to Gaylord Holomalia, who has diligently performed with the band over the past decades, as well as shepherding the act’s legacy, these musicians will join Holomalia and Kenji Sano:
- Todd Yukumoto, saxophone.
- Stacey Tangonan, drums.
- John Valentine, acoustic guitar and vocals.
- Alden Levi, acoustic guitar and vocals.
- Jordan Kealoha Yamanaka, guest vocalists on two Mackey Feary hits.
- Nate Brown, electric guitar.
Doors open at 5 p.m, for dinner and drink service. Tickets: $45 and $35. According to the Blue Note website, the first of the two shows is sold out.
Kalapana has been a beloved and prolific band for nearly 50 years. The journey has been a bumpy ride, however, with unexpected deaths impacting the fan base.
The key members who connected with fans here, on the Mainland, and in Japan, are all deceased: Mackey Feary, Malani Bilyeu and DJ Pratt. Their gift to their fans is the illuminating catalogue of music — including such hits as “Naturallly,” “The Hurt,” “You Make It Hard,” and “Night Bird” — which have provided a vital soundscape of growing up in Hawaii.
Professional musicians, like the ones sitting in with Holomalia (a keyboard who also is a wizard of engineering in the studio) and Sano (recruited from Japan), are all familiar with the Kalapana songbook since the pop island band emerged in the era of Cecilio and Kapono and left its imprint in their music. …
Theater notes
Two island theater groups have announced casts for its new shows.
Kumu Kahua’s revival of Jon Shirota’s “Lucky Come Hawaii,” will play Nov. 9 through Dec. 4 at Kumu Kahua.
The comedy, set in wartime Hawaii, examines a time when a precarious balance exists between American GIs, local Japanese, and West Maui Okinawans. When Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japanese, martial law was imposed in the islands, and the old world clashed with the new, with friction galore, until love and acceptance calmed the world.
The cast features Denise-Aiko Chinen (Tsuyu Gusuda), Andrew Chow (Tengan), Brandon Hagio (Kenyei Shiroma), Stu Hirayama (Kama Gusuda), Kirk Lapilio Jr. (Bob Weaver), Devon Nekoba (Ikehara-San, Understudy: Kama Gusuda, Narrator and Ishi), Marcus R. Oshiro (Narrator, Ishi), Thomalin Sirivattha (Kimiko Gusuda), Noah Kai Nalu Schuetz (Howard Specks), Cori Matsuoka (Understudy: Tsuyu Gusuda and Kimiko Gusuda).
Tickets: $24 to $45. Call: (808) 536-4441 or visit kumukahua.org
Manoa Valley Theatre’s “The Game’s Afoot,” a comedy by Ken Ludwig, will run Nov. 17 to Dec. 4. It is a hilarious mix of murder and mystery, with lots of mayhem, so the show is properly subtitled “Holmes for the Holidays.” It’s set in Connecticut on Christmas Eve, as acclaimed 1930s actor William Gillette invites his Sherlock Holmes co-stars to his eccentric mansion but one of his guests is murdered..
The cast features Mathias Maas as William Gillette, Betty Bolton as Martha Gillette, Adrian Khactu as Felix Geisel, Therese Olival as Madge Geisel, Noah Bilinski as Simon Bright, Rachel League as Aggie Wheeler, Ashley Litz as Inspector Goring, Courtney Booth as Daria Chase, Alexandria Holloway as Radio Broadcaster.
Tickets: $24 to $44. Call (808) 988-6131 or visit www.manoavalleytheatre.com …
Broadway grosses, for week ending Oct. 30
Not surprisingly, the top banana on Broadway continues to be “The Music Man,” which grosses $2.716 million.
Close, but no banana: “Hamilton,” with $1.947million, and “MJ,” with $1.810 million.
The compilation, courtesy the Broadway League:
And that’s Show Biz. …
Wayne.
Hope you get to the Blue Note this week for the Kalapana tribute. Sounds like it should be good. If you talk to John Valentine tell him I said hi. Dolores