COMING SOON…
KEALA SETTLE JOINS ‘WICKED’ FILM
Great to learn that some of our Hawaii-reared talent are finding their way to the big screen.
No, not referring to the likes of Jason Momoa and Dwayne Johnson. They are in their own league, with signature projects under way.
Talking about the likes of Keala Settle, who will play Miss Coddle in the Jon M. Chu-directed movie version of “Wicked.” You know Settle best as the former Kahuku actress who famously portrayed the Bearded Woman in Hugh Jackson’s mega-hit musical, “The Greatest
Showman,” in which Settle might have been a sideshow attraction but wound up performing and scoring a huge musical hit, “This Is Me.”
Headliners in this Broadway-to-cinema transition of “Wicked” will be the earlier announced Cynthia Ervo and Ariana Grande, who will take over the leads of Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West) originated by Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth (Glinda the Witch of the South), respectively. “Wicked” (the movie) also will bring together Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, Ethan Slater as Boq, Marissa Bode as Nessarose, and Bowen Yang as Pfannee.
Director Chu, who helmed Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” in its film incarnation, has expressed an opinion that “Wicked” ran 2 hours and 45 minutes as a Broadway show, but opined on Twitter that “it would be impossible to wrestle the story of ‘Wicked’ in a single film without doing some real damage to it.” Omitting or trimming tunes or character roles felt like fatal compromises to the original sources, and composer Stephen Schwartz seconded the motion. Thus, a two-parter is in the works and composer Schwartz has agreed that Act 1 will conclude with “Defying Gravity,” and he will write a new original addition to the flick version, as reported in Variety. “Wicked Part 1” is due to be released by Universal on Dec. 25, 2024, and “Wicked Part 2” will follow on Dec. 25, 2025. Talk about a multi-Christmas present. …
Elsewhere, Auli‘i Cravalho, who voiced Moana in Disney’s “Moana” animated film, has been cast in the forthcoming Paramount+ film version of “Mean Girls,” which will be directed by Arturo Perez and Samantha Jayne. Cravalho will portray Janis, with Renee Rapp reprising her role as Regina George (she did it on Broadway), Angourie Rice as Cady, and Jaquel Spivey as Damian in other key roles…
Still strumming and teaching
The annual Ukulele Festival no longer is in founder Roy Sakuma’s rear view mirror. He’s moved on.
“Boy, how times have changed,” he said in an email. “ I am still teaching (mostly on Zoom) but do go to the studio on Wednesday mornings to teach. It’s still a lot of fun to teach.”
Of course, the folks love him since he’s a jovial sort, with not just teaching skills, but with memories to share.
Meanwhile, wife Kathy still has been busy running the studio. Almost like a mom-and-pop operation, like the good ol’ days. …
And that’s Show Biz. …
IS HONESTY STILL ALIVE IN THE WORLD?
Just asking…
Is there still a lot of honesty in the world today?
My answer — based on personal experience — is an emphatic yes.
In the past month, I dropped (lost) a couple of credit cards and my driver’s license.
The first time was at the Safeway check-out in Hawaii Kai a couple of weeks back. Picked up a card, but not my license. I learned the license was missing when I had a one-night staycation in Waikiki; at check-in, no license. Needed a card with a photo … and fortunately, one credit had an image. When I called Safeway in Hawaii Kai, was told that my lost cards were turned in and in a safe, awaiting my inquiry.
The second instance was yesterday; was shopping at Marshalls at Ala Moana Center. Used a credit card for payment; but a few cards slipped out of my wallet without my knowledge. Backtracking, figured the only time I used plastic was yesterday. So called the store; was told the cards were found, and was able to retrieve them after dinner last night since the store was open till 11 p.m.
Clearly, I need to be more cautious and diligent in monitoring my cards. First time that I’ve had these issues. Happily, there’s a burst of honesty about some folks, for which I will be eternally grateful.
A footnote: I got a notice from one of my cards about a suspicious charge of more than $600 for a hotel stay that wasn’t mine. So that card was deemed invalid and I’m awaiting a replacement next week.
Like
Comment
Share
HAWAII’S MILES IN ‘SWEENEY TODD’ REBOOT
Hawaii’s Ruthie Ann Miles, a Tony Award winner, will be part of the cast of a revival of “Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” the acclaimed musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler.
Miles will play the Beggar Woman in this reboot, headlined by Josh Groban as the murderess barber Sweeney Todd and Annaleigh Ashford as Mrs. Lovett, the pie maker.
Miles, a Kaimuki High School graduate, earned a Best Supporting Actress in a Musical Tony for her portrayal of Lady Thiang in an earlier revival of “The King and I.”
Other supporting roles include Jordan Fisher, from “Dear Evan Hanson,” as Anthony, and Gaten Matarazzo, of “Stranger Things, “as Tobias.
Thomas Kail, who directed Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning “Hamilton,” will helm the show.
Previews begin Feb. 26 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, with opening night set for March 26…
Hiccups on KSSK
I’ve been listening to KSSK, to get into the holiday mood, and it’s a most wonderful thing to hear the likes of Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Brenda Lee, and many others whose vocals are not commonly on the airwaves these days.
But the radio station has a peculiar hiccup/stutter distraction, where a word or two is repeated. Sounds like those old phonograph records, which can jump or be stuck while listening, but KSSK’s music resources are all digital, so something’s quirky on air and that shouldn’t be happening.
Makes me wonder if anyone deejaying on air listens to what’s playing, to fix the problem.
Just wondering …
Broadway grosses, week ending Dec. 11
“The Music Man” still prevails at No. 1, in Broadway gross tallies, with $3.389 million.
But there’s been a bit of up-and-down rankings last week.
No. 2 is “The Lion King,” with $2.365 million.
No. 3 is “Wicked,” with $2.083 million.
No.4 is “Hamilton,” normally second, but dropping to $2.077 million.
No. 5 is “The Phantom of the Opera,” with $2.020 million
The list is courtesy of the Broadway League…
And that’s Show Biz. …
MAKE YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS CARDS
So I’m pretty much done doing Christmas pins and decorations, so now focusing on easy do-it-yourself Christmas cards.
Utilized scraps from gift paper, cut three segments using different designs, and assembled with double-sided tap to secure on vellum or card stock paper.
Add a star at the top, if you have stick-on stars, and the base is those hot-coffee shields cut into little stands. Can’t see ’em in the photo, but used fringed string at the bottom of the three tree segments, to cover possible irregular space in-between the three tree cut-outs. Give it a try!
These cards say aloha. Enjoy!