TREVOR TAMASHIRO JOINS DHT

Trevor Tamashiro has been named executive director at Diamond Head Theatre, succeeding Deena Dray, who retired.

Tamashiro, pictured below,   joined the staff of Hawaii’s largest and oldest community theater, and he previously performed at DHT in his younger days. Locally born and raised, he studied on the mainland and surely will bring fresh ideas and steer DHT to new heights.

He introduced himself to me last Saturday night, prior to the theater’s latest production, “The Bodyguard.” It was a sweet surprise to meet him.

He has nearly 20 years of experience and leadership in non-profits and has been working in New York prior to joining DHT in May. While he has a degree in theater arts from the University of Miami and master of science degree in non-profit management from Columbia University, he also takes pride in being a certified fund-raising exec and was the chief advancement officer of the Diller-Quaile School of Music, deputy director of Saratoga International Theatre Institute, and program director for the Drama league of New York.

So, we welcome him home and wish him the best; it’s always a charm when someone with a keen interest in theater returns to serve the community where he grew up. You don’t always have this kind of script. …

Put ‘Longs’ on your list, pronto

Kumu Kahua Theatre, the precious little downtown theater, has breaking news.

More tickets, more performances have been added to the run of Lee Cataluna’s hit comedy, “Folks You Meet at Longs,” because of popular demand. The show opened May 25 and box office was overwhelmed with demand for tickets, which sold out quickly like toilet paper during a strike.

The add-on playdates are at 7:30 p.m. June 29 and 30 and 7 p.m. July 1, plus 2 p.m. July 2.

You know the tickets will vanish swiftly, so order now, move fast, because these shows will sell out fast like TP at Longs.

Tickets: $5 to $25, at www.kumukahua.org or  (808) 536-4441. ..

New Bruno Mars CD this year?

Bruno Mars, pictured below Hawaii’s prevailing superstar, evidently is putting final touches on a new album that’s likely set for release later this year.  Would surely make a great Christmas stocking gift.

According to The Sun, Mars is nearing completion of the new CD and is in talks with Live Nation to work out a plan to do yet another mammoth concert tour, to support and fuel the unnamed album.

He has yet to disappoint, with his previous solo albums and his partnership with Anderson .Paak  as the Silk Sonic duo, a secondary project that’s been a viable extension of his craft.  It’s been seven years since Mars’ “24K Magic” was issued.

“Bruno wants it to include the biggest concerts he has ever done and is keen to mount a large-scale multi-dimensional live show,” the insider said.

He still has a series of Dolby Live concerts through June at Park MGM, where he continues to wow ‘em. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

A CONSTANT CREDIT CARD HEADACHE

Just asking…

Have you had to deal with a credit card that has been compromised?

To restate: has someone hacked your account and logged expenses that weren’t yours?

I’ve had a succession of these irritable moments, when I received a text message and a phone call that a rat was apparently at work.

My Hawaiian Airlines Master Card, I was told, likely was compromised. Bless the watcher/whistleblower, who flagged one charge and was right.  A sum – not mine – was logged  from Florida and thank Lord someone sniffed this foul play.

But three times, over two years? Humbug, yeah?

This incident required the termination of the victimized card and  a new replacement card; the result is that sites where I have automatic charges had to be informed and this card was immediately halted.

A replacement with a new number arrived via express mail, so now it’s business as usual.

But applause, to the scrutinizers, for sniffing out a crook. They are unsung heroes.

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY DAYS

Since his splendid May Day concert last May at the Great Lawn of Bishop Museum – staged ‘neath that tented behemoth – Robert Cazimero, pictured below, has been enjoying a merry time, making good his wish and promise to share Lei Day beyond the reef.

Of course, the principal show had all the bells and whistles: the legendary kilohana presence of Cazimero, soprano Nina Keali‘iwahama and Olomana’s Jerry Santos. Cazimero’s Halau Na Kamalei O Lililehua, along with another guest halau, provided the syncopation and seduction of hula auwana and kahiko.

Following Oahu, Big Island audiences were treated to a performance May 13 at Kahilu Theatre, in Waimea, though with an abbreviated cast. It’s a longstanding tradition, to visit the Big Island, since The Brothers Cazimero “owned” May Day, since the era they delivered that May Day spectacle at the Waikiki Shell… where the tradition had its roots.

And this past week, Cazimero traveled to Japan to share that powerful cultural breeze of Hawaiian music, for hula-happy Nippon audiences, tapping soprano Keali‘iwahamana, pictured below right, and his “house band,” the singing, strumming, dancing trio of Keauhou (Zachary Lum, Nicholas Lum, and Jonah Solatorio)  not only to showcase the group’s instrumental and vocal energy, but also the hypnotic hula since the chums also dance with Cazimero’s halau.

The Keauhou presence, and participation in Lei Day, has bolstered the foundation as it now has planted seeds in new markets to set more Hawaiian roots beyond the islands. The Japanese, of course, adore Hawaiiana, and appreciate and eager to grow the “make a lei, wear a lei and give a lei” tradition. And with Zach Lum and his colleagues at the core of the event, the future looks stable and bright, with a growing village of supports eager get this thing glowing.

Every day can lei day any time, any place, but the practice becomes powerful when the mele and marvel are connected to faces and names that translate to trust. …


Hugh Jackman’s ‘Oklahoma!’

Advisory for fans of Hugh Jackman: Before he became a superstar of film and stage, he played Curly in a filmed musical of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” in Australia.

By all accounts, this 1998 vehicle would become a talking point and casting barometer to propel book him toward a musical, on stage or on the big screen.

I first saw him in his Tony Award-winning role where he portrayed Peter Allen in “The Boy From Oz,” his first Broadway musical, but missed him in last year’s “The Music Man” where he enacted Professor Harold Hill.

We’ve all seen and heard him in the last film version of “Les Miserables,” where he was Jean Valjean, and of course, he was the reason “The Greatest Showman” became a blockbuster, the hit film where he played P.T. Barnum.

So back to “Oklahoma!”  The vintage film, with a young Jackman, will make a rare two-day global return, to mark the 80th anniversary of “OK.”  In Honolulu, the screenings will be at 3 p.m. July 16 and at 7 p.m. July 19 at Consolidated’s Kahala Theatre, and Regal’s Dole Cannery and Pearl Highlands Theatres.

Tickets ($17.75 Kahala, $15.70 Regal) are already on sale online. Visit https://www.oklahomaincinemas.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw1MajBhAcEiwAagW9McrGH8StzCgwjTTdymD3UUWktat7hpQBQoh2krHYTV4BN7WdhWk4shoCUHMQAvD_BwE

Earlier this month, President Biden hosted a special screening of the anticipated Disney+ original series, “American Born Chinese,” as part of the largest Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month key event at the White House.

A host of actors of color were on hand. The series, now streaming on Disney+, tracks an immigrant family that includes an American son, at the crossroads of the cultural struggles reflecting real-life issues with storybook fantasies about a new American identity fusing family bonding.

“Nights like these are a reminder of the power of stories,” said the president.Academy Award-winning actor Ke Huy Quan was one of the key participants in the screening; Maui native Destin Daniel Cretton, pictured right, who was executive producer and director of “American Born Chinese,” attended with many other on-camera and off-camera folks, like series stars Ben Wang, Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, Daniel Wu,  Jimmy Liu and Sydney Taylor, and creative team members including executive producer and author of the graphic novel Gene Luen Yang series creator and showrunner Kelvin Yu, and executive producers Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan and Erin O’Malley. Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Alex Aiono, stars of the Disney+’s filmed-in-Hawaii  series, “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.,“ also attended. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

BRUNO SINGS ‘TREASURE’ AT FAIRMONT

If you’re wondering why Hawaii superstar Bruno Mars, pictured below, performed one of his chart-toppers, “Treasure,” at the Fairmont Orchid’s launch of the new SelvaRey Rum Bar, the answer is simple: He was toasting a rum he owns.

‘Twas was a private, invitational event, and Mars likely waived his singing fees since he is  co-owner of SelvaRey Rum, a prestige brand whose aged, single estate White, Chocolate, Coconut and Owner’s Reserve Rums are distilled in Panama.

Waimea folks must’ve heard about a luminary local lad was in their vicinity, and for the occasion, rum’s the word. I mean, how many singers own a rum distillery, and can sing about his boozy treasure? …

Michael Paulo still serving jazz

The sax man cometh again.

Michael Paulo, pictured right, a “name” in the jazz circle here and abroad, will stage yet another “Smooth Jazz  Paradise” Concert, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday (May 28) at the Hibiscus Ballroom of the Ala Moana Hotel by Mantra.

Paulo has assembled an all-star band featuring Marion Meadows, a prestigious contemporary jazz saxophonist, who will be joined by Randy Aloya on bass, Michael Grande on keyboards, Garin Poliahu on drums, and Zanuck Lindsey on guitar. Al Waterson will emcee.

A VIP Experience, at 6:30 p.m., includes a meet-and-greet with the artists at a cocktail reception, with coveted premium front-row seating at $250 per person.

Other tickets: $65 presale, for reserved table seating ($70 at the door) and $60 pre-sale for general admission ($65 at the door), available at TIX.com or (951) 696-0184. …

Remembering Tina Turner

Tina Turner, the hypnotic, gyrating, authentic Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, peacefully died today (May 24) at age 83 at her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. She had a long illness, and Switzerland was her kingdom of peace.

From her early farmland roots, Turner, pictured left, rose to dizzying heights of splendor, as a genuine star of her rock and blues roots, surviving an abusive relationship with her husband  guitar-strumming Ike Turner, whom she divorced.

She was the unchallenged deity of rock, with numerous hit songs recently. explored in a Broadway musical about her conflicted life, and surely a model of a survivor.

Turner was known for her brassy, often gravelly voice in delivery, and her varying style of dress ranging from blue jean jackets to glitzy, shimmering gowns with fringes that danced while body language punctuated her frenetic dances.

Her hit songs were very much a reflection of the soundtrack of life for several decades, from the 1980s to the 2020s, via such classics as “River Deep, Mountain High,” “Simply the Best,” “Private Dancer,”  “Proud Mary,” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”

Rock legends reflected on her passing.

Brian Wilson, of the Beach Boys, said on Twitter: “I’m so sorry to hear about Tina Turner. I loved Tina and her voice and energy – she was one of the greats. ‘River Deep, Mountain High’ will always be one of my favorite songs. And nothing beats her version of ‘Proud Mary.’”

Bryan Adams, a Canadian artist  who joined Turner on the 1985 single “It’s Only Love,” said “the world just lost one hell of a powerhouse of a woman.”

Mick Jagger, leader of the Rolling Stones, grieved her  passing and called Turner “enormously talented.” “She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous,” Jagger said in a Twitter post. “She helped me so much when I was young, and I will never forget her.”

Diana Ross’ tweet: “Shocked. Saddened. Sending condolences to Tina Turner’s family and loved ones.”

Singer Ciara said on Twitter: “Heaven has gained an angel. Rest in Paradise Tina Turner. Thank you for the inspiration you gave us all.”

In Hawaii, there was a mammoth concert, staged inside Diamond Head Crater, supposedly for a hush-hush Pepsi-Cola convention audience, starring Tina Turner.  Busloads headed to the crater, in the dark of night, then returned for the après-show journey. Believe this was one of the last-ever performance event inside our iconic Hawaii landmark, and the fact that the queen of rock ruled in such a prestigious moment – if you’re Tina, you get state approval to do the gig, where others fail – should be added to her lists of triumphs. …

And that’s Show Biz. …