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Still have fond memories of two separate dining outings the past few weeks. At dinner at Roy’s Hawaii Kai, the misoyaki butterfish still is broke-the-mouth delish; chose a white rice musubi, instead of the standard black-rice ‘neath the exquisitely seasoned fish. The other satisfying lunch meal was at Utage, at City Square in Kalihi, where the nasubi chanpuru, a bowl of nasubi, tofu and roast pork bathed in a perfect sauce, is a wondrous yesterday memory of Okinawan flavors. Oh-so-ono!
Two anticipated box-office hits loom in March, at Manoa Valley Theatre and Diamond Head Theatre.
The theaters have unveiled their casts for “Tick, Tick…Boom!” and “La Cage Aux Folles.”
‘TICK, TICK…BOOM!’
Before there was “Rent,” there was “Tick, Tick…Boom!,” an autobiographical and aspirational musical on the artistic struggles of composer-playwright Jonathan Larson, then approaching age 30 without a production bearing his name.
He hustles – down to the wire — to create his first musical, “Superbia,” but gets stressed out because he can’t complete the show’s final tune. His workshop session is a sellout, but there are no takers. Playwright Stephen Sondheim supports him, with valid advice: start writing your second show (which turns out to be “Rent,” his signature production).
But he died on the night before its off-Broadway premiere, so “Boom!” explores the earlier months and years of his theatrical anxieties.
The show will make its Hawaii debut at Manoa Valley Theatre, where it will be staged March 9 to 26.
Taj Gutierrez heads the cast as Jonathan Larson; he last appeared as Judas in DHT’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” last year. Other leads in the cast are, Kimo Kaona as Michael, Larson’s buddy, and Emily North as Susan, his girlfriend; alternating actors are Moku Durant as Jon, Ian Severino as Michael and Bianca Tubolino as Susan.
Mathias Maas is director and choreographer, Jenny Shiroma is musical director, David Heulitt is assistant director, Mira Fey is technical director, Elyse Takashige is set designer, Willie Sabel is scenic art director, La Tanya Faamausili-Siliato is prop designer, Hope Laidlaw is lighting director, Amber Lehua Baker is costume designer, Lisa Ponce de Leon is hair and makeup designer, Lock Lynch is sound designer and engineer, Sarah Velasco is assistant sound designer, Janine Myers is master electrician, Taylor Bair is stage manager, and Maile Alau is intimacy coordinator.
Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Tickets: $42, adults; $37, seniors and military, $24, youths 25 and younger. Reserved seating.
Reservations: (808) 988-6131 or online at www.manoavalleytheatre.com …
‘LA CAGE AUX FOLLES’
Some boys will be girls in “La Cage Aux Folles,” the Broadway musical that gave the world the “I Am What I Am” anthem, which opens March 24 at Diamond Head Theatre.
The show is about Georges, manager of a drag show nightclub starring Albin, his long-time romantic partner. Complications arise when Georges’ son, Jean-Michel, brings home his fiancee’s super-conservative parents to meet them amid the glittering masquerade of men portraying women.
“La Cage” is based on a film and stage version with the same title, with book by Harvey Fierstein and music by Jerry Herman, based on the original play by Jean Poiret. “The Best of Times” also has been a hit.
The cast features Guy Merola as Georges, Andrew Sakaguchi as Albin, Charles Ho as Jean-Michel, Nanea Allen as Anne, Aaron Miko as Jacob, Shari Lynn as Jacqueline, Fedrico Biven as Mons. Renaud, Suzanne Maloney as Mme. Renaud, Joe Martyak as Dindon, Kim Anderson as Marie Dindon and Jake Wolf as Francis.
The Cagelles include Jack Dia, Marcus Stanger, Genesis Kaeo, Gabriel Ryan-Kern, Jared Duldulao, Andrew Simmons, Brittany Lewis, Anastasia Chrysler, and Heather Taylor.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 3 p.m. Saturdays; and 4 p.m. Sundays.
Tickets: $27, $37 and $52; no senior, military, or student discounts. Call (808) 733-0374 or visit www.diamondheadtheatre.com …
Broadway grosses, week ending Feb. 19
With the looming closure of “The Phantom of the Opera,” the continues to draw first-time or repeat viewers, making the Andrew Lloyd-Webber classic the longest-running musical on Broadway, the chart-topper.
The top seven grossing shows last week:
1 — “The Phantom of the Opera,: $2.562 million,
2 — “Hamilton,” $2.000 million.
3 — “The Lion King,” $1.929 mlllion.
4 — “Funny Girl,” $1.833 million.
5 — :”MJ,” $1.823 million
6 — “Wicked,” $1.791 million.
7 — “Moulin Rouge,” 1.590 million.
The complete rundown of the shows, courtesy The Broadway League:
And that’s Show Biz. …
Expectations were high, when “Magnum P.I.” aired in a new time slot on a new network this past Sunday (Feb. 19), but audience response was disappointing.
“Magnum” moved to NBC on Sundays, with a double-dose two-episode launch. The Peacock network rescued the island-based show which ran for four seasons on CBS … then abruptly cancelled the show.
Simply stated, the highly-anticipated “Magnum” debut on NBC drew lower-than-expected ratings.
The first of two episodes drew 3.8 million viewers and a 0.3 rating in the demo.
The second logged 3.2 million viewers and a 0.3 rating.
The slightly good news? The second episode won the 9 p.m. hour. So numbers matter.
You remember, Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and Juliet Higgins (Perdita Weeks) were smooching like young lovers, at the finale of season four last year.
Magnum and Higgins still are very much together during season five, sharing an intimate shower, hugging, and engaged in lovey-dovey banter while cruising on Magnum’s signature red Ferrari or settled in their Windward Oahu estate.
But mum’s the word, so far, so the chat’s not out of the bag yet. Their relationship is still hush-hush.
Hernandez remains one of the show’s producers, so he’s likely in the driver’s seat to help steer the storytelling. How and when he and Higgins will come clean will be an ongoing sideshow.
For now, they’re clearly an “item,” and it’s a big secret.
The question now is, they’re harboring an awkward shibai (Japanese for “lies” or, bull) and they’re afraid or confused about how and when they tell their colleagues that they’re in a relationship.
After all, both are investigators and professional and devoted to their jobs. A romantic alliance is not an easy task, no different from any office affair. Lips are sealed. Period. But gossip will emerge.
Alone, they share affection but are treading slowly and it makes sense that the episode when the revelation is made will highlight the fifth season.
Meanwhile, there’s a new sweetness in their unexpected relationship. Magnum and Higgins have a new normal with extreme pressure to only display their feelings privately. When they’re a coosome twosome.
There was a warm aw-shucks moment when he surprised her with dinner in the wine cellar.
They demonstrate their commitment to their jobs, and they go undercover to play lifesavers to help solve a mystery of a drowning death.
There are potential conflicts, challenges and changes to complicate their new roles as partners in life and in work
Immediately, Rick (Zachary Knighton) moves into the guest house, without earlier informing Higgins, and he’s a potential third wheel distraction (four, if Rick’s new infant daughter is included).
Higgins is often the thinker and the smart one in the equation, confessing there would be issues if Rick is on the premises.
So there’s a period of adjustment in the immediate future.
Further, there are other red flags:
So: how will Rick (Zachary Knighton), Theodore TC Calvin (Stephen Hill) and “Kumu” Tuileta (Amy Hill) discover the under-wraps romance between Magnum and Higgins?
My bet’s on Kumu, who seems to know a lot of things a lot of times. …
And that’s Show Biz. …
Just asking…
Have you noticed the surge in cost of vellum or cover stock, a staple in paper crafts?
As a card-maker hobbyist, I’ve been using the vellum paper for decades. It’s got more body and stiffness than the everyday document “typewriter paper,” what you commonly use in your copier.
Back in the day, a ream (250 sheets, 67 lbs.) cost under $5 a ream, then periodically became more expensive over the past four decades.
It was more than three years ago, prior to the start of the COVID pandemic, that I bought my last ream of plain white vellum paper. If you’re a hobbyist, you know that these cover stock paper comes in a range of colors, from pastel pink and blue, to yellow and green, and even tonier hues of orchid or peach.
Prices have been gradually escalating, like everything else, to $16 and $18 a ream…the last time I purchased several reams.
But ouch! When I visited Fisher’s the other day, the price tag was more than doubled, to $30-plus for a ream for the Springhill brand, the one I usually bought. For red, and dark colors like purple and garden green, I had to purchase another brand at Office Depot that was always costlier.
At Fisher, I located another brand, Hammermill, for under $19, so purchased that.
But I wanted to find out what comparison costs were at Office Depot and not surprisingly, the price tags were over $30 for cover stock and even standard copier paper.
It might be cheaper to shop at Amazon, which sells the Springhill product for $16.34.
Besides card-making, I need the vellum paper to create mounting labels for the holiday pins I make.
Just wondered if anyone else has encountered the soaring cost of paper.
Another Hawaii Kai dining spot is closing this month: Outback Steakhouse.
Lease rent increases is the reason, so Outback’s last day of dining – after 22 years here — is Feb. 26. So another one bites the dust.
But wait: Still another Outback restaurant, in Kihei, is closing tomorrow (Feb. 19).
The chain’s departure from the Hawaii Kai Towne Center is a sore blow to East Side residents, coupled with the earlier shutdown of Zippy’s dine-in and Sophie’s Pizza at the Koko Marina Shopping Center. Who and what’s next in closures and job losses? …
Name-dropping
Lyric Medeiros, daughter of Glenn and Tammy Medeiros, is the latest islander competing in ABC’s “American Idol.” The singer with the musical name clearly has vocalizing in her DNA, since daddy is an idol from the past, known for hits like “Nothing’s Going to Change My Love for You” and “She Ain’t Worth It.”
Lyric has a growing list of singing and acting credits (including stage roles). For those who don’t know the family dynamics, her brother Chord Medeiros also is an entertainer awaiting his lucky break. …
Amanda Schull, the former Ballet Hawaii dancer who starred in the “Center Stage” film, has been seen as an FBI agent in Fox’s “911 – Lone Star” drama headlined by Rob Lowe as a firefighter.
As you may know, she’s hung up her ballet shoes and tutu for a variety of films and television series, include Hallmark romantic fare. …
She is best known as the voice of “Moana” to her Disney fans, but Hawaii’s Auli‘I Cravalho has been branching out to the Broadway musical stage. Earlier this month, Cravalho concluded a short run in “Sunset Boulevard,” an Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical based on the vintage Billy. Wilder film about a fading screen star on the threshold of talkies, in a Broadway Center Stage endeavor at Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Cravalho portrayed Betty Schaefer in a cast featuring Stephanie J. Block as Norma Desmond, Derek Klena as Joe Gillis, and Nathan Gunn as Max Von Mayerlin. Good for Cravalho. …
Broadway grosses, week ending Feb. 12
There are only 21 shows now running on Broadway, thanks to end-of-run finales for a couple of productions following the holiday season.
Thus, the remaining shows soldier on, with these seven leaders now:
1 – “The Phantom of the Opera,” $2.425 million.
2 – “Funny Girl,” $1.800 million.
3 – “Hamilton,” $1.722 million.
4 – “The Lion King,” $1.626 million.
5 – “MJ,” $1.566 million.
6 – “Wickked,” $1.466 million.
7 –“Moulin Rouge,” $1.352.
The full compilation is courtesy the Broadway League. …
And that’s Show Biz. …