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‘MERRILY’ READIED FOR CINEMATIC RUN

“Merrily We Roll Along,” the uncanny 2024 Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical,
will be rolling out sometime soon as a motion picture to be released by Sony Pictures Classics.

Thus, the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth show — once a failure in 1981 before becoming a box office hit after it opened in October 2023 till its closing in July 2024 — has been preserved for the ages. The music and lyrics are Sondheim’s; Furth did the book.

This is the show, if you recall, that was initially a box office dud in 1981, when it ran for 14 previews and 44 performances. “Merrily” was then mothballed until its first-ever revival in 2022, leading up to its phenomenal sell-out fave in 2023 through 2024.

And the reverse storyelling chronology – the show biz tale unfolds at the ending and works toward the beginning — will give the production a new life as a cinematic release. Fans who couldn’t score tickets in its run at the Hudson Theatre will finally have an opportunity to see what  the buzz was all about.

“Merrily” examines the friendship, the friction, and possible erosion of  workplace best friends, whose lives intersect with highs and lows, with some alienation and many challenges.

Daniel Radliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez in “Merrily We Roll Along.” Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Jonathan Groff portrays Frank Shepard, an ambitious composer who wants to be a producer, who thrives alongside his longtime friends, lyricist Charley Kringas (played by Daniel Radcliffe) and writer Mary Flynn (enacted by Lindsay Mendez). Groff and Radcliffe earned Tonys, with a third Tony bestowed on Jonathan Tunick for orchestrations.

Maria Friedman directed the show and was a Tony nominee, and her illuminating vision made her characters come alive with vitality and vigor, drawing in the spectators.

Can’t wait from the transformation from stage to screen; imagine there will be a DVD release, too. Since this was my favorite Broadway show last year, I’d buy the DVD…

Clooney’s ‘Good Night’ still tops Broadway grosses

The rankings haven’t changed on Broadway. The pair earning more than $3 million last week, dominated again this week. Translation: George Clooney reigns as the top grossing actor via his “Good Night, and Good Luck;” and  Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal maintain their second place slot with “Othello.”

The Top 10, for the week ending March 30:

1—“Good Night, and Good Luck,” $3.282 million.

2—“Othello,” $3.150 million.

3—“Wicked,” $$2.561 million.

4—“Hamilton,” $2.123 millon.

5—“The Lion King,” $2.114 million.

6—“Glengarry Glen Ross,” $2.110 million.

7—“Cabaret,”$1.521 million.

8—“The Outsiders,” $1.459 million.

9—“Gypsy,” $1.386 million.

10—“Aladdin,” $1.355 million.

The complete list, courtesy the Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz…

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TWO MORE EATERIES CLOSE DOWN

Hokkaido Ramen has shut down in Kaimuki

Two popular restaurants shut their doors in March.

Sayonara: Hokkaido Ramen, the tiny Japanese eatery in the Kaimuki municipal parking lot, served its last meals in early March. Regulars loved the friendly staff and besides great food, the prices were reasonable Hokkaido will be missed…

Romano’s Macaroni Grill at Ala Moana Center also has closed.

A lockdown: Romano’s Macaroni Grill, at the Ala Moana Center, apparently closed abruptly, even locking out surprised staff workers reporting for work on March 2. Certainly not the way to call it quits. In its prime, Macaroni was a popular family and date destination, with Italian fare affordably price.  Online chatter mentions declining quality, and the usual matter of competition in a tight economy when  higher prices are charged for everything from bread to coffee…

Liliha Bakery has shelved its coffee pot, shown behind the cup of coffee.

Speaking of coffee: As a longtime and frequent patron of breakfast (lunch and dinner, too sometimes) at Liliha Bakery at Macy’s Ala Moana, I noticed that the usually mini pot of coffee, always there when you ordered coffee, has disappeared. You still can get a refill by asking the server, but often, it’s a task to find the wait staffer because of the flock of diners. That silver coffee pot was a trademark of the Liliha experience. Wonder if that basket of the grilled dinner roll, with Liliha’s red jelly in the tiny container, might be the next to go?…

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 BROTHER NOLAND, ROUND TWO

Brother Noland (Conjugacion), who marked his Waikiki comeback last month with a two-night gig at Blue Note Hawaii at the Outrigger Waikiki resort,  embarks on round two of his planned re-entry on the club scene.

His next pair of shows will be on the Big Island, as follows:

  • April 11, at 7 p.m., at the Kaleiopapa Convention Center, at the  Outrigger Kona Resort, at 78-128 Ehukai St., Kailua-Kona. Tickets: $45, general admission, at  www.brothernoland.com
  • April 12, at 7 p.m., at the Palace Theatre, in downtown Hilo’s waterfront. Tickets: $45, priority seating, $35 general admission, in advance; $5 extra on day of performance. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Brother Noland, at Blue Note Hawaii. He’s Big Island bound in April.

Noland’s Island Incredibles, his powerhouse all-star group, will perform in both shows. The group features Noland on guitars and vocals, with Gaylord Holomalia on keyboards, David Garibaldi on drums, Kata Maduli on bass, Michael Ruff on keyboards, Tavana on guitars, Fred Schreuders on guitars, Olivia Ruff on vocals, and Lila Chris on vocals.

Noland is introducing three new singles – “Ride the Water”, “Walkabout”, and “Las Vegas” –in the shows, notable for the group’s alter-native rhythms and funky grooves, embracing dynamic vocals that take Noland beyond the reef with his socko sound…

Locals loved Chamberlain’s ‘Island Sons’

Actor Richard Chamberlain, who died Saturday (March 29) following a stroke in Waimanalo, would have been 91 today (March 31).

Richard Chamberlain

While he was considered the king of the mini-series, because of his vast successes with the likes of “Shogun” and “The Thorn Birds,” locals adored him for his Honolulu-based “Island Sons” TV series, which was filmed here 25 years after “Dr. Kildare,” was his first big success where he portrayed a physician.

 I remember some women here mentioned they’d love to be treated by Dr. Daniel Kulani, a doc Chamberlain portrayed at the fictional Kamehameha Medical Center, because of his kind demeanor.

He had a gentle manner, on and off screen, and a sweet singing voice, too, recording the theme song from “Dr. Kildare.” He earned three Golden Globes, for his performance in “Kildare,” “Shogun” and “Thorn Birds.”

The series ran for one season on CBS, during the1989-90 season.

Donations may be made  in his name to either NPR or the Hawaiiia Humane Society…

And that’s Show Biz…

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KILOHANA HULA SHOW PAU MONDAY

The Kilohana Hula Show, which opened on Feb. 15, 2024, as a free Hawaiian music and hula attraction at the Tom Moffatt Waikiki Shell Amphitheater, will give its final performance at 9:30 a.m. Monday (March 31).

It was touted as a grand endeavor, with island musicians backing up a cast of hula dancers, sounding and looking like what Hawaii is all about.

The effort has dwindled down into an ensemble of five, still representing the aloha spirt in song and dance. But Kilohana will shut down at the end of the month, in a minimalist program at the Kuhio Beach Hula Mound, where it has been staged three days a week – on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays – since last fall.

Blow the conch shell: Monday’s show be the finale.

Kilohana had great intentions and enviable spirit, when it was launched in the amphitheater chock full of Waikiki visitors filling the seats, but no solid plan to keep the show afloat.

Karen Keawehawaii

One of the troupers from the opening weeks is veteran entertainer Karen Keawehawaii, who also has been a rotating cast member playing for tourists at the Kuhio  Beach Hula Mound.

“It’s been a little more than a year,” she said with a tone of sadness, about the finale she’ll be part of,  as singer and ukulele player, and a kupuna.

But like any production, payroll becomes a major issue  without paid admission.

Kilohana  had lofty intentions, envisioned as a replacement, or a new-generation hula spectacle, like the long-running Kodak Hula Show, in same location in the shadows of Diamond Head.  

But the Kodak original was sponsored by the camera and film company, the title sponsor of the original show, which ran from 1930 to 2002 without charging an entry fee. The end was somewhat logical; cameras and film were being replaced by telephones with built-in cameras.

Kilohana originators maintained the free-admission policy like its predecessor but clearly struggled with the overhead of a show in a zone defined as a Hawaiian park, forbidding admission charges. At one point, the operators wanted to do an early evening show with paid admission to subsidize the morning shows, which was nixed by the city.

Footnote: Google “Kilohana Hula Show,” and an online image appears with the show’s title, with a “Southwest Presents” credit. However, if the airline became a title presenter, the show has kept it a secret…

And that”s Show Biz…

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BY GEORGE, HE DID IT! HE’S NO. 1

Perhaps it’s his box office charm.

Or he’s landed a show with a title that promotes goodness, including luck.

Or quite likely, “Good Night, and Good Luck” was the play  Broadway has been anticipating, the one that broke the weekly box office grosses, with a dazzling and dizzying $3.3 million for the week ending March 23.

George Clooney, the actor making his debut on the Great White Way, is the focus of the buzz and the big box office, whose numbers exceeded that of “Othello,” which has Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal in the leads, which dropped to No. 3 this week with $2.529 million. But “Wicked,” still defying gravity, remains a secure No.2  with its $2.545 million take.

George Clooney, the star in “Good Night, and Good Luck,” tops Broadway grosses.

“Good Night, and Good Luck” explores a tangle of themes including truth, intimidation, and the courage of corporate media. Clooney, who adapted the play with Grant Hoslov, from the earlier film version, portrays veteran journalist Edward R. Murrow, an iconic CBS anchor, who recreates a historic faceoff with Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who, at the height of the Red Scare, attempted to weed out imagined communist infiltration of the U.S. government.

The show gets its name from Murrow’s iconic signature sign-off, “good night, and good luck” at the end of his telecasts.

To understand the economics of the top shows, “Good Night, and Good Luck” is playing at the Winter Garden, which has 1,545 seats, priced from $307.07 to $775. In comparison, “Othello” is unfolding at the Barrymore Theatre, with $1,043 seats and typically selling for $897.

Star wattage is a factor on pricing, and still another element in the formula: “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “Othello” are in limited runs, a common rule when “name” actors are on stage.

But if you’re thinking of heading to New York, seats are available if you decide to score a pair of tickets with your  charge cards.

‘Night’  tops Broadway grosses for week ending March 24

The Top 10 courtesy the Broadway League:

1—“Good Night, and Good Luck,” $3.305 million

2—“Wicked,”$2.545 million

3—“Othello,” $2.529 million

4—“Glengarry Glen Ross,” $2.418 million

5—“Hamilton,” $2.072 million

6—“The Lion King,” $2.059 million

7—“The Outsiders,” $1.428 million

8—“Gypsy,” $1.394 million

9—“Aladdin,” $1.331 million

10—“Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club,” $1.327 million

And that’s Show Biz…