Wayne Harada, Author at wayneharada.com

August 29, 2021August 29, 2021

HAWAII NOTABLE IN NBC’S ‘ANNIE’

The sun will come out tomorrow – well on Dec. 2, on NBC – when “Annie Live” is televised as the network’s next staged-for-broadcast musical. And whoa, a Hawaii lass will be in the cast!

The titular character of the orphaned girl will be portrayed by Celina Smith, 12, who heads the cast after portraying Young Nala in the national tour of “The Lion King.”

Harry Connick Jr. will be Oliver Warbucks and Taraji P. Henson as Miss Hannigan. For Hawaii hometowners, the interest surely will be supporting cast member Nicole Scherzinger as Grace, with Tituss Burgess as Roost.

Scherzinger is the local-born singer, best known for her work as lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls. While she’s had a string of high-profile roles as a judge on TV competitions including “Dancing With the Stars,” “Australia’s Got Talent,” “The X Factor UK” and “The Masked Singer,” she has logged stage credits, too, including “Cats” in the West End, where she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier acting award. So she’s got theatrical chops, too.

“Annie” has been a darling TV resource; this will be fourth tube interpretation of the Tony-winning musical based on Harold Gray’s comic strip and immortalized in songs with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and book by Thomas Meehan.

Following its Broadway success, there has been a 1982 film with Carol Burnett and Albert Finney, a 1999 TV film with Kathy Bates and Victor Garber, and a 2014 reboot with Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz. …

Blue Note-tations

A couple of gems:

Robert Cazimero will join Kuana Torres Kahele when the latter has a birthday celebration, at 6 and 8:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at Blue Note Hawaii. Only the first show will offer a full-on hula component. Both are skilled, leading singers-composers-musicians in theHawaiian orbit. Kahele previously was part of the Na Palapalai ensemble but has established himself as an indefatigable soloist, writing and recording several albums paying homage to mele of each of the seven Hawaiian islands, specializing in made-for-hula newbies. Cazimero is the surviving member of The Brothers Cazimero and is a legendary kumu hula and choreographer, with a vocal repertoire ranging from Hawaiian to Broadway tunes with in-between pauses on classics from the All-American Songbook to the occasional pop and jazz numbers.Tickets: $25 for loge, $35 for premium, and $20 for live streaming. Visit www.bluenotehawaii.com
Jim Brickman brings his piano and vocal artistry at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Sept 17 and 18 at Blue Note. Though it’s not Valentine season (his preferred time for romantics), love will be in the air. Tickets: $65 premium, $55 loge and bar. Visit www.bluenotehawaii.com

Why TAG yanked live ‘Akimbo’

The heightened, changing COVID protocols and safeguards have forced The Actors’ Group (TAG) to halt its “live”audiences at the Brad Powell Theatre at Dole Cannery. The plan was to do a few in-person performances of “Kimberly Akimbo,” combined with virtual shows; now it’ll be only via streaming.

Board members decided to eliminate live audiences in the name of caution; Mayor Rick Blangiardi last week decreed that in-person shows must be limited to an audience of 10 or fewer, but the question was unclear: what about the nine actors and crew? Are they counted in the 10 allowable?

With the possibility of health issues later, and the lack of clarity on the 10-in-the-house directive, TAG decided to pull the plug on spectators even without legal scrutiny. Season ticket holders will receive updates on how to view the virtual show; others should visit https://www.broadwayondemand.com/series/ylviHkBqTjmd-kimberly-akimbo–the-actors-group

The coronavirus cloud is affecting all theater groups here, and adjustments to playdates – like Manoa Valley Theatre’s and Diamond Head Theatre’s decisions to delay opening night for a month – will impact future shows by impacting seating and crowd capacity, and reducing or minimizing necessary rehearsal time for the next-up shows.

This is a predicament that will continue to change. So stay tuned. …

Stones gather no moss

The Rolling Stones won’t gather much moss, despite the Aug. 4 death of founding member Charlie Watts, a drummer extraordinaire. He was 80.

The Stones’ “No Filter” tour, sidelined in 2020 because of the pandemic, will hit the road starting in September, and Watts’ replacement will be Steve Jordan, 64, who had been lined up to sit in for Watts since the vet needed time to rest and recuperate. Watts himself tapped Jordan as his replacement, who has gigged with The Blues Brothers, B.B. King, Bruce Springsteen, Cat Stevens, Billy Joel, Lee Ann Rimes, Bruno Mars, Bob Dylan, Beyonce and Kelly Clarkson.

Concerts West has rescheduled 12 postponed dates, beginning Sept. 26 in St. Louis MO and ending Nov. 20 in Austin, TX. Alas, Hawaii is not on the itinerary. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

August 28, 2021August 28, 2021

CELL PHONES: KNOW SECRET HELP TIPS

Most of us own, and use, cellphones daily. Lives are dependent on this invention. No. Kidding.

Without it, we are lost. We are possibly useless. Some rely on its calendar reminders. Others, without watches, use it to find out the time. Most embrace the contact list to reach out to the world.

Further, the phones can map out your day and assist in anything from finding an address, getting there, and texting and tweeting.

So what happens when you have an emergency? When you accidentally lock your keys in your car? (Yes, it happens, but luckily, my car will beep if my keys are inside the vehicle). When you need directory assistance, and unknowingly pay for that service? When you (gulp) lose your phone or if (bigger gulp) someone steals it.

The cellphone likely can help you in more ways than you probably know. These five “hows” are invaluable.

1 — Emegency calls

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out

2 — Car keys locked in the car

Have you locked your keys in the car? Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone:

If you lock your keys In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other ‘remote’ for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

( Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!’)

3 — Hidden battery power

Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50 pe rent increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.

(Note: some testing this say it doesn’t always work. Depends on the phone?)

4 — Disabling a stolen mobile phone

To check your Mobile phone’s serial number, key in the following Digits on your phone: *#06# .

A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe.
If your phone is stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won’t get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can’t use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

5 — Free directory service call

Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don’t have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800) FREE411 or (800) 373-3411
without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.

Note: “Help data” provided by the Halton Police Retirees Assn. of Canada; opening text/commentary by yours trulyy.
Suggestion: print this out, save it in your wallet/purse, share with anyone with a cellphone.

August 28, 2021August 28, 2021

DUDOIT REC0UPING FROM COVID-19

Entertainer Horace Dudoit III, the leader of the musical group Ho‘okena, is recuperating at home after contracting the COVID-19 virus.

“It really hit me hard!” he said via email, after posting on Facebook that he caught the virus “even though me and my family are fully vaccinated.”

He said being vaxxed enabled him to escape the ravages of coronavirus. “If I wasn’t vaccinated, I would probably be in the ICU right now,” he said.

Earlier this week, he suspected something brewing. “I was going downhill, and just so happened my doctor was able to have me do a monoclonal antibodies treatment at the Respiratory Evaluation Clinic adjoining Straub, “and that treatment helped snap me back from a low point in my condition.”

He and his family are properly quarantined and should be cleared from being isolated by Monday.

Happily, his wife Nani has been an angel of a caregiver through these frightening moments. And he is very thankful she, their sons and granddaughter are free from contracting the virus.

“Nani has been so awesome, taking care of me from a distance, and making sure I am fed well and doing well,” said Dudoit.

From the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, Dudoit has been adamant about safety, eliminating unnecessary travels with Ho‘okena, tending to safety measures by mask-wearing, social distancing and hand-washing, so COVID was totally unexpected. He reiterated that getting vaccinated has been a key to his recovery. …

Updates on delayed stage season

COVID has been an opening night fright, delaying the kickoff of fall seasons at Honolulu’s two largest producing theaters. With COVID numbers surging, Mayor Rick Blangiardi imposed a 28-day shutdown with heightened measures and concerns about indoor activities, forcing theater groups to postpone opening night.

Manoa Valley Theatre has pushed back opening of its “Be More Chill” musical from Sept. 2 to Oct. 14. For the first time ever, MVT season ticket holders will have reserved seats, complicating the rescheduling process, particularly if the social distancing protocol is mandated. If spaced-out seating rules prevail, the theater likely would have to juggle some season seat holders, since capacity would dip to 60 compared to a full-house of 120.

According to the MVT website, “All purchased tickets will be honored. Season ticket holders should expect a call from our box-office to reschedule performance dates and seats based on the new performance calendar.”

Translation: The playout means that ticketing for Sept. 2 will be shifted to Oct. 14 through 31, and patrons should make slide-over date adaptations accordingly. The shifted dates will mean that an extension of “Be More Chill,” if warranted, is no longer possible, and the season’s second show, “The Joy Luck Club,” set to bow Nov. 4, will also require a pushback.

Diamond Head Theatre also is delaying opening of its “Oliver!,” from Oct. 15 to Nov. 5 and is banking on a full capacity house of 475. It also employs assigned seating and if social distancing seating becomes necessary, only half the house can be sold – a major complication.

Season subscribers have been notified, but DHT still is sorting out options before going public and posting updates on its website. …

Ukulele milestone

On Aug. 23, Nā ‘Ukulele ‘Ekolu celebrated the 142^nd anniversary of the arrival of the Ravenscrag to Hawaii, the ship that introduced the ukulele to the islands. Manuel Nunes, Augusto Dias, and Jose deo Espirito Santo are credited for introducing the uke to the islands.

Hopkins, Seabury and Tolentino, with historic ukulele instruments.

Not surprisingly, a trio of local ukulele strummers celebrated the milestone with a YouTube performance. Bryan Tolentino played an 1895 Nunes, Kama Hopkins, an 1886 Santo, and Halehaku Seabury, an 1890 Dias. “When these musicians performed on these antique instruments, it was a historical moment,” said Tolentino. “These three instruments played together last night (Monday), probably never happened before.”

Hopkins is formerly of Holunape; Seabury is with Na Hoa; and Tolentino, a visible, virtual and versatile master of the ukulele, has been staging wonderful online work not just for himself but for the Hawaiian music community. …

Shorts of sorts

King’s Bakery, with roots in Hawaii, has become the subject of a musical parody-partnership with Penn Holderness and his family, online sensations, making merry music and often poking fun at people, things, and places during the pandemic.

Now Holderness offers “The Lunch Song,” a charming and entertaining rap, which I’ve shared with online buddies. It’s a declaration of the mid-day meal, with the sweet bread of choice.

For a peek and listen to this bright and delightful homage to King’s Baker, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7eD_OMGLRg

Robin Kimura of Greenwood was elated to learn that former isle deejay Kamasami Kong, a leading radio figure in Japan, played one of the act’s tunes, “Loveland Island,” on his Nippon show. Kong always boosts island music on his broadcasts. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

August 26, 2021August 26, 2021

‘CHILL’ OUT FOR NOW AT MANOA VALLEY

Just updated: Manoa Valley Theatre has announced it will open “Be More Chill” on Oct. 14.

Because of surge of COVID-19 cases in Hawaii, Manoa Valley Theatre apparently will shut down its “Be More Chill” season opener, set for Sept. 2. It will be the first casualty of the 2021-22 stage season.

The show, a hit on Broadway, was to have its Hawaii premiere under auspices of MVT, Hawaii’s off-Broadway theater, with Andrew Sakaguchi directing.

But the declaration earlier this week, from Mayor Rick Blangiardi, to heighten rigid pandemic protocols to parties of 10 in restaurants and half-the-house for stage productions, is going to be a headache and an unexpected inconvenience for Hawaii’s theater community.

I checked with Kip Wilborn, executive director of MVT, and asked why the “stop” sign – meaning a shutdown of operations – has not yet been declared on the theater’s website.
“We’re working on it,” he responded, “checking with the mayor’s office for workable solutions.”

Apparently, this newest wrinkle in tweaking the pandemic’s exhaustive and constantly changing requirements lasts at least a month, till mid-September. And MVT is frantically trying to comply without major setbacks — a worrisome issue stretching beyond the theatrical community.

‘Chill’ out

While MVT has told its office staff and cast that “Be More Chill” is shut down till further notice, as the cast was fine-tuning the show, the public has not yet been formally informed, because MVT was still ironing out a Plan B. (Update: MVT now has set Oct. 14 as opening night).

The challenges: MVT for the first time has been selling reserved seats for patrons, and Wilborn said all subscribers will have to be told – via email or phone calls – about a stall and a new struggle to determine when opening night will be and how to miraculously resolve dates and seats for those already with questionable printed tickets. Subscribers, for the first time, also must present proof of vaccination, and don face masks. With social distancing, the theater could at best accommodate 60, a skosh more than half a house.

A MVT season brochure, inserted into the Star-Advertiser delivery on Wednesday, also already is obsolete so adds to the confusion.

Breathing space

Diamond Head Theatre, whose season’s opener is the musical “Oliver,” has breathing space for now, since its formal debut won’t be till Sept. 24. Like MVT, DHT has been selling season tickets without open seats for social distancing and face masks, anticipating a full house of 475 and banking that directives do not change, with mask-wearing and proof of vaccine shots sufficient for compliance.

Its website also does not address potential seating issues.

First to the task

First to the task of modification is TAG, The Actors Group, ensconced at the Brad Powell Theatre at Dole Cannery.

Its “Kimberly Akimo” is premiering this evening, Aug. 27, and a live audience will include no more than 10. But the show is being recorded for On Demand viewing (tickets: $20) beginning Sept. 2.

Those ticketed for a live watch should have been reached by now; it’s also possible to change your plans and watch the show virtually, through Sept. 12, according to the TAG website.

Those taking in a live show need to show proof of vaccination.

The televised shows had been on the agenda, before the pandemic rules changed, but TAG also had sold all seats without social distancing; hence, the need to pluck some and switch ‘em to virtual.

A tough hand

Honolulu’s acting community also are being dealt a tough hand; since earlier this year, opening parties have been non-existent or smallish. Meet-and-greet, after performances, have been forbidden, but loyal fans have stayed on after the final curtain to bring lei, floral bouquets or other first-night gifts.

Closing night parties are a thing of the past, too.

Worst of all, the actors in all productions have not been able to flash one vital souvenir of the play-acting and play-going experience: the playbill listing their names, often with their photos, and with a rundown of the show’s techies, too. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

August 25, 2021August 26, 2021

KOKO MARINA’S COMING BACK TO LIFE

Start spreading the news: Koko Marina, the shopping complex in Hawaii, is coming back to life.

The Consolidated movie theater has reopened without notice, with limited screenings; Ryan Reynolds’ “Free Guy” is the current headline flick, with Jordan Peele’s horror thriller “Candyman” opening Friday.

There’s buzz, too, that the Hawaii Kai Zippy’s is opening up its dining room perhaps in October. New carpeting is being installed, with work trucks parked daily outside the main entrance.

Despite the surge in COVID cases and heightened protocols mandate by the mayor, the return of the movie screens and the notion that dine-in options are on the horizon is great news.

And about time!

I’ve ventured to Ward Theatres several times to view quality films, like “Free Guy” and “In the Heights.” That I can now frequent Koko Marina is a blessing and a testament that slowly, businesses are attempting to return to some kind of normality.

I learned about the Zippy’s plan from a former waitress, now serving meals at another Hawaii Kai eatery. She was asked about a possible return to Zippy’s; and queried about letting the word out that the restaurant finally is moving to reinstate dine-in. Take-out has been wonderful, but there’s nothing like dining in.

If memory serves well, Zippy’s booths also needed upgrading. The air-conditioning has been a recurring issue, too. And there’s always been a need for waiters, since Hawaii Kai folks have not provided enough servers, with most workers commuting from other regions to work there.

And let’s be honest: Zippy’s Hawaii Kai is on the water and boasts a swell marina view like no other in the chain. These visual amenities add joy and satisfaction to the best fried chicken in the state, the always ono-licious Zip-Min, and the incomparable Zip-Pac loaded with local lore like the chicken and the beloved Spam.

So: see ya at the movies, and later this year, inside the Zippy’s we’ve all been anticipating…

On and off

With pandemic mandates changing by the day, here’s a quick recap of what’s on and what’s off.

On: Johnny Valentine joins the Honolulu Jazz Quartet in a Facebook Live virtual performance at 2 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 28).According to HJQ honcho John Kolivas, the session will focus on jazz but embrace not just the traditional but arrangements of tunes by the likes Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, and The Beatles, among others. …

Off: Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives’ “Building Houses, Building Stories” History Theatre program, originally scheduled for Aug.27 and 28, 2021, has been postponed. A virtual version of “Building Houses, Building Stories” will be forthcoming; An in-person version will be staged when it is safe to do so. …

And that’s Show Biz. …