Author: Wayne Harada

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MVT NEW HOME FOR HORSE, ANGEL

Comedian Frank DeLima has donated a horse and an angel to Manoa Valley Theatre.

Well, yes… and no.

DeLima discovered he had  costumes of a horse and angel amid his collection, storage for which had become an issue. So he wanted the items to reach a good home, and called MVT to donate the rare gear. And the theater accepted. Now it owns a horse and an angel.
“The horse has a front and a back end,” DeLima said. It was a costume intended for a Japanese show with samurai, which never reached fruition.

“The angel is huge – 8 feet – and since I can’t stand for a long time, I can’t use it any longer,” he said.

Frank DeLima

The horse never was in a show of his. But the angel made one Christmas appearance, in a Christmas production co-starring Glenn Medeiros at the Polynesian Palace years ago.

So there are warm memories of both costumes.

“I think I bought the horse, but the angel was designed by Kathe James,” DeLima recalled.F

So who knows? Some day the horse may trot out onto the MVT stage. The angel’s fate is not known, but she already is a blessing no matter the season…

A celebrity couple

Vanessa Lachey, tapped to portray Jane Tennant in CBS’s “NCIS: Hawai’i,” is married to boy band singer Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees. Which begs the question: will his celebrity factor in on hers?

Vanessa Lachey

Vanessa Lachey is making history in the “NCIS” orbit as the first and so far only female to lead an NCIS task force. In the mothership original, Mark Harmon is chief; in the Los Angeles version, LL Cool J and Chris O’Connell share the leadership; in the outgoing New Orleans rendering, Scott Bakula is honcho.

Besides singing, Nick Lachey also has been an actor/host on TV, co-hosting Netflix’s “Love Is Blind” with the missus, and appeared in The WB’s “Charmed.”  Will he appear as an actor in “NCIS” here? He’s certain to have a SAG membership. Will he corral his 98 Degrees buddies to concertize here? The possibilities are unlimited. …

Moonlight serenade

Robert Cazimero is gearing up for yet another Moonlight Concert, at 7  p.m. May 27 at Chef Chai’s on Kapiolani Boulevard. A sit-down feast is served from 6 p.m.

The monthly performance features hula, too, but the joy is the unknown factor about Cazimero’s songlist. Hawaiian? Hapa-haole? Standards? He does ‘em all, a key reason the moonlight serenades work for him and for restaurateur Chai Chaowasaree.

Next one: June 24. …

Tickets: $95 at https://chefchai.com …

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And that’s “Show Biz.” …

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DANIEL DAE KIM, MAN OF ALL REASONS

Daniel Dae Kim, 52, has emerged as one of show business’ most active players, at unimaginable tiers both on screen and off.

We locals best know him from his role as Jin-Soo Kwon in ABC’s “Lost” and more recently as Chin Ho Kelly in CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0.” Both were filmed in Hawaii, establishing Kim as a powerhouse figure, and giving him island roots in the process.

Since then, he’s been all over the map –a man of all reasons.

I saw him several years ago, portraying the King of Siam, in Lincoln Theatre’s award-winning Broadway musical, the beloved “King and I.” He also did a stint in London.

After “Five-0,” he distinguished himself as a TV producer-actor via his 3AD production company, tapping a Korean drama and retrofitting the storyline to America in ABC’s “The Good Doctor,” still on the air.

He’s been a TV figure for an incredible 35 years now, a rarity among Asian Americans in an industry favoring mostly white, and more recently black, thanks to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Daniel Dae Kim, on the cover of New York magazine’s Culture Pages.

Of Korean descent, he’s become perhaps the most visible face and voice of the current Asian American hate front, speaking with clarity and earnest about the hate crimes that have targeted innocent Asians in racially motivated physical attacks.

No wonder he’s been tagged as The Diplomat, in an April interview in New York magazine’s The Culture Pages, where he discussed his zeal to combat inequities in salaries. Perhaps the most successful alumni of the “Five-0” cast, he (joined by colleague Grace Park, who played Kono Kalakaua) walked away from the show in protest of paychecks smaller than their two other white leads, Alex McLoughlin and Scott Caan, in a situation where the four actors were, in reality, an ensemble.

Kim and Grace Park, in “Hawaii Five-0.)

As a producer, Kim is quoted, “Now, whenever I develop a show, I specify right off the top what ethnicity the lead is,” making salaries tantamount to intention.

He will have the lead role of Matthew Ryker in National Geographic Channel’s “The Hot Zone: Anthrax.”

His credits are vast and varied. He played Ben Daimio in “Hellboy,” has a recurring role in NBC’s “New Amsterdam” as Dr. Cassian Shin.

He was heard but not seen in the animated “She-Ra and the Princess of Power” and “Raya and the Last Dragon.” And he’s been filming episodes—not yet released — of the animated “Pantheon,” portraying David. Gamers may know him from a series of video games.

And that’s “Show Biz.” …

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HAVE YOU SERVED ON JURY DUTY?

Just asking…

Have you served on a jury?

It’s a civil responsibility, or so they say, starting with that envelope that beckons you to a court visit, to see if you qualify. Some love serving, surely not for the dough, free parking included.

Maybe it’s curiosity, if you get a complicated case.

Some fear the notice, because it’s possibly inconvenient, since you have a job, care for kids at home, provide caregiving for an ill relative, for any other conceivable notion—you’re prejudicial, you’re nursing an injury, you’re pregnant and due in three months, you’re deaf or blind and have difficulty to commute, you’re wheelchair-bound and have mobility issues. Whatever. The judge decides if your reason is valid enough to skip the service, but you are obligated to respond to the summons and appear in court to seek excusal. You’re expected to serve, or at least answer the call…unless you’re age 80 or older.

Among those who qualify to be excused include politicians, police and first-responders, mothers who are breast-feeding, those serving in the military. What recollection do you have about your jury-call or jury-served experience?