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Found these neat paper florals and Valentine’s-themed images, and was able to create a limited number of stunning, cute Valentine’s pins that didn’t rely on traditional hearts but projected love in a very sweet way.. Wish I bought more! Lucky you, if you received one of these designs.
Manoa Valley Theatre just launched “What the Constitution Means To Me,” which opened Thursday (Jan. 23), in its Hawaii premiere.
And Diamond Head Theatre presents “Master Class,” a Tony Award-winning drama about opera diva Maria Callas in her element, debuting tonight (Jan. 24).
‘Constitution’
“Constitution,” playing through Feb. 2, is a drama by Heidi Schreck, which examines the U.S. Constitution and explores its impact across four generations of women.
At MVT, the journey involves Melinda Moore, theater director at Punahou School, portraying Schreck, who shares the limelight with Ava Zoto, her actual student, playing the Student Debater. They pore over the nation’s blueprint, exploring a multitude of constitutional ideals.
The cast also features Mathias Maas as Mike.
Jeanne Wynne Herring is director, Aly Sutton is stage manager Ashton Botts is the dramaturg, Vanessa Gould is assistant director, Michelle A. Bisbee is set designer, Willie Sabel is scenic artist, Rob Duval is prop designer, Chris Gouveia is lighting designer and master electrician, Janine Myers is master electrician 2, Sarah Velasco is sound designer/engineer, Amber Lehua Baker is costume director, and Denise-Aiko Chinen is assistant director and assistant stage manager.
Show times: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. Sundays, through Feb. 2. There also is a matinee at 3 p.m. Feb. 1. Tickets: $25 to $47. Reservations: (808) 988-6131 or manoavalleytheatre.com
‘Master Class’
“Master Class,” a drama by Terrence McNally, premieres at 7:30 p.m. today (Jan. 24) at Diamond Head Theatre. It continues through Feb. 9, without the usual extention.
The show focuses on Maria Callas, the opera diva, as an uncompromising master teacher at an elite opera training program. The plot is inspired by a series of real-life master classes delivered by Callas in her prime at Juilliard.
Her students, often hilariously crushed but profoundly inspired by the diva, are soulfully uplifted by Callas, who inspires and transports her pupils into untold boundaries of artistic sacrifice and quality.
Bryce Chaddick is directing.
The cast includes Amy K. Sullivan as Callas, David Young as Manny Weinstock, Georgine Stark as Sophie de Palma, Randy Tandal as the Stagehand, Anna Young as Sharon Graham, Kasey Nahlovsky as Anthony “Tony” Candolini and Jennifer Hamm as the understudy.
The production runs through Feb. 9. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays and 3 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets: $41 through $68, at www.diamondheadtheatre.com and (808) 733-0274….
Broadway grosses, week ending Jan. 19
While “Wicked” remains atop the weekly gross of Broadway shows, there’s been a switcheroo at No. 2. “Hamilton” has moved up a slot.
The Top 10:
1—”Wicked,” $2.425 million
2—”Hamilton,” $1.855 million
3—” The Lion King,” $1.754 million
4—”Gypsy,” $1.748 million
5—”All In: Comedy About Love,” $1.669 million
6—”The Great Gatsby,” $1.543 million
7—”The Outsiders,” $1.455 million
8—”Oh, Mary!,” $1.248 million
9—”Aladdin,” $1.147 million
10—”MJ The Musical,” $1.136 million
The complete list, courtesy The Broadway League:
And that’s Show Biz…
If you are an Infiniti owner, take note. The lone Infiniti dealership in Mapunapuna shut down Jan. 10, without public notice.
The closure was one of many among stand-alone Infiniti showrooms and servicing centers across the nation, due to cutbacks by besieged Nissan operations, forcing closures of the brand’s luxury division, Infiniti.
I learned about the termination of the Infiniti showrooms and service centers, when I made a Jan. 4 appointment for servicing and a safety check for my Q50 vehicle at the Mapunapuna plant. The brand ceased operations a week later, on Jan. 10.
Employees were told only that Nissan was downsizing, meaning that the Infiniti operations would be absorbed by parent company King Windward Nissan in Kaneohe. Some workers, like longtime service manager Alvin Niki, were leaving the company; others, like Jason Tokunaga, will transfer to Nissan, where the facility would embrace the Infiniti brand in the showroom and also accept servicing appointments for both Nissan and Infiniti, effective immediately.
According to the New York Post, automotive giant Nissan – which had nearly 200 Infiniti dealerships nation-wide – was forced to shut down Infiniti because of dwindling sales. The brand is under-performing; only 42,567 new Infinitis were sold in the U.S. in the nine months from January to September last year, down from nearly 87,934 in the same period in 2019.
The Post reports that Infitini showrooms averaged only 24 new car sales per month. Consolidating operations with Nissan would stop the bleeding.
For residents townside of the Wilson or Pali tunnels, servicing appointments will require strategic planning. I make routine service treks a couple of times a year; the drive from Hawaii Kai, where I reside, to Mapunapuna, near the airport, usually takes 30 minutes if I leave home at 6:45 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. appointment. Despite the early morning rush hour, with an early departure, the drive is smooth, unless there’s an accident or heavy rainfall affecting traffic.
However, to make the drive to King Windward, it has taken me 45 to 50 minutes mid-day to get there during weekdays; I imagine an early morning service appointment would be more than an hour, considering there would be early drivers from Kailua and Kaneohe heading to town or other destinations. So, a traffic challenge waits for my next service appointment.
Infiniti offers a loaner service; I’ve been advised that King Windward does, too.
Sharing this information for other Infiniti drivers who are not aware of the shuttering of the Infiniti operations here.
Have been toiling to complete a huge batch of 2025 Valentine’s Day pins and am happy to report that the project is completed!
Thus, the pins have been boxed and the first few batches are in the mail, since Valentine’s is about a month from today.
So folks on my mailing list should be watching their mailboxes, since the pins will be arriving in no particular order. It’s been fun to create the little pins, and they’re enroute to recipients in no particular order.
A samping is shared in the photo here…
After being on The Billboard Hot 100 for the past 20 weeks, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga’s duet “Die With a Smile” has hit the No. 1 slot, in the Jan. 11 ratings chart.
Further, Mars’ duet “APT.” with ROSE, is lingering at the No. 5 spot.
It’s rare that an act has two charted tunes, but n Bruno’s case, it’s a shared honor since he co-sings two with different female leads. Since he’s not completed a new album, the formula to link with a woman singer has worked well.
Then there’s Sabrina Carpenter, a solo singer, who also has two tunes on the ratings list: “Espresso” is at No. 9, and “Taste” is No. 10…
Broadway grosses, for week ending Jan. 5
Though the $3 million-plus gross for “Wicked” is over, the musical about the pair of fabled witches still is the No. 1, for the week terminating Jan. 5. Its tally was more than $3 million, which still is a commanding lead.
The Top 10
1—“Wicked,” $3.294 million
2—“The Lion King,” $2.000 million
3—“Hamilton,” $2.379 million
4—“Aladdin,” $1.995 million
5—“The Outsiders,” $1.841 million
6—“The Great Gatsby,” $1.889 million
7—“Back to the Future: The Musical,”$1.875 million
8—“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $1.864 million
9—“MJ the Musical,” $1.805 million
10—“Gypsy,” $1.799 million
The complete list, courtesy of The Broadway League:
And that’s Show Biz…