First, “Wicked,” the Broadway show, is the first-ever theatrical production to log box office grosses of $5.04 million, for the week ending Dec, 29
Secondly, “Wicked,” the movie (Part One), has grossed $634.4 million at the box office since it opened last Nov. 22. The sum includes $424.2 million from the American market, and another $210.2 million from foreign markets, according to Deadline.
Clearly, the film version has helped to generate audiences in New York, combined with the sustained Christmas and New Year visitors holidaying in the Big Apple .
Clearly again, the stage production –ensconced at the Gershwin Theatre — has undoubtedly been introducing movie fans to check out the original production of the Broadway hit.
And in Sunday’s (Jan. 5) Golden Globes Awards, “Wicked” won the first-ever Cinematic and Box Office Award as the season’s artistic favorite and boffo hit, despite failing to win acting laurels for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Director Jon M. Chu also was overlooked by the Golden Globes voters.
Based on Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s theatrical musical (which is itself based on Gregory Maguire’s novel), “Wicked” is about Galinda (better known as the Good Witch of the North), and Elphaba (better known as the Wicked Witch of the West) and their formative years at Shiz University. For those not yet acclimated to the witches, Elphaba is the green witch.
The second installment of “Wicked: For Good,” the continuation of the story, is due Nov. 21, 2025. It’s very likely that the Broadway production will be around then. Which begs the question: Will there be a repeat of grosses the end of next year?…
Broadway grosses, for the week ending Dec. 29
“Wicked” made box office history when it grossed $5.04 million, attracting audience in the holiday mood. Even “The Lion King” pulled in $4.2 million, lofty figures for the season.
The Top 10:
1–“Wicked,” $5.04 million
2–“The Lion King,” $4.2 million
3–“Hamilton,” $2.93 million
4–“Aladdin,” $2.81 million
5–“The Great Gatsby,” $2.62 million
6–“MJ The Musical,” $2.6 million
7–“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $2.39 million
8—“Elf,” $2.3 million
9–“The Outsiders,” $2.02 million
10—-“Back to the Future,” $2 million
The complete figures, courtesy the Broadway League:
So goes the adage, but I have seen the future of Waikiki entertainment, and it’s Cirque du Soleil’s awesome and enchanting wizardry, entitled “‘Auana,” Hawaiian for “to wander, to drift from place to place.”
It’s a spectacle of visual and musical riches, which formally opens tonight (Dec. 18) at the Outrigger Theatre at the Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. I saw it Sunday (Dec.15) in one of the final preview stagings.
“‘Auana” is impressive and inventive, with beaucoup appeal to a global audience because of Cirque du Soleil’s years of splendid creations and track record. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give “‘Auana” an emphatic 10, a show that could possibly make the prevalent luau experience here obsolete. Not a threat, but a probability.
Its principal creators are Neil Doward, the director and co-creator of “‘Auana,” and Aaron J. Sala, the island-based cultural and creative producer for the show. They are the minds behind this miracle.
Neil Doward, director, co-producer
It’s a different, daring production with a pioneering style, created with its own bold, beautiful signature, and staged entirely in the Hawaiian language. “‘Auana” is chock full of ‘olelo and mele, with a soundtrack that appears to be pre-recorded with perhaps a small orchestra performing live but performed by a vibrant and versatile ensemble of singers/dancers experiencing a fresh new journey amid a whirlpool of hula kahiko, lusciously bathed by a soundtrack that is enticing and energizing.
Aaron J. Sala, cultural creative producer
I wish I could be specific and share names and numbers of the spirited troupe, but the show – like other Cirque ventures elsewhere – appears to maintain a don’t ask, don’t tell policy.
Ten things worthy of your attention:
1— You don’t need to speak or understand Hawaiian, to “get” what is staged; the visuals are powerful, the staging incredible. You’ll quickly become acclimated to the rhythm of the vocabulary.
Amid the pageantry, the costumes are ravishing and revolutionary.
2— The choreography, by Hiwa Vaughan, is spirited, fresh, consuming; the dances will draw you into the moment, number after number. Her choreography is ravishing and revolutionary.
3— The striking costumes, by Manaola, are stunning, with designs that lure you into the dances, with swirls of fabric and typhoons of styles and surely will make you yearn to buy a shirt or a dress with the prints you see. No can do; these are the show’s exclusive, original designs.
4— Traditional “circus” acts — like duos skating and twirling, acrobats teetering on spinning cages, a dude who balances on circular tins that spell potential danger, aerial acrobats without fear of heights – prove that “Wicked” isn’t the only show Defying Gravity; these troupers are awesome, and they complement the ensemble of singers/dancers.
The “Over the Rainbow” staging, with an artist, left, and a singer,right, finishes with a rainbow.
5— I particularly adored “Over the Rainbow,” translated and sung with wizardry and wonderment; the solo singer delivered the Hawaiian lyrics while an artist sketched on an oversized canvas, the huge backdrop where there are changing visuals. The art piece comprised a beautiful colorful rainbow accent at the tune’s finale. This was one of two non-Hawaiian tunes that works in translation.
A “Hawaii Five-0” sequence promotes the aloha spirit.
6— There’s a delightful audience participation instance, utilizing a second borrowed melody, the “Hawaii Five-O” theme song, where gents played invisible drums, trumpet and flute, gleefully projecting the aloha spirit. You want to shout, “Book ‘em, Danno,” in Hawaiian, natch.
7—There’s valid Hawaiian pageantry, beginning with natives navigating the seas, catching fish, and eventual embracing the growth of a visitor industry. In storytelling, there is a beginning, middle, and an ending, and this journey embraces distinctive and indelible memories.
Voyaging by canoe is part of the storytelling.
8—One especially engaging stunt involved a chap fixated with an oversized balloon/ball, gets “swallowed” by the sphere, begins to take off his shirt and trousers and tossing them out, yet eventually and methodically bounces himself out from the pliable gizmo. It’s not Hawaiian, but it’s hip!
9— Other modern motifs involved smaller balls, bobbed to and fro, from performers to the observers in the audience. The mood was casual, like beach ball fun, minus the sand. I recall a similar playful interaction in Broadway’s “SpongeBob” musical a couple of years ago, utilizing humongous bounce balls.
Acrobats in teetering-tottering metal cages defy gravity.
10—You don’t mess with Pele, and “‘Auana” bypasses – wisely – any lava reference to avoid controversy. If you watch carefully, however, there is a moment of volcanic action. You don’t need an eruption. Period.
Advisories, if you attend:
Show times: 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.
Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes; there is no intermission.
Tickets: Varies with playdates; call (877) 773-6470. Kamaaina and VIP Experience rates available.
Bathrooms are outside of the showroom, so you should “go” before curtain time.
Once the show starts, audience members should not go up and down stairs or walkways because the dancing/singing cast constantly utilize these steps and hallways in darkness. Safety is assured only if viewers stay put.
Snacks (like caramel popcorn, sold in plastic cups with peel-off covers) and soft drinks and bar drinks like wine don’t come with clip-on covers but should; there are convenient drink holders in the front of your seat. Bottled water comes with caps.
Handicapped service is not defined, at least when I attended. Escalator access is the norm; as a walker user, I had to use elevator service to get to the showroom level; the walker was taken by an attendant at the showroom, after I was seated, and I was told that someone would bring over the walker at the end of the performance; it didn’t happen. Another walker and a wheelchair user had similar issues. We had to wait till the whole room was vacant to retrieve the access needs. Not good…
It was some enchanted evening last night (Dec. 10) when our local girl Broadway star Loretta Ables Sayre took part in a Lincoln Center Theater reunion of the cast of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific.”
Her original cast colleagues from 2008, directed by Bartlett Sher, didn’t know that Ables Sayre (who was Tony-nominated for her role of Bloody Mary) would turn the celebratory event into a Lei Day of sorts.
Loretta Ables Sayre, center, at Lincoln Center’s “South Pacific” reunion. Photo by Vogue.
She and her husband David Sayre had quietly ordered 110 vanda orchid lei to present to cast, crew, orchestra, creative staff and LCT staffers, in somewhat of a hana hou lei presentation just like during the original run at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.
“We thought that it would be fitting to close this reunion the same way,” said Ables Sayre via email.
“This concert was a dream come true for all of us,” she said. “Having almost our entire cast reunited to share this show, this music, this story for one last time was glorious. We sat on the stage (a concert rendering of the theatrical hit), and we all saw scenes we had never seen before. The bad part of doing a show is that you never get to see the show because you are normally off stage for the scenes you aren’t in. This time we saw and experienced everything, and we wept through the entire concert.”
Kelli O’Hara and Paulo Szo with purple vanda lei. Photo by Vogue.
The all-star cast included Kelli O’Hara (Nellie Forbush), Paulo Szot (Emile de Becque), Matthew Morrison (Luther Billis), Danny Burstein (Lt. Cable) and Ables Sayre (Bloody Mary).
The event marked two milestones: the 40th anniversary of Lincoln Center Theater, and the 75th anniversary of the 1949 musical, whose only revival on Broadway was the 2008-2009 LCC production, which earned seven Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Direction, Best Scenic Design, Best Costumes, Best Lighting, Best Sound and Best Actor in a Musical (Paulo Szot).
“I still cannot believe my great good fortune to have been a part of this cast,” she reflected. “And having and hearing the orchestra on stage behind us was unbelievable. Lincoln Center gave us all a gift of doing this show together one more time and we will never forget it. It was like having your dream come to fruition again. What an enormous blessing.”
Ables Sayre also got an online thrill. “I made it into Vogue (online),” she emailed about the magazine’s coverage of the “South Pacific” reunion event, that included reportage of “the purple lei” plus an image of Ables Sayre…
Broadway grosses, for week ending Dec. 8
The holiday musical comedy, “Elf,” continues to attract Broadway audiences during this time of year, land in fourth place and beating the likes of “MJ the Musical” and “Gypsy.”
The Top 10:
1—”Wicked,” $2.930 million,
2—”The Lion King,” $2.883 million,
3—”Hamilton,” $2.579 million,
4—“Elf,” $1.947 million,
5–“Sunset Blvd.,” $1,821 million,
6—”MJ The Musical,” $1.711 million,
7— “Gypsy,” $1.622 million,
8—”The Outsiders,” $1.840 million,
9—“Aladdin,” $1.823 million,
10—”Hell’s Kitchen,” $1.574 million.
The full list of grosses, courtesy the Broadway League:
Henry Kapono, Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winner and Grammy nominee, will put his Hawaiian spin on Christmas, at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Dec. 6 at Blue Note Hawaii, Outrigger Wakiki Hotel.
The theme is “Merry Christmas to You,” his annual holiday song
Henry Kapono
Alx Kawakami also will be featured.
Doors open at 5 and 8:30 p.m. for beverage and meal service.
“Ukulele All-Stars Christmas,” a gathering of ukulele talent, is set for 7 p.m. Dec. 18 at Blue Note Hawaii, Outrigger Waikiki Hotel.
Participating strummers are Cynthia Lin, Brittni Paiva, Kalei Gamiao and Abe Lagrimas Jr.
The event is touted as a fun and cozy kanikapila-jam, with the four-string instrument featured in a round of interpretations of songs of the holiday season Doors open at 5 p.m. for food and beverage service.
“Elf, the Musical,” that yuletide musical comedy at the Marquis Theatre, has made a splash in the Broadway landscape, landing at No. 4 on the Top 10 compilation. Also making its first appearance this week: “Gypsy,” starring Audra McDonald, at No. 10. Consequently, a Tony winner last summer, “Hell’s Kitchen,” has been bumped off the Top 10.
Kaipo Dudoit stars as the titular character in “Kimo the Waiter,” opening Thursday (Nov. 7) at Kumu Kahua Theatre.
The script, by Lee Cataluna, spotlights Kimo as a frustrated actor who waits tables while pursuing his dream of acting professionally in the Hawaii of the 1980s, when Hollywood “discovered” the islands by filming TV procedurals here.
Kaipo Dudoit
Kimo is challenged to break free from stereotypical mindset of Hollywood directors to land a role beyond local commercials.
Jason Kanda is director.
Performances will be at 7 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. Sundays, through Dec. 7. There is no show on Thanksgiving Nov. 28, but there is a 2 p.m. matinee in its place, on Saturday Nov. 30.
Tickets are $8 to $28, available at www.kumukahua.org or at (808)536-4441…
Elliman sings on Princess Cruises
Honolulan Yvonne Elliman reunited with Teddy Neeley and performed together during a Princess Cruises Mexican Riviera cruise last month. She was Mary Magdalene and he was Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar” back in the day.
Yvonne EllIman and Teddy Neeley sing on Princess cruise ship.
They sang Neeley’s composition, “Love Is All There Is.”
Elliman sings, using cane
She also shared “If I Can’t Have You,” her No. 1 hit from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, on the final night of their journey.
Elliman, 72, on the cruise with her husband Allen Alexander, was a global sensation when she performed in “Jesus Christ Superstar” on stage and in the film version, and her voice also was highly prominent in the “Fever” soundtrack along with the riches from the Bee Gees.
Despite her reliance of a walking cane for support (visible on the “If I Can’t Have You” video), Elliman managed to provide movement and a bit of dancing on the track.
You go, girl! …
‘Sunset Blvd.’ rising on Broadway charts
“Sunset Blvd.,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest revival on Broadway, has risen to third place in the weekly round-up of grosses. It stars Hawaii girl Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond.
