Category: Stage

Everything wrong is right on target in the comedic farce known as “The Play That Goes Wrong,” now in its Hawaii premiere engagement at the Manoa Valley Theatre.

It’s a maniacal, madcap mélange – a play-within-a-play, to add to the mirth – that can be sometimes confusing, chaotic, and contagious, so let’s just say this controlled silliness is quite seductive, and sensational … so much so that the show’s been extended through June 4 at MVT.

Be advised: There are two playbills, one fictional and one actual, to sort out the obvious from the frivolous. The premise is this: The mythical Cornley University Drama Society, is staging “The Murder at Haversham Manor, but lacks proper rehearsals, so some dialogue is screwed up and parts of the set fall.

In other words, the play is already happening and you don’t know it. That’s part of the m.o., so if something’s amiss, it could be real, or planned.

This is the gallery of actors, featured in “The Play That Goes Wrong.”

It’s part Sherlock Holmes, part Agatha Christie, part Saturday Night Live, with lots of setups and you won’t know it till you get it. And if you’re familiar with “Noises Off,” expect similar raucous, rabid behavior and action.

The work, by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields and Jonathan Sayer, is directed by Rob Duval, who demands and gets comic control from his versatile cast. Michelle Bisbee’s inspired set is rich in precision and potency, since much of it comes apart at the precise moment, requiring impeccable timing to avoid injury, and the production is lit with superb timing by Janine Myers.

With so much live action all over the stage, it’s important to hear all the chatter and buzz, so thanks to Lock Lynch’s sound design.

What matters, and clearly is the motif of “Wrong,” is the fact that this is absurdity beyond a basic comedy, and the ensemble of actors and pretenders require to retain indefatigable timing, which enables the actors to shine, at different times for different reasons.

Even the furniture gets laughs; ditto, a mantel that keeps falling; and the photo of a dog on the wall has its giddy  moment, too.

I chortled and chuckled so often, I can truthfully say that I can’t recall which actor did what, but can offer generous praise and applause for Shannon Winpenny, Alan Shelphard, Jeff Andrews, John D’Aversa, Andrew Baker, Matthew Miller, Brett Williams, Tiger Tam, Theo and Al Reyes. Take a bow, gang.

 “The Play That Goes Wrong” premiered in London in 2012, and earned an Olivier for Best New Comedy. Its Broadway debut was in 2017 and the production transferred to the off-Broadway New World Stages on W. 50^th St. in New York, where it still is playing. And a local note – one of the New York producers staging this one is Kevin McCollum, the Tony-winning producer of such shows as “Rent,” “Avenue Q,” “In the Heights” and “Something Rotten.” Surely, he’d be proud to learn that MVT is staging the show, too. …

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 ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’

A musical by by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields and Jonathan Sayer

Where: Manoa Valley Theatre

When: Extended through June 4, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday  and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Tickets:  $24 to $45 at www.manoavalleytheatre.com or (808) 988-6131

Broadway grosses, for week ending May 28

With the 2023 Tony Awards coming up June 11 in New York City,

last week was the finale for the active Broadway community.

And “The Lion King” still rules in the weekly gross list:

Here are the Top 7 by grosses, for the week ending May 28:

1 – “The Lion King,” $2.245 million.

2 – “Hamilton,”  $1.894 million.

3 – “Sweeney Todd,” $1.882 million.

4 – “Wicked,” $1.825 million.

5—“MJ,” $1.682 million.

6 – “Funny Girl,” $1.583 million.

7 – “Aladdin,” with $1.453 million.

Here’s the official compilation, courtesy The Broadway League:

Show	THIS WEEK GROSSPOTENTIAL GROSS	DIFF $	AVG TICKETTOP TICKET	SEATS SOLDSEATS IN THEATRE	PERFSPREVIEWS	% CAP	DIFF % CAP
& JULIETSTEPHEN SONDHEIM THEATRE	$1,123,714.60	-$61,919.30	$142.44$323.00	7,8891,026	80	96.11%	-1.79%
ALADDINNEW AMSTERDAM THEATRE	$1,453,453.50	$69,692.00	$111.76$227.50	13,0051,727	80	94.13%	-1.38%
BAD CINDERELLAIMPERIAL THEATRE	$351,163.48	-$33,364.22	$45.27$297.00	7,7571,398	80	69.36%	0.99%
A BEAUTIFUL NOISE, THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICALBROADHURST THEATRE	$876,940.22	-$212,898.02	$125.24$347.50	7,0021,152	80	75.98%	-6.91%
THE BOOK OF MORMONEUGENE O’NEILL THEATRE	$1,040,043.30	$4,575.20	$126.68$0.00	8,2101,066	80	96.27%	-1.76%
CAMELOTVIVIAN BEAUMONT THEATER	$811,603.50	-$39,798.50	$112.50$249.00	7,2141,047	80	86.13%	-4.40%
CHICAGOAMBASSADOR THEATRE	$701,359.08	-$17,023.68	$96.20$237.00	7,2911,080	80	84.39%	-2.22%
A DOLL’S HOUSEHUDSON THEATRE	$847,080.00	-$56,236.00	$119.02$299.00	7,117946	80	94.04%	-2.55%
FAT HAMAMERICAN AIRLINES THEATRE	$391,432.60	-$1,603.20	$74.08$247.00	5,284704	80	93.82%	1.05%
FUNNY GIRLAUGUST WILSON THEATRE	$1,583,257.00	$434,871.50	$181.75$0.00	8,7111,219	80	89.33%	21.66%
GOOD NIGHT, OSCARBELASCO THEATRE	$550,970.34	-$171,170.76	$130.25$297.00	4,2301,022	70	59.13%	-12.83%
GREY HOUSELYCEUM THEATRE	$413,864.50	$61,915.80	$76.87$237.00	5,384896	08	75.11%	-10.48%
HADESTOWNWALTER KERR THEATRE	$771,642.10	$359.85	$106.30$0.00	7,259918	80	98.84%	-0.25%
HAMILTONRICHARD RODGERS THEATRE	$1,894,229.00	-$12,375.00	$177.55$449.00	10,6691,324	80	100.73%	-0.09%
HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILDLYRIC THEATRE	$1,371,744.40	$179,787.30	$129.25$349.00	10,6131,622	80	81.79%	-3.04%
KIMBERLY AKIMBOBOOTH THEATRE	$542,078.92	$1,226.57	$90.72$277.00	5,975773	80	96.62%	0.36%
LEOPOLDSTADTLONGACRE THEATRE	$555,823.65	-$42,777.25	$108.92$347.00	5,1031,075	80	59.34%	-6.95%
LIFE OF PIGERALD SCHOENFELD THEATRE	$501,232.55	-$29,253.35	$77.64$277.00	6,456978	80	82.52%	-2.79%
THE LION KINGMINSKOFF THEATRE	$2,245,982.00	$101,265.00	$177.18$199.00	12,6761,696	80	93.43%	0.23%
MJ THE MUSICALNEIL SIMON THEATRE	$1,682,452.00	-$490.00	$153.70$250.00	10,9461,387	80	98.65%	-0.58%
MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICALAL HIRSCHFELD THEATRE	$1,355,398.30	-$49,820.45	$134.08$0.00	10,1091,300	80	97.20%	-1.73%
NEW YORK, NEW YORKST. JAMES THEATRE	$939,859.25	-$213,265.25	$85.89$0.00	10,9431,659	80	82.45%	-7.14%
ONCE UPON A ONE MORE TIMEMARQUIS THEATRE	$606,278.50	$24,621.00	$62.57$297.00	9,6901,604	07	86.30%	12.81%
PARADEBERNARD B. JACOBS THEATRE	$1,108,120.05	$95,670.10	$140.96$327.00	7,8611,020	80	96.34%	-1.49%
PETER PAN GOES WRONGETHEL BARRYMORE THEATRE	$538,877.00	$56,129.26	$89.23$197.00	6,0391,047	80	72.10%	4.81%
PRIMA FACIEJOHN GOLDEN THEATRE	$949,793.76	-$23,031.98	$134.78$294.00	7,047802	90	97.63%	-1.22%
SHUCKEDNEDERLANDER THEATRE	$809,278.30	$29,292.20	$88.75$179.00	9,1191,171	80	97.34%	-1.17%
THE SIGN IN SIDNEY BRUSTEIN’S WINDOWJAMES EARL JONES THEATRE	$532,853.00	$11,033.48	$87.71$337.00	6,0751,069	80	71.04%	-2.65%
SIX: THE MUSICALLENA HORNE THEATRE	$1,044,247.00	$15,227.00	$137.17$249.00	7,6131,031	80	92.30%	1.09%
SOME LIKE IT HOTSAM S. SHUBERT THEATRE	$1,006,252.88	-$150,120.77	$104.51$257.00	9,6281,448	80	83.11%	-8.40%
SUMMER, 1976SAMUEL J. FRIEDMAN THEATRE	$511,945.00	$12,556.00	$111.10$319.00	4,608637	80	90.42%	-1.55%
SWEENEY TODDLUNT-FONTANNE THEATRE	$1,882,084.00	$14,716.00	$178.08$399.00	10,5691,498	70	100.79%	1.09%
THE THANKSGIVING PLAYHELEN HAYES THEATER	$267,587.50	$24,553.00	$80.67$223.00	3,317581	80	71.36%	3.35%
WICKEDGERSHWIN THEATRE	$1,825,756.00	$146,812.00	$123.79$275.00	14,7491,867	80	98.77%	2.72%

And that’s Show. Biz. …

Hawaii actress-singer Nicole Scherzinger will be ready for her film closeup when she stars as Norma Desmond, a silent movie star struggling with the arrival of talkies, in a West End revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical, “Sunset Boulevard.”

Scherzinger, pictured below, is no stranger to Lloyd Webber productions. She earlier played Grizabella in a London version of the  musical, “Cats.”

The “Sunset Boulevard” reboot will open in September in the midst of the 30^th anniversary of the show, to be staged at the Savoy Theatre in London, directed by Jamie Lloyd.

Lloyd Webber said of Scherzinger, “Nicole is one of the finest singers I have worked with, and I can’t wait to get started on this exciting show with her and the rest of this brilliant team.”

The Desmond role, echoing the life and times of silent movie star Gloria Swanson when she was facing the transition to movie talkies, has a storied past. Patti LuPone originated the role in London, Glenn Close starred in Los Angeles and later on Broadway in New York.

Scherzinger also played Grace in “Annie Live!,” a revival of “Annie,” and voiced the Sina character in Disney’s animated “Moana.”  She also starred in ABC’s update of “Dirty Dancing.” …

‘Bad’ news for Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Bad Cinderella,” an unlikely interpretation of the legendary fairytale, is shutting down June 4 at the Imperial Theatre in New York.

The closure, and a brief four-month run, is not surprising.

Lloyd Webber, pictured right, has had a golden run on Broadway for nearly 45 years of triumphs. Thus, his reign is over, since his biggie, “The Phantom of the Opera,” finally has left the building known as the Majestic Theatre. The grand master of British musical has had bad luck this year, when “Cinderella” ticket sales soured, and worse, the show earned zero Tony nominations but amassed mostly bad reviews.

Lloyd Webber’s storied success, which began with “Evita” in 1979, generated a tidal wave of British blockbusters transferred to Broadway from the West End, including his “Cats,” with humans as felines; “Starlight Express,” with actors as railroad cars; “Sunset Boulevard,” about the reclusive and wilting Hollywood silent-film actress battling the arrival of talkies; “Jesus Christ, Superstar,”  a rock opera about the religious icon; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” with a hero with a multi-hued coat; and “School of Rock,” about  youngsters rocking it out with their school teacher.

A sequel to “Phantom,” with the masked one relocated at Coney Island, never made it to the Great White Way, but in Lloyd Webber’s prime, his stage successes also commanded more Brit imports from the West End to Broadway, including “Les Miserables” and “Miss Saigon.”

Ah, memories….

New g.m. at Chamber Music Hawaii

Christopher Cabrera is the new general manager of Chamber Music Hawaii. He is both a musician and an educator, serving as associate principal timpanist and section percussionist with the Hawaii Symphony orchestra, and serves as a community outreach instructor with the Hawaii Youth Symphony.

Additionally, Cabrera is a board member for the Musicians’ Association of Hawaii, Local 677, American Federation of Musicians and serves as chair of the symphony’s orchestra committee. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

The 2023 Tony Awards, set for June 11 in New York, are in jeopardy.

Unless the Writers Guild of America strike is settled in the next few weeks, the planned telecast on CBS won’t happen.

The American Theatre Wing and Broadway League, two sponsors of the annual awards fest, are huddling about what to do.

They sought a waiver to enable the show to proceed, with no success. If the event is held without some agreement for a green-light, it’s likely that nominees and presenters would not attend, since that would be crossing the line.

No pact, no presence of keen participants. So talks evidently will continue.

The Tonys are Broadway’s biggest promotional opportunity.

So what are potential options and effects?

The strike settlement would mean business as usual.

The Tonys could be postponed till after the strike is over and writers go back…to writing. Delaying the show is nothing new; during the first year of the pandemic, the Tonys were shelved till later. The 2020 event was pushed back to the fall of 2021, after theaters reopened after the COVID crisis.

The Tonys are the Broadway community’s largest promotional tool. Winning shows would see a burst of  ticket sales. Winning actors and other aspects of play production would get a boost in popularity and likely a jump in salary.

New plays or musicals, in particular, need the exposure from the Tonys; without the show, the struggling productions would have to shut down.

The New York Times reports that four of the five nominees for Best New Musicals are not filling seats to cover the production costs each week, and  all nominees could get a jump in box office sales. Even a nominee that doesn’t win usually gets a boost if a production number performed live on the Tony show connects with viewers at home.

If the strike lingers, theaters would remain dark for the duration of the walk-out; the 2007 WGA strike lasted more than three months, resolved in 2008.

So the stakes are large, and producers are trying to figure out a path to success…or an end to the strike. …

Broadway grosses, week ending May 7

“Sweeney Todd, the Demon of Fleet Street” is moving on up; it’s now in the No. 2 slot of the week’s top-grossing shows.

Thus, the Top 7 rankings look like this:

1 – “The Lion King,” $1.961 million.

2 – “Sweeney Todd,” 1.826 million.

3—“Hamilton,” $1.778 million.

4 – “MJ, the Musical,” $1.653 million.

5 – “Wicked,” $1.484 million.

6 – “Funny Girl,”  $1.448 million.

7 – “Moulin Rouge,” $1.250 million.

The weekly list, courtesy The Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz. …

Feel the chill? Diamond Head Theatre has secured the rights to be the first community group to stage the Disney film-turned-stage hit “Frozen,” involving Elsa and Ella and amid a wintery wonderland.

The popular musical – a Hawaii premiere — will top DHT’s 2023-2024 season and will be staged July 26 through Aug. 11, 2024.

It will replace “My Fair Lady,” originally pegged in that time slot. Thus, data in an earlier DHT season mailer are now incorrect and obsolete.

Current season subscribers will get first dibs in securing tickets, through May 19, 2023.

The new season will include “Mamma Mia!,” “Scrooge, the Stingiest Man in Town,” “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” “Kiss Me Kate,” and “Tootsie,” with “Frozen” winding up the season.

New season subscribers will have to wait till early summer to order tickets. …

Tony nominees will be named May 2

Nominees for this year’s 76^th annual Tony Awards will be announced May 2, in a ceremony hosted by Lea Michele, currently starring in “Funny Girl,” and Myles Frost, , last year’s Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Michael Jackson in “MJ, the Musical.”

The announcement will be streamed via the Tony Awards’ YouTube channel

The actual Tony Awards program will be staged June 11, originating at the United Palace in Washington Heights, New York, and airing live via CBS…

Symphonies important

The Hawaii Symphony Orchestra staged four free concerts at the Hawaii Theatre for school keiki and their teachers, with 3,200 listeners tuning in April 20 and 21.

What a splendid treat. The HSO’s Fund for Education and Community Engagement partnered with other community resources to make the shows possible. Others engaged in the endeavor included Hawaii Theatre’s Partners in Arts Program, the U.S. Forest Service, the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture, and the Arts, and DOFAW (the Division of Forestry and Wildlife). Students in grades 4 through 12 were eligible to attend, and the performances focused on music and themes connecting classical music, hula, art, science and the importance of Hawaii’s native forests, linking visuals with live performances.

I recall, from way back in time (and memory), that I saw and heard my first symphonic music when the Honolulu Symphony, the predecessor of HSO, performed “Peter and the Wolf” at the McKinley High School Auditorium. The maestro was George Barati, just to indicate how long ago this was, and while the Hawaii Theatre already was standing, it likely was waiting for the renovation that came, and Blaisdell Concert Hall was not yet erected.

I was not wholly mesmerized by  the classical genre, but the early exposure was an important revelation: that there was a spectrum of music I would explore in the years to come. …

And that’s Show Biz. ….

 Note: this column originally was posted on March 29, 2023, after “La Cage Aux Folles” opened at Diamond Head Theatre. The original art appearing here has been replaced with photos by Brandon Miyagi, which DHT provided a few days ago.

“La Cage Aux Folles,” now at Diamond Head Theatre, is a giddy and gorgeous musical bubbling with heart and hilarity, about a gay couple named Georges and Albin who share a home, a nightclub and heartbreak that test their longstanding relationship.

Georges (Guy Merola, grandly showcasing his tenor voice, with substantial operatic presence) operates “La Cage Aux Folles,” a hotspot in St. Tropez, France, where he is the supposed guy in a supposed hetero-homo lifestyle. His partner, Albin (Andrew Sakaguchi, in a career-best expedition as a gorgeous drag queen chanteuse, with abundant swish and sizzle), is the trans whose baritone soars to the high notes, on three-inch pumps and ultra glamorous wigs coupled with body-clinging gowns.

The narrative supposes this is a happy household, where Albin doubles as a “mom” to Jean Michel (Charles Ho, a cutie like the boy next door, who is the 20-something straight son of Georges) from a previous relationship named Sylvia, mentioned but not seen.

Guy Merola as Georges, Andrew Sakaguchi as Albin, the lovers in “La Cage.”

The wrinkle: Jean-Michel visits the couple’s apartment, which adjoins the sexy nightclub, to announce he’s about to marry g.f. Anne (Nanea Allen, also a cutie-beauty). Thus, the calm becomes chaotic, complicated  and challenging, when the tempo and temperature rise.

Based on a play by Jean Poiret, with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, “La Cage” plays unabashedly gay, and preys on cliched and exaggerated manners, gestures and chatter.

But an undercurrent of traditional virtues and values — the respect for lifestyle choices that may not be the norm, the notions of acceptance and empathy, the bond of family harmony  –  echoes a rom-com involving two traditional lovers. Everyone, everywhere and everything become threatened by distortions, fibs and pretense, when, in fact, the show celebrates and humanizes the gayness of the leads.

Director John Rampage, a wizard of spectacle, has assembled a stellar cast to play out the different strains of the rainbow with sentimental turns without resorting to caricature. Sakaguchi doubles as choreographer, with swirls of clubby dancing, surrounding himself with the Cagelles decked out in  eye-filling frou-frou. For the audience, it’s a guessing game to figure out which are women with plumes and sequins, which are men masquerading as exotic dancers on heels.

Merola, who is making a comeback after more than a dozen years away from the stage spotlight, has the best of times when his tenor works its magical spell. His handling of the “Song on the Sand” ballad, with those la-da-da-das, is captivating, and is generously heard twice (in Act 1 as a solo number, in Act 2 as a duet) with Sakaguchi’s powerful, pliable voice in both gentlemanly and womanly modes.

The tension and trauma unfold when the conservative parents of Anne, Edouard Dindon (Joe Martyak, perfect as a big shot bigot) and his wife, Marie Dindon (Kim Anderson, hilarious and open-minded) pay a visit to meet the parents of Jean Michel. The tangled play-out is over-the-top outrageous, but never falls to mockery.

A dinner with Georges (above, left) and Albin (below, right), at Chez Jacqueline Restaurant, formally introduces Jacqueline (Shari Lynn, in a cameo, repeating the role of the restaurant owner), enabling the dependable Shari to  uncork her Jacqueline juice on “The Best of Times,” with Albin and Marie chiming in.

Composer Herman’s score is rich and savory, with two precise, enduring hits — the aforementioned “The Best of Times” and the be-who-you-are anthem, “I Am What I Am”–delivered with precision and pride in an empowering, ecstatic Sakaguchi interpretation that closes Act 1.

At the Saturday night (March 25) performance I attended, La Tanya Faamausili-Siliato’s sound was quirky and uncertain, crackling a few times with feedback. Ouch!

Phil Hidalgo’s music direction — silky smooth and smart, even employing an actor to “play” an accordion onstage — deserves a curtain call, but it’s impossible because the stage pit design disallows the bow. Quel dommage.

Madison Gholston’s first costume design assignment included a boutique-like array of garb, from showgirl glitz to snappy traditional men’s suits, from houseboy uniforms to the stunning formal glam garb donned by Albin, notably in Act 2. Bravo!

And makeup and wig designer Aiko Schick merits kudos for her flamboyant finery, in concert with the varied and imaginative hair design by Shaw Rodriguez. Magnifique!

Georges and Albin, seated, with the chorus of glam Cagelles in the background.

Steven Clear’s light design provided keen sheen, but Dawn Oshima’s set design was a wonderment, with limited utilization of the facility’s fly space, mostly lowering curtains and bejeweled ribbon drops and a couple of painted scenic. There’s still constant reliance of split-sets scenery of the Georges-Albin digs and a French promenade,  wheeled out in sections on wagons instead of aerial drops (too heavy?) from the fly space. Porquoi?

“La Cage Aux Folles” reflects and embraces the joyous era of the musical with songs that audiences can sing or hum as they exit the theater. It also boasts a grand opening overture that includes the key hit songs, a formula of the prolific Rodgers and Hammerstein duo of yesteryear, still a requisite in revivals.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and the “Les Miserables” team of Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil  are among the creative forces who have followed the R&H format, with appealing overtures and scores that produce breakout hit songs.  …

“La Cage Aux Folles”

A musical based on a play by Jean Poiret, with songs and lyrics by  Jerry Herman and book by Harvey Fierstein

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Saturdays, and 4 p.m. Sundays, through April 9, plus extended shows at 7:30 p.m. April 15 and 4 p.m. April 16

Where: Diamond Head Theatre

Tickets: $27 to $52, at (808) 733-0274 or www.diamondheadtheatre.com …

And that’s Show Biz. …