Category: Stage

Does Craig Schulman, known for his role as Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables,” ever shed tears when he delivers his signature tune, “Bring Him Home”?

“Never,” he said in a phone interview from his New York home. “I have a routine that goes through my head. You have to control it (the tears).”

Schulman is heading to Honolulu for a much-delayed performance when he appears with two Broadway colleagues in “The Three Phantoms,” at 7 p.m. Oct. 29 and 2 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Hawaii Theatre. It’ll be a night of Broadway tunes from a myriad of shows, including “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Schulman, who is the producer of the event, will naturally render “Bring Him On.” So he’ll have to keep up his guard, since fans and followers often drop tears due to the emotion in the song, even out of context of “Les Miz.”

Some years ago, when he did the first national tour of “Les Miz,” he thought “Bring Him Home” might bring out the waterworks.

“At that time, my dad was having cancer surgery, and I kept that memory, which keeps me in control. But when I lost a daughter, I was having emotional pain.”

His determination to maintain discipline, so he doesn’t “lose it,” has been helpful. But there have been a few instances “when my body couldn’t keep up with my mind.”

He misses “Les Miz,” specifically, and the stage, generally.

So “Phantoms” will enable him to embrace Broadway biggies that feature a panorama of familiar tunes performed by male tenor soloists, like Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Schulman organized the concept back in 2000. The Hawaii Theatre edition — with support from Honolulu arts patron Carolyn Berry Wilson — will be the first resurrection of the show since the pandemic shut down theater everywhere. He has assembled the substantial talents of two buddies – Keith Buterbaugh and Gary Mauer, who, like Schulman, have donned the mask of the “Phantom” over the decades, as well as performed in other key leads in the Broadway repertoire.

Dan Riddle, musical director, will helm a six-piece group of island musicians for the evening.

Schulman, who has performed Valjean in previous Honolulu visits of “Les Miz,” earlier partnered with Cris Groenendaal, who played the phantom here, and Kevin Gray, who starred as Scar in “The Lion King” at Blaisdell Concert Hall, in the phantom trio portfolio. Groenendaal has retired from active singing and Gray died of a heart attack while shoveling snow at his New York home.

Collectively, the original Phantom buddies accrued an average of 20 years of Broadway experiences and  performances in regional shows, opera and TV roles.

“When we do a set show, with a symphony or a six-piece orchestra, you have to stay with the script,” said Schulman about “Phantom.” “You can do some shtick, but you have to be consistent.”

The planned repertoire includes male-delivered hits from shows like “Miss Saigon,”  “Guys and Dolls,” “ Annie Get Your Gun,” “Kiss Me Kate,” “South Pacific,” “Jesus Christ, Superstar” and “Damn Yankees.”

Tickets are $30 to $50, available at www.hawaiitheatre.com or by calling (808) 528-0506. During the pandemic, the theater box office is closed, so ticket access is via online or phone.

After Honolulu, the threesome  will have two more “Phantom” bookings,  in Muncy, Ind. But Schulman said he always keeps a stable of singers in tow, just in case. “You need to keep eight to ten people, as singers come and go. I had hoped to have Mark Jacoby aboard, but he is one of two Neil Diamond actors (the younger is Will Swenson), in the Broadway-bound ‘A Beautiful Noise’” which is launching in Boston next June before heading to New York later.

 Of course, he’s open to do a legit Broadway biggie, should an opporutunity arise.

Otherwise, he said, “I still do voice-teaching. And I’m enjoying my grandchildren.”

But It’s been a frustrating past decade, for the whole theater industry. “The industry retired me, making a decision that I stop (doing traditional theater). And that makes me angry.” …

And that’s Show Biz. …

If ever there was an evergreen musical with just about everything, it just might be Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes,” now playing through Sept. 25 at Diamond Head Theatre.

Consider:

• Tap dancing , Act 1: You could leave at intermission, when the title tune gets a spirited boost,  as energetic tappers click their shoes and sing and dance their hearts out, as if this was the finale. You’d get your money’s worth and feel fulfilled.
• Tap-dancing, Act 2: The closing tapper, which brings down the curtain, also is rich with voices and shoes tapping, and yep, might trigger your animated trek to your car. Disclosure: there’s another awesome show-stopper  (won’t reveal it) when you’ll momentarily feel like you’re seeing “42^nd Street” and “A Chorus Line.”
• Career-best performances, from the romantic leads: Jody Bill, as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney, has the pipes and verve and vocalize with skill, and is a knock-out dancer, as well. Andrew Sakaguchi, as stowaway Billy Crocker, is a triple-threat, singer, actor and dancer with batteries that don’t need recharging. He certainly, and deservedly, carries the flag as an API trouper  and a poster boy for blind casting that works.
• The rich and everlasting score by Porter still connects:  his words and music  are part of the DNA of the Great American Songbook.

• Splendid direction and choreography:  John Rampage, who is the unseen skipper of the SS American, the setting for this shipboard, steers through one of his favorite musicals of all time, in what will be the final production in the “old,” soon to be retired Ruger Theatre, which also has been a playhouse earlier known as the Honolulu Community Theatre, and now Diamond Head Theatre; with additional kudos to Caryn Yee, whose tap choreography is a joy to experience (for performers and spectators), with solo, couple, and ensemble units joyfully tapping, tap-tap-tap.
• Glorious, colorful and costumes: Karen G. Wolfe has outdone herself with a mountain of wardrobe styles and hues, brightening the needs of scenes involving a diverse lot, from sailors to captains, from angels to devils, from clerics to whomever. Her creations could proudly fill a boutique.
• Appealing depth in the secondary roles: Mathew Pedersen, as Moonface Martin; Akiko Schick, as Evangeline Harcourt, mother of Christine Kluvo’s Hope Harcourt; Ahnya Chang, as Erma.
• Stage and lighting design: Dawn Oshima’s shipboard set, complete with occasional suites, are inventive yet essential, to address the multi-moods of  the time-tested rom-com treasure.

Further, there’s support and efficiency in the other realms of staging a huge musical; like hair and make up by Aiko Schick, and orchestral melodics helmed by Jenny Shiroma, who also is keyboardist, with four colleagues who sound like a band double its size.

 Ensemble excellence prevails – the  cast of 30 is huge – so their unity and output reflect dedication and generosity, from the show leads to the gallery ensemble folks, who perform with a feeling of genuine team pride. It’s also a thrill to remember young actors making progress and living the joy of theater. I point out the likes off Shane Nishimura, who is part of the ensemble principally as a singing-dancing sailor, but I remember him as a youngster portraying Gavroche in a “Les Miserables” in the past.

Performance schedule: 7:30 p.m.  Thursdays through Saturdays, at 3 p.m. Saturdays and at 4 p.m. Sundays (no Saturday matinee Sept. 10), through Sept. 25.

Tickets: $25-$35, available at www.diamondheadtheatre.com or (808) 733-0274.

And that’s Show Biz. …

Dear “Edwina” cast and crew: you’re a winnah, with so much heart and soul.

“Dear Edwina Jr.” – staged over two weekends, due to the cloud of COVID-19 which shut down performances after one show July 15 – returned with a vengeance, so to speak, at Paliku Theatre, Windward Community College. The remaining three shows (one on Friday night, two on Saturday afternoon) challenged the cast to wear face masks, an action not taken by any other theater cast here.

An ensemble of nearly 50 youngsters, who learned or improved their acting, singing and dancing skills in a summertime I’m A Bright Kid Foundation theater arts sessions, also discovered that the show cannot always go on as scheduled. In this case, the potential threat was the pandemic, which affected some kids and a few adult backstagers. Hence, there were other lessons learned.

The show, about a teen broadcast dispenser of advice for an audience of youths with a bundle of growing-up issues, radically did a turn-around, with the final three performances requiring the kids to don face masks for the safety of all, with only brief instances of unmasked solo singing.

I don’t recall any other local group hitting the stage with full cast masking during the pandemic, so the IABK gang outdid itself with an energetic booster shot of desire and determination, earning a deserved standing ovation at the finale I attended.

Bravo!

The show, set in Michigan with music by Zina Goldrich and lyrics and book by Marcy Heisler, was a “junior” edition, meaning a curtailed production for a youth or junior cast. Edwina Spoonapple (Cleonice Hamm, splendid and  stunning), solicits letters from youths and shares her growing-up wisdom, like a teen Dear Abby. The formula embraces vibrant musical numbers – song and dance productions, the heartbeat of the show – tackling simple topics as where the silverware is placed in a dinner setting and matters of the heart.

Kids of all ages, looks and sizes converts “Edwina” into an island rainbow of talent, singing, somersaulting, radiating joyous pride, particularly in the “chorus” of line-ups, like a piggy number where many not just singing through their facemasks, but donning piggy wears, snout and tail. Oink!

A sane and simple tune, prior to the final curtain, reflects the IABK pulse:  “Sing Your Own Song” advocates the notion that everyone has a voice and should use it. “Don’t let them take away the music you’re made of,” is a thematic line, which reflects the core of believing in yourself and it’s OK to move to your own drumbeat, a teaching and learning point of the late director-teacher Ron Bright, who inspired this spirit in his quest to share and shape the notion that everyone matters.

Surely, these youths have heard about and learned theories of Mr. B, as he was known, and his fingerprints continue to live through his followers, backstage and onstage. Before each show, there’s a circle of prayer to unify and inspire; at the final curtain bow, all performers point upwards to the heavens to acknowledge the mentor and his impact.

A Bright tradition – a family member almost always exists in a Bright show – continues, with grandson Drew Bright (persistently cute, in voice and in manner) playing Scott Kunkle, a teen with his eyes on Edwina.  

Jade Stice, who directed the show, was a Bright kid growing up, continues to reflect Mr. B’s ways. The adult circle of educators involved include Moku Durant, music director; David Boyd, vocal director; and Alex Durrant, Lisa Herlinger-Thompson, and Annie Yoshida, choreographers; DeAnne Kennedy, set designer; Danielle Mizuta, costume coordinator; Chris Gouveia, lighting designer; Kingsley Kalohelani, sound engineer; and Allan Lau, production manager. Indeed, their collective skills and savvy helped create and shape this genuinely collaborative powerhouse of a kid musical. The staging is akin to a “graduation show.”

The summer program—which attracted youths from all over the islands– was supported in part by a grant from the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation.  “Edwina Jr.” was the first IABK live theatrical endeavor since the pandemic outbreak in 2019. …

And that’s Show Biz. …