Category: Stage

Diamond Head Theatre’s 2024-25 season will offer a potpourri of shows, including one Hawaii premiere, a Christmas favorite, musical revivals with timeless and traditional plots and tunes,  a splashy kid-centric cartoon  production, and a textbook play on how to prepare for a stage role.

The season begins Sept. 20 and “builds on DHT’s tradition of artistic excellence with fresh energy and innovative theatrical storytelling…and offers entertainment for all ages, from keiki to kupuna,” said Trever Tamashiro, Diamond Head’s executive director, in a statement.

Productions run for three weeks, with performances Thursdays through Sundays, including weekend matinees. Extension playdates are added, when there is a demand.

The lineup includes:

“Honeymoon in Vegas,” a musical with a book by Andrew Bergman and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, based on a 1992 film of the same name. Jack Singer promises his dying mother he’d never marry but falls in love with Betsy Nolan. They elope to Las Vegas but a charming gambler, Tommy Korman, threatens to steal Betsy away, leading to a madcap adventure including a romp to Hawaii. Opens Sept. 20.

“White Christmas,” a musical  based on a 1954  Paramount film, with book by  David Ives and Paul Blake, and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. A tale of  two veterans, Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, who had a successful song-and-dance act after World War II, who seek and follow two singing sisters at a Vermont lodge owned by the soldiers’ Army commander. Features Berlin’s trademark tune, “White Christmas,” plus “Blue Skies,” “I Love A Piano,” and “How Deep Is the Ocean.” Opens Nov. 22.

“Master Class,” written by Terrence McNally, a textbook lesson on how Maria Callas conducted a master class to bolster an audition. Rich with theatrical nuggets, about a soprano, Sophie, who selects a challenging aria, and details of Callas’s famous affair with Aristotle Onassis and struggles with her own career. Opens Jan. 24.

“Grease,” the teen musical best known for the 1978 film hit co-starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, based on a  a screenplay by Bronté Woodard and an adaptation by co-producer Allan Carr, inspired by the stage musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey.  Set in 1959 at Rydell High, greaser Danny Zuko and new-girl-in-town  Sandy Dumbrowski flourish amid the travails of the Burger Palace Boys and Pink Ladies. With jukebox hits like “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” and “You’re the One That I Want,” this is the soundtrack for teenhood. Opens March 21, 2025.

“Man of La Mancha,”  the  beloved musical inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” novel, with book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, who gave the world “The Impossible Dream” anthem. Set during the Spanish Inquisition, the musical finds Cervantes and his fellow prisoners staging a play about the elderly Alonso Quijana, who becomes the idealistic knight Don Quixote on a quest to right the world’s wrongs. Windmills matter, too.  Opens May 23, 2025.

“SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical,” the undersea spectacle based on the animated Nickelodeon series, where SpongeBob lives. With book by Kyle Jarrow and music by Steven Tyler, Sara Bareilles, Panic! and  Plain White T’s. The mission at hand for the denizens of the deep is to save Bikini Bottom from a looming volcanic eruption. So SpongeBob finds unity with his buddies Patrick, Sarah, Squidward and Mr. Krabs to save Bikini Bottom. For the young and young at heart. Opens July 18, 2025.

Season subscribers can renew seats for the forthcoming season, with tickets available for $162. Renewing subscriptions will guarantee seats for subscription holders before subscriptions and sales are offered to the general public.

To become a subscriber, visit diamondheadtheatre.com or call the box office at (808) 733-0274…

MGM Resorts debunk Bruno’s debt rumors

Bruno Mars pictured below, doesn’t owe millions in gambling debt to MGM Resorts — despite what a recent report claimed — according to TMZ.

A rep for MGM Resorts International has told the website that singer Mars doesn’t have a $50 million gambling tab on the books with them, calling the allegation “completely false.”

In fact, the Las Vegas resort  remains excited to continue to collaborate with the Grammy winner again in the future. Didn’t quite believe the rampant rumor that Mars would be the gambling kind who walked away from a debt.

 “We’re proud of our relationship with Bruno Mars, one of the world’s most thrilling and dynamic performers,” the hotel/casino said in a statement. “From his shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM to the new Pinky Ring lounge at Bellagio, Bruno’s brand of entertainment attracts visitors from around the globe. MGM and Bruno’s partnership is longstanding and rooted in mutual respect. Any speculation otherwise is completely false.”…

And that’s Show Biz…

In “Dear Evan Hansen” — the emotional Tony Award-winning Broadway musical embracing teenage angst, loneliness, kindness, mental health, and suicidal issues — Manoa Valley Theatre hits all the right notes, with a superb cast led by Darian Keanu Aquino as the title character.

It is a potent and painful glimpse – loaded with tension — of the profound power and unexpected danger of social media, and the unintended fame earned by Evan, a high school student who writes himself an email in a doctor-ordered exercise that  gets into the hands of an unhappy peer, Connor Murphy (Presley A. Wheeler, equally unstable, carefree, sometimes rude, and a free spirit), who finds a printout in the school’s computer room, and steals the letter enroute to committing suicide.

Connor’s mom, Cynthia Murphy (Susan Hawes, every bit a concerned mother), discovers the errant  letter after his death, and it becomes the catalyst  and centerpiece in Evan’s twisted rise to fame and a campus hero.

Darian Keanu Aquino is Evan, Presley A. Wheeler is Connor, in “Dear Evan Hansen.” –– Photo by Brandon Miyagi, courtesy MVT.

The show features a book by Steven Levenson  (passionate and eloquent) and music and lyrics by Oscar winners (“La-la Land”) Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (absorbing and heart-tugging tunes). Directed by Rob Duval on a “set” by Elyse Takashige that is a bare but functions as an oversized billboard with periodical projections designed by R. Andrew Doan that propel – Facebook and TikTok fashion – the meandering plot details. The  tech team thus is as vital as the acting ensemble, and together, there’s raw power and cadence that propel the highs and lows of this emotional roller-coaster.

Aquino as  Evan has body language that speaks emotions without words. He is twitchy and nervous, with constant blinking eyes, with a fetish about his wet and clammy hands, always apologizing and possesses a never-ending habit of pulling down his tee shirt, shirt, or hoodie. Evan is a perpetual loner, walking a tightrope with a baggage of worries, not the least of which is his inability to find a genuine friend to sign his cast on his injured left arm. Enter, Connor, an indication that he’s an outsider, too,  

With telling details, the plot is all about relationships, between Evan and his best bud, Jared Kleinman (Shane Nishimura, a charming wise-cracking sidekick, who’s Evan’s only friend), who serves as a warm shoulder to lean on. While Evan accepts Connor’s signature on his cast, he’s a hardly a pal, in life and in his imagined encounters after his passing, but there’s a moment of mutual, vigorous rock-dancing.

Evan, who is attracted to Connor’s sister  Zoe Murphy (Ayzhia Tadeo, initially distant and quizzical but eventually tenderly sweet), overcomes the friction after Connor’s death.

 Further, there’s a relationship between Evan and his working mom, Heidi  Hansen (Vanessa Manuel-Mazzullo ) and with Connor’s parents, Larry Murphy (David Weaver), father of Connor, and Cynthia Murphy (Susan Haws). Not surprisingly, there are cracks and gaps in the relationship, when Evan is “outed” as a liar, the fibs heightened by public acclaim of his befriending Connor.

There’s one more relationship instance, between Evan and Alana Beck (Jenelle Wong, a willing cheerleader), who is co-president with Evan of the Connor Project, which she is fully committed to, to perpetuate the life of Connor.

Evan’s inability to spill the beans of his faux pretenses is understandable; he was a nobody before the tide turned, and the attention serves his psychological deficiencies while simultaneously feeds the frenzy that lifts his ego. That he could even deliver a speech at an assembly of peers plus the Murphy family reflects his lofty status and his declining fragility. And Aquino’s performance gets richer and more robust as Evan’s popularity soars, and the details get more specific and cloudier with fake specifics, like falling from a tree in the orchard of apple trees he had never seen. He’s found pieces from a massive puzzle, and he’s reaching out to complete a portrait he feels his rooters anticipate.

The musical score is splendid and the singers soar; the riches include Evan’s “ “You Will Be Found” in Act 1, the anthem where he laments his loneliness and uncertainty. Evan and Zoe’s duet on “Only Us” assures that his crush is becoming a real romance in Act 2, and Evan’s “Words Fail” is the ultimate “I’m sorry” effort, with the admission, “I never meant to make it such a mess.”

Jenny Shiroma conducts (and also plays keyboards with) the unseen orchestra of eight, supported by the resourceful sound designed by Sarah Velasco and Timothy Manamtam. Lighting designer Chris Gouveia illuminates the set with brilliance; and costume designer Amber Lehua Baker delivers with credible everyday garb. Likewise, Lisa Ponce de Leon’s hair and makeup design also reflects the simplicity the show requires.

For the faint of heart, bring Kleenex, because there will be emotional elements that will evoke tears. Truly. And for those queasy about language, there several F-bombs throughout the play…just so you know.

And with the sensitive health concerns of mental illness, and the element of suicide, MVY has a “You Will Be Found” postcard inserted in the “Dear Evan Hansen” playbill, should there be families or friends with need for support and consultation. Also, HMSA is the presenter of “Dear Evan Center,” cementing potential health needs for the community at large. A noble and necessary involvement…

And that’s Show Biz. …

——————————————-

“Dear Evan Hansen”

A musical by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, with book by Steven Levonson

What: A lonely youth who writes a letter that falls into the hands of a suicidal peer, and the fame then furor, that ensues

Where: Manoa Valley Theatre

When: at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, and 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through April 7; extension dates,  March 29 and 31 and April 6 and 7

Tickets: $36 to $46, at (808) 988-6131 or www.manoavalleytheatre.com

Darian Keanu Ruiz Aquino will portray the title character in “Dear Evan Hansen,” which opens March 7 in its Hawaii premiere at Manoa Valley Theatre.

The Broadway musical, with tunes and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (with book by Steven Levenson), will be directed by Rob Duval. It will run through March 24, and a holdover is likely.

Ben Platt originated the Evan Hansen role in 2016 and topped the cast for four years thus becoming a bona fide Broadway luminary, earning him a Tony Award for Best Actor and enabling him to move into films, television, the recording industry and since has starred in other plays on the Great White Way.

“Dear Evan Hansen” was nominated for nine Tony Awards and won six trophies, for Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Orchestration, Best Actor and Best Featured Actress (Rachel Bay Jones).

The show explores such life issues as bullying (Evan has social anxieties and depression), and suicide (Connor Murphy, a high school classmate of Evan who feels like a social outcast lacking friends, who takes his own life). Social media also triggers cynicism and fake emails, creating tension challenging trust.

Platt also starred in the film version in a 2021 film version, but the venture was sidelined due to a backlash of criticism that Platt, by then, was too old to play a high school student.

Aquino (pictured) may be remembered for his role in “Be More Chill,” another youth-oriented show at MVT. “Evan Hansen” castmates  include Vanessa Manuel-Mazzullo (Heidi Hansen), Ayzhia Tadeo (Zoe Murphy), Presley Wheeler (Connor Murphy), Shane Nishimura (Jared Kleinman) David Weaver (Larry Murphy), Susan Hawes (Cynthia Murphy), and Jenelle Wong (Alana Black). The ensemble includes Pono Lundell, Alana Clayson, David Hurley and Jasmine Haley Anderson).

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and at 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Tickets: $26 to $48, on sale at www.manoavalleytheatre.co or (808) 988-6131. …

‘Sweeney Todd’ No. 1, for week ending Jan. 14

There’s a new king on Broadway – and he’s a demon and a murderer. For the first time, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” has joined the $2 million club, toppling the reign of “The Lion King.”
The Top 10 grosses, for the week ending Jan. 14:
1—”Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” $2.111 million.
2– “The Lion King,” $1,918 million.
3 – “Hamilton,” $1,901 million.
4 – “Merrily We Roll Along,” $1,834 million.
5— “Wicked,” $1,757 million.
6 –” MJ The Musical,” $1,401 million.
7—”Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $1,387 million.
8 – “Back To The Future: The Musical,” $1.218 milion.
9 – “Gutenberg! The Musical!,” $1,208 million.
10—“Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” $1,171 million.
The full list, courtesy the Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz…