Category: Stage

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DRAGONFLY AWARDS HONOR JADE STICE

The late Jade Stice, an extraordinary singer-actress on the Broadway and Hawaii theatrical scene, is the inspiration of The Dragonfly Awards, a new scholarship program providing tuition assistance to students in a core summer program conducted by the I’m a Bright Kid Foundation.

Jade’s ‘ohana is sponsoring The Dragonfly Awards to honor her memory and legacy and to provide financial assistance to youths and families with an interest and commitment to participate in the program she loved so much … and  perhaps inspire future Jade Stices.

Jade Stice: Former Bright Kid

Jade was one of the co-founders of IABK and served as the artistic director of the summer musical theater arts education program, staged every summer until her untimely death last June.

The dragonfly element is apropos, since Jade directed the very first full-length musical production for IABK, “On Dragonfly Wings,” in 2017.

The inspirational musical, written by the late Lisa Matsumoto, with music composed by Roslyn Catracchia, is a story of transformation and self-realization, goals that Jade and the summer program staff shared, to motivate every student, to instill skills in acting and dancing, and to discover the joy of participation in the theatrical experience.

The summer activity – education, culminating in a musical performance – had been Jade’s passion and trademark — and has fueled the IABK engine to promote and preserve the legacy of the late teacher-director, Ron Bright. The acclaimed mentor nurtured and inspired hundreds of students in his remarkable career,at Castle High School’s theater, now bearing his name, and he also was a luminary at Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College, where he directed some of his best-ever work.

Jade was Bright’s first student to land a role in a Broadway production, “Miss Saigon,” in 1991. Since then, numerous former Bright students – Bright Kids – have landed roles on the Broadway stage, in such mega-hits as “Wicked,” “Aladdin,” and “The Lion King.”

The Dragonfly Awards will cover tuition for the core afternoon program only.

Application deadline is April 25.

For specifics on the scholarships, visit https://imabrightkid.org/the-dragonfly-awards/

People can navigate there from the main page of the IABK website.

For the direct link to the application, go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd5qHYrALyl8BakNwIaugjuzvdWeBw3EYTofbPUhVGZ28eMyA/viewform?usp=sharing

Sajak, Moore in summer thriller

Former Army buddies Pat Sajak and Joe Moore again will team up for a summertime show, “Prescription: Murder,” July 31 to Aug. 10, at the Hawaii Theatre.

Sajak, the incomparable host of the long-running TV game show, “Wheel of Fortune,” will play Dr. Roy Flemming, and Moore, the veteran news anchor at KHON, will portray Lieutenant Columbo, in the Original  Columbo Mystery Thriller.

It’s a longtime summer ritual for the TV twosome, to hone a stage show for their Hawaii fans, with proceeds benefitting the Hawaii Theatre..

The play, by William Link and Richard Levinson,inspired the TV series “Columbo,” which starred Peter Falk.

Rob Duval wiil direct, with local actors Therese Olival, Amy K.S Sullivan, Bryce Moore and Aiko Chinen also participating.

Performances will be at 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with matinees at 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Tickets: $29.50 to $84.50,  at www.hawaiitheatre.com or (808) 528=0506….

And that’s Show Biz…

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A FLOCK OF FILIPINOS ON BROADWAY

It’s a good time to be Filipino  on Broadway – a handful of notables are starring in Broadway attractions this year, according to ABS-CBN, a Filipino media company based in Quezon City, Metro Manila in the Philippines.

The best-known Filipino actress in the world is marquee favorite Lea Salonga, who was the first Asian actress of Filipino ancestry to win a Tony Award (and an Olivier Award) for her performance as Kim in “Miss Saigon” in 1991.

Lea Salonga, the world’s best known award-winning Filipino actress.

Salonga now is co-starring with Bernadette Peters (also a Tony winner), Jasmin Forsberg and Camille Liwanag in “Old Friends,” a Stephen Sondheim revue, now at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

In 2023, Salonga also had a cameo role in “Here Lies Love,” the musical biography of Philippines first lady, Imelda Marcos, featuring an all-Filipino cast, a first for Broadway.

Nicole Scherzimger, starring in London-produced”Sunset Blvd.”

Hawaii’s Nicole Scherzinger, former Pussycat Dolls lead singer, is starring as Norma Desmond in the acclaimed revival of “Sunset Boulevard” at the St. James Theatre. It’s a role she originated in the West End and imported to New York last year. And yes, Scherzinger is of Filipino heritage, too.

Marc delaCruz of “Hamilton.”

Hawaii also can claim two other male Filipino performers in current hit shows: Marc delaCruz  is a standby to play the lead of Alexander Hamilton plus other key roles in “Hamilton,”  at the Richard Rodgers Theatre; and Zare Anguay is a swing actor, dance captain and fight captain in Disney’s “Aladdin,” at the New Amsterdam Theatre.

Zare Anguay. of “Aladdin.”

Filipino American trouper Eva Noblezada has assumed the role of Sally Bowles in “Cabaret at the Kit-Kat Club,” at the August Wilson Theatre.

And Darren Criss is Oliver in “Maybe Happy Ending,” at the Belasco Theatre.

Among other Filipino actors on Broadway now:

  • Kay Siba is Katherine Howard, one of the six wives of King Henry VIII in “Six: The Musical,” at the Lena Horne Theatre.
  • Daryl Tofa is  Two-bit Matthew in “The Outsiders,” at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
  • Angelica Hale is Trisha in “Boop: The Musical,” a newcomer at the Broadhurst Theatre.
  • Jhailyn Farcon is Imogen and Alaina Vi Maderal is Gwynne in “& Juliet,” at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
  • Nico De Jesus, Raechelle Manalo, and Niki Saludez are ensemble members in “Hell’s Kitchen,” at the Shubert Theatre.
  • Kay Trinidad is Fate and KC Dela Cruz is a swing actor in “Hadestown,” at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
  •  Jessica White is in the ensemble of “The Great Gatsby,” at the Broadway Theatre.
  •  Jeigh Madjus is Baby Doll and Heather Makalani is in the ensemble in “Moulin Rouge,” at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
  • Lissa DeGuzman is Elphaba standby in “Wicked,” at the Gershwin Theatre…

A reimagined, existential ‘Mulan’

An up-front advisory: “I Am Mulan,” opening today (April 9) at the Earle Ernest lab Theatre adjoining Kennedy Theatre at the University of Hawaii, is not recommended for young children.

The play’s subtitle, “Rewriting the Legacy of a Timeless Heroine,” sets the tone. This is not a Disney princess fable; youths 13 and older may attend.

Elizabeth Ung, an MFA candidate, has written and directed an existential dramady that reimagines the popular heroine   into five distinct personas – a battle-hardened veteran, a modern American-born Chinese, a romantic dreamer, a politically charged revolutionary, and an irreverent, gender-fluid performer – all trapped in a surreal purgatory known as Dìyù.

Another challenge: the production is multi-lingual featuring English, Mandarin, and Cantonese languages.

The storytelling taps a rich tapestry of history – from the origins of “The Ballad of Mulan” in 4th-century China through turbulent periods such as 1930s Shanghai, the 1966 Cultural Revolution, and the late 1980s New York City AIDS crisis, to the contemporary impacts of COVID-19.

Lily Hi’ilani Okimura, left, with Jill Sanders.–Christine Lamborn photo.

An all-Asian ensemble includes alum Lily Hi’ilani Okimura as ABC Mulan, alongside Justin Fragiao, Qi Zhang, Ariean Jimenez, and Jill Sanders.

The design team includes set designer Lacey Tuell, light designer Tyler Kanemori, projections by Alison Bruce-Maldonado, and costumes by Kāneikoliakawahineikaʻiukapuomua Baker.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. today (April 9) through Saturday (April 12) and at 2 p.m. Sunday (April 13). Tickets: $8 to $18, available at manoa.hawaii.edu/liveonstage/mulan Information: (808) 956-7655…

Washington beats Clooney in the Broadway grosses

Denzel Washington and Jake Glynenhaal have regained the No. 1 spot on the Broadway gross competish, for the  round-up, for the week ending April 6. George Clooney slides to No. 2.

The Top 10:

1—“Othello,” $3.179 million.

2—“Good Night, and Good Luck,” $3.315 million.

3—“Wicked,” $2.476 million.

4—“The Lion King,” $1.986 million.

5—“Hamilton,” $1.965 million.

6—“Glengarry Glen Ross,” $1.789 million.

7—“The Outsiders,” $1.359 million.

8—“Aladdin,” $1.268 million

9—“The Picture of Dorian Gray,” $1.218 million.

10 – “MJ the Musical,” $1.170 million.

The complete list, courtesy the Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz…

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‘MERRILY’ READIED FOR CINEMATIC RUN

“Merrily We Roll Along,” the uncanny 2024 Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical,
will be rolling out sometime soon as a motion picture to be released by Sony Pictures Classics.

Thus, the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth show — once a failure in 1981 before becoming a box office hit after it opened in October 2023 till its closing in July 2024 — has been preserved for the ages. The music and lyrics are Sondheim’s; Furth did the book.

This is the show, if you recall, that was initially a box office dud in 1981, when it ran for 14 previews and 44 performances. “Merrily” was then mothballed until its first-ever revival in 2022, leading up to its phenomenal sell-out fave in 2023 through 2024.

And the reverse storyelling chronology – the show biz tale unfolds at the ending and works toward the beginning — will give the production a new life as a cinematic release. Fans who couldn’t score tickets in its run at the Hudson Theatre will finally have an opportunity to see what  the buzz was all about.

“Merrily” examines the friendship, the friction, and possible erosion of  workplace best friends, whose lives intersect with highs and lows, with some alienation and many challenges.

Daniel Radliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez in “Merrily We Roll Along.” Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Jonathan Groff portrays Frank Shepard, an ambitious composer who wants to be a producer, who thrives alongside his longtime friends, lyricist Charley Kringas (played by Daniel Radcliffe) and writer Mary Flynn (enacted by Lindsay Mendez). Groff and Radcliffe earned Tonys, with a third Tony bestowed on Jonathan Tunick for orchestrations.

Maria Friedman directed the show and was a Tony nominee, and her illuminating vision made her characters come alive with vitality and vigor, drawing in the spectators.

Can’t wait from the transformation from stage to screen; imagine there will be a DVD release, too. Since this was my favorite Broadway show last year, I’d buy the DVD…

Clooney’s ‘Good Night’ still tops Broadway grosses

The rankings haven’t changed on Broadway. The pair earning more than $3 million last week, dominated again this week. Translation: George Clooney reigns as the top grossing actor via his “Good Night, and Good Luck;” and  Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal maintain their second place slot with “Othello.”

The Top 10, for the week ending March 30:

1—“Good Night, and Good Luck,” $3.282 million.

2—“Othello,” $3.150 million.

3—“Wicked,” $$2.561 million.

4—“Hamilton,” $2.123 millon.

5—“The Lion King,” $2.114 million.

6—“Glengarry Glen Ross,” $2.110 million.

7—“Cabaret,”$1.521 million.

8—“The Outsiders,” $1.459 million.

9—“Gypsy,” $1.386 million.

10—“Aladdin,” $1.355 million.

The complete list, courtesy the Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz…

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BY GEORGE, HE DID IT! HE’S NO. 1

Perhaps it’s his box office charm.

Or he’s landed a show with a title that promotes goodness, including luck.

Or quite likely, “Good Night, and Good Luck” was the play  Broadway has been anticipating, the one that broke the weekly box office grosses, with a dazzling and dizzying $3.3 million for the week ending March 23.

George Clooney, the actor making his debut on the Great White Way, is the focus of the buzz and the big box office, whose numbers exceeded that of “Othello,” which has Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal in the leads, which dropped to No. 3 this week with $2.529 million. But “Wicked,” still defying gravity, remains a secure No.2  with its $2.545 million take.

George Clooney, the star in “Good Night, and Good Luck,” tops Broadway grosses.

“Good Night, and Good Luck” explores a tangle of themes including truth, intimidation, and the courage of corporate media. Clooney, who adapted the play with Grant Hoslov, from the earlier film version, portrays veteran journalist Edward R. Murrow, an iconic CBS anchor, who recreates a historic faceoff with Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who, at the height of the Red Scare, attempted to weed out imagined communist infiltration of the U.S. government.

The show gets its name from Murrow’s iconic signature sign-off, “good night, and good luck” at the end of his telecasts.

To understand the economics of the top shows, “Good Night, and Good Luck” is playing at the Winter Garden, which has 1,545 seats, priced from $307.07 to $775. In comparison, “Othello” is unfolding at the Barrymore Theatre, with $1,043 seats and typically selling for $897.

Star wattage is a factor on pricing, and still another element in the formula: “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “Othello” are in limited runs, a common rule when “name” actors are on stage.

But if you’re thinking of heading to New York, seats are available if you decide to score a pair of tickets with your  charge cards.

‘Night’  tops Broadway grosses for week ending March 24

The Top 10 courtesy the Broadway League:

1—“Good Night, and Good Luck,” $3.305 million

2—“Wicked,”$2.545 million

3—“Othello,” $2.529 million

4—“Glengarry Glen Ross,” $2.418 million

5—“Hamilton,” $2.072 million

6—“The Lion King,” $2.059 million

7—“The Outsiders,” $1.428 million

8—“Gypsy,” $1.394 million

9—“Aladdin,” $1.331 million

10—“Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club,” $1.327 million

And that’s Show Biz…

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A SATISFYING ‘GREASE’ ENCOUNTER

“Grease is the word, is the word that you heard
“It’s got a groove, it’s got a meaning
“Grease is the time, is the place, is the motion
“Now, grease is the way we are feeling.”

— From the title tune of “Grease,” the musical

Your first encounter of the show “Grease,” now at Diamond Head Theatre, is an oversized cut-out of a red car frame hanging over the proscenium of the venue, created by set designer Deanne Kennedy.

It is formidable, dominating, and reflecting a precise groove, of the time (circa 1959), the place (Rydell High School), the emotion (nostalgic teen-age angst) of an indefatigable serving of pop culture.

The show’s two centerpiece figures, Danny Zucko (played by Cameron Scot) and Sandy Dumbrowski (portrayed by Sophia Ysrael), initially lack chemistry and spark, like two lost souls from different sides of the railroad tracks. Summer’s over, and they’re back in school, with uncertainties of direction.

They are eventually united in song, dance and romance, in a powerful story tenderly directed by Michael Ng, in collaboration with the agile and imaginative choreography by Dwayne Sakaguchi. They both connect the dots in this familiar journey.

Such teamwork throughout the creative ranks eventually makes “Grease” a well-oiled wonderment, though the ghosts of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John unintentionally linger from a hit film that obstructs the Danny/Sandy relationship.in the stage version. It’s not till Sandy, like the Newton-John’s late-in-the-show remake in a body-clinging leather outfit, that she starts percolating.

Sophia Ysrael is Sandy Dumbrowski in “Grease.” Photo by Brandon Miyagi.

Homecomings can be a snoozer, after all. The point is, unless you’re hip to the relatability of being greased, your presence has ceased.

Two things help bring the magic of “Grease” to life:

— The rich well of rock/pop classics. Happily, DHT has invested in paying extra royalties fees, to enable the cast to sing tracks from the movie, like “Grease,” “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” “Sandy” and “You’re the One That I Want.” These titles are solid gold, so the inclusion is a triumph for the audience.

The ensemble offers rigorous dancing in the show’s megamixes. Photo by Brandon Miyagi.

— The use of group vocals and dances by the company of troupers, in moments that  might be termed “megamixes” of specific tunes, is part of the process toward satisfaction.. The title song “Grease,” is the essence of time and place and even pace, but melodies like,“Shakin’ at the High School Hop,” “Born to Hand Jive,” and the finale version of “You’re the One That I Want” are hallmark. Karaoke meets disco, resulting in rousing vocals and choreographic explosions.

Secondary characters steal some of the thunder in the show. For instance, Jody Bill as Betty Rizzo, has a leading lady moment, on “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee;” Jantzen Shinmoto as Kenickie puts sizzle into “Greased Lightning;” Kiakahi Kekoa as Roger and Lainey Hicks as Jan shine on “Mooning;”  Gabriel Ryan-Kern as Johnny  makes “Born to Hand Jive” come alive; and Jeff Andrews as Teen Angel and Parker Kilkenny as Frenchy team up wonderfully on “Beauty School Dropout.”

The hand jive number is one of the megamixes of songs. — Photo by Brandon Miyagi.

A production of this magnitude – with a cast of nearly 30 — requires a vigorous and versatile ensemble: Kirra Baughn, Drew Bright, Victoria Chang, Paul Garcia, Justin Garde, Sammy Houghtailing, Caris Leong, Shane Nishimura, Maggie Ryan, Gabriel Ryan-Kern, Emi Sampson, and Jasmine Weldon provide dependable and exquisite support.

Designer Kennedy’s bag of set tricks work well; besides the car motif at the proscenium, she constructs smaller pieces (like sofa chairs, easier to move) and aerial groupings of signs and ribbons  (not a task to fly up and down,  and quiet) and scaled-down towers for Rydell High signage (moveable with barely a squeak). Oh, a smart move, too, to position a six-piece orchestra in an elevated stage; nice to see and applaud maestro Darcie Yoshinaga and her seven-piece ork here instead of the invisible pit.

Not certain who gets credit for creating Kenickie’s red car, seemingly a full-sized sedan; is it Kennedy’s vision, or part of the wizardry of Kyle Conner’s props design?

Chris Gouveia’s light design and La Tanya Siliao’s sound design are right on target.

Other background heroes include Emily Lane (costumes) and Aiko Schick (hair and make-up), whose tasks involve scores of color-coordinated gears for men and women, with seemingly unending costume changes, and beaucoup wig creations for the myriad of required looks.

It all adds up to a satisfying funfest…

And that’s Show Biz…

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“Grease”

What: A musical about homecoming teens at Rydell High School, with book and music by Jim Jacobs  and Warren Case, with a title tune by Barry Gibb

Where: Diamond Head Theatre

When: Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays;  also, at 3 p.m. Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays,  through April 20.

Tickets: $41 to $68, at www.diamondheadtheatre.com or (808) 733-0274