Category: Stage

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SOAK IN DHT’S ‘SPONGEBOB’ HIT

Diamond Head Theatre has plunged into the whirlpool of fun of “The SpongeBob Musical,” a marvel of stagecraft based on Nickelodeon’s spirited cartoon character and its undersea antics.

Originally dubbed “SpongeBob SquarePants,” the show- — minus the squarepants – is a colorful enterprise of quirky characters residing in Bikini Bottom, whose quiet lives are upended by a volcanic eruption falling and wiping out the sea community.

The real accomplishment is the coming-of-age triumph of the technical crew at DHT, which has had frequent  difficulty creating satisfying sets in its still-new theater with fly space that hadn’t been available for more than 100 years.

The sets are remarkable. including this one with underwater rainbow. Photos by Brandon Miyagi, courtesy

Thus, SpongeBob has arrived to rescue and resolve the techie production ills of the recent past, making this perhaps the best-ever, cohesive DHT enterprise.

Advisory: this is not a kiddie show. It’s family-oriented, with wide appeal to adults and parents. So, take a plunge and savor the silliness of SpongeBob.  

Chad Navarro, strumming uke, is SpongeBob Squarepants.

The saga of the undersea community threatened to lose its home is one of bonding to challenge and upend and survive the explosion of underwater mountains.  

Meana Stone is Sandy Cheeks, who has a great voice,

“SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical” – the formal official title –was a huge hit with both critics and spectators and earned 12 Tony Award nominations for it run at the Palace Theatre at Times  Square.. I saw it and laughed and applauded and adored this cartoon transformed into a live-action stage musical.

Then, and particularly now, “SpongeBob” satisfies with terrific sets, boasting bright and bold costumes, and a spirited cast plus, inventive staging, strong performances, and all the bells and whistles of a triumphant show.

Greg Zane, an islander with Broadway credits, is the bright mind and master and logically the influence to glue the elements together. He’s attracted skilled techies, along with an inspired  corps of actors and dancers, to give “SpongeBob” its energetic heartbeat. As director and choreography (and a former actor-dancer himself), Zane’s zest is a gift well shared.

On stage, diminutive Chad Navarro is a tireless SpongeBob, who sings, prances, and dances like a wind-up toy, and his character is notably optimistic to inspire his sea buddies to become the village that bonds and unifies in a time of crisis.

Nathaniel Ryan-Kern is the four-legged Squidward Q. Tentacles.

His BFF is Patrick Star (Zack Oldman, who has comedic traits, and late in the Act 2, a sleek and sensational dancer), and the characters include Squidward Q. Tentacles (Nathaniel Ryan-Kern, navigating with four legs), Sandy Cheeks (Mehana Stone, bearing a powerful voice), Eugene H. Krabs (Lee Nebe, who runs the Krusty Krab restaurant and bears. a pair of claws), and Sheldon J. Plankton (Pressly Wheeler, an antagonist with vibrant pipes).

The whacky denizens include pirates, sea anemones, sardines and more.

Deanne Kennedy’s awesome scenic design features a splendid oceanscape of a warm light blue with coral accents, against which appears a four-tiered underwater rainbow in Act 2, and a pair on instances of glistening jellyfish descending from the fly space in the first act, and circular bubbles falling from above in the second act. Further, there are a pair of underwater “mountains” on wheels that move and turn with grace and they’re quiet, and silent in movement. Overall, these design elements elevate appeal and provide an element of finesse.

David Decarolis’ lighting is phenomenal, from bright of the day to darkness during the volcanic eruption, with occasional flashes creating dramatic effects.

Tim Manamtam’s and Sarah Velasco’s sound design complement the lights and occasionally augment onstage dramatic moments, like footsteps when the four-legged Squidward character tromps off stage, and visual elements of fog and strobe lights.

Emily Lane’s costumes and Aiko Schick’s hair and makeup design go hand in hand, with very bright colors on styles and outrageous hairdos for the entire cast of 20-plus. You can’t find the garb or the wigs at second-hand shops, so a sizeable budget was well spent.

Sage Nguyen is Pearl Krabs, in Emily Lane’s glorious costume and Aiko Schick’s pink wig.

Kyle Conner was props designer, Jared Paakaula was associate director, and Evan Autio choreographed the “I’m Not a Loser” sequence in Act 2, with Squidward and the anemones.

Jenny Shiroma’s music direction involved an ork of eight, with three keyboards and to guitars, and the music covered a range styles, with tunes tapped by producers. Thus, the score features songs by Steven Perry and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Cyndi Lauper, They Might Be Giants, Plain White T‘s, David Bowie and Sarah Bareilles.

There’s a multitude of other gems and surprises, if you look hither and yon, like the clever formation of a pineapple, which is the home of SpongeBob, a ticking aerial clock above the theater proscenium, and remote-controlled crab in a couple of scenes. All joyful stuff, in a landscape of unpredictability…

And that’s Show Biz…

“The SpongeBob Musical”

What: A musical by Stephen Hillenburg, with book by Kyle Jarrow, based on Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” cartoon

Where: Diamond Head Theatre

When: 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, plus 3 p.m. Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 9

Tickets: $41, $52 and $68, at (808) 733-0274 or www.diamondheadtheatre.com

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PAPER TRAIL FUELS SOME MEMORIES

You never know what you’ll find, when you pore through old boxes you’ve neglected for years.

As a journalist, I’m referring  to stuff I’ve kept because newspapers were the focus of my career. I often save many articles for future use.

Interestingly, the three tear sheets I discovered brought flashes of joy, because they were very much a part of my life.

Show directory

One treasure, which reflected the pulse of Broadway, was a compilation of all of the shows in New York, which helped me select shows. The New York Times maintained the tradition of collating small advertisements which – at a glance – reflected the pulse on the Great White Way. This list was dated March 15, 2020, well before the COVID 19 pandemic halted and buried Broadway a few months later.

The prevailing hits included “Phantom of the Opera,” “Come From Away,”  “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Frozen,” “The Lion King,” “Book of Mormon,”  “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Ain’t Too Proud,” ”West Side Story” and “Six.”

I saw all of these shows – over a couple of visits – before the lights went out. And with the shutdown, The Times  and shows stopped the listings…which never were restored even when the lights were turned on again.

Yeah, I know, the data is available via your iPhone or your laptop. But the at-a-glance peek at what’s playing became history…

Indexing fun

So did the TGIF – The Great Index to Fun – which was a tradition at the Honolulu  Advertiser, a Friday tabloid in the morning paper. Disclosure: I wrote features and/or reviews in TGIF, which was a handy-dandy resource to see where or what was happening for the weekend and beyond.

My colleagues on TGIF – reporters, copy editors, page designers and chief editor (plus staff photographers) – dutifully produced the section week after week, from earlier years when entertainment ruled Waikiki and name acts brought their shows to Aloha Stadium, Blaisdell Arena and/or Concert Hall, and Waikiki Shell.

TGIF didn’t survive the merger of the morning Honolulu Advertiser and the evening Star-Bulletin, and a feature section eventually disappeared. The Star-Advertiser became a two-section endeavor – main and local news, and sports. Instead of a feature section on Sundays, a Travel section prevails – with a key New York Times story with art, week after week.

The paper truly has a content issue, or perhaps it doesn’t give  a damn… 

Bright beginnings

Then I came across a feature article I wrote, published Aug. 3, 2016, in the Star-Advertiser, sharing news that survivors, supporters and former actors in a Ron Bright musical, were launching the I’m a Bright Kid Foundation, to perpetuate the legacy of Mr. B, as he was called.

Ron Bright

The revue, entitled “Brighter Still,” was to feature a roster of Bright Kids in a production July 13 at the Hawaii Theatre, the first IABK show organized  by Ligaya Stice, executive director. The show corraled everyone who was a someone singing and dancing for the late director-educator at Castle High School, whose auditorium bears the Bright name, and at Paliku Theatre at the Windward Community College, where an IABK show usually sets anchor.

Former Bright-directed talent traditionally participate in a Bright show, coming from near and far. Mo Bright, widow of the director, said “A little bit of Ron lives in each one of them/”

IABK’s annual musical production, “Gypsy,” opens Aug. 8, with a three-weekend run at Paliku through Aug.24. For tickets,  visit  Www.iabk.org

‘Wicked” defying gravity; remains No. 1

“Wicked” retains its No. 1 on the Broadway grosses tally, for the week ending July 6.

However, “Hamilton” has jumped into the game, again, moving up a few notches to No. 2.

The Top 10:

1—“Wicked,” $2.257 million.

2—“Hamilton,” $2.110 million.

3—”The Lion King, $2.054 million.

4—” Sunset Blvd.,” $1.940 million.

5—” Aladdin,” $1.378 million.

6—” Maybe Happy Ending,” $1.331 million.

7—”MJ,” $1.232 million.

8-“Just In Time,” $1.231 million.

9—”Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $1.167 million.

10—“The Outsiders,” $1.146 million.

The complete list, courtesy the Broadway Guild:

And that’s Show Biz…

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POSSIBLE 10-YEAR RUN FOR ‘CIRQUE’

I revisited “‘Auana,”  the Cirque du Soleil spectacle, the other night at the Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber resort.

The show, launched last December,  has just passed its six-month residency, with its stunning 80-minute spectacle in the heart of the Waikiki mainstream. I said in a December review that Cirque is the future of Waikiki attractions. Highly visible, a non-stop showcase of faith in Hawaiiana, loaded with artistry and creativity. And huge.

Business has been brisk, with two performances at 5:30 and 8 p.m., Wednesdays  through Sundays.

The good news:  “‘Auana”  — Hawaiian for wandering, drifting thoughts – has an agreement with the Outrigger for a run of 10 years, a keen investment by the hotel with the team from Montreal, Canada, known for its prolific planting of performance companies in a wide range of destinations over the decades.

Honolulu is the creator’s newest production, with pure Hawaii story lines, with narrations and songs and dancers, delivered in native Hawaiian language. Though the title of the show might suggest wandering, it’s quite certain “‘Auana” will stay put here. It is the essence of the ‘olele  spirit (language, speech, texture) of original island songs and dances. And the Hawaii influences flow beautiful in the lively choreography embellished by the eye-filling island costumes

Cirque’s next launch will be Germanic, in Berlin, in November 2025.

Instead of another review of the Waikiki  show, let me share highlights via a recapitulation of images of the major segments that have resonated with an audience comprised  largely of spectators who don’t speak or understand Hawaiian. Not to fret …this is a wholly visual endeavor, and a satisfying cultural entity. Let us count the ways.

1 – A journey via canoe sets the story in motion…

2—A surfer dude defies gravity and “surfs” on cylinders…

3 – A segment on the naupaka flower depicts the bloom’s unique  idiosyncrasy: only half-a-flower emerges from the buds.

4—Let’s call this the balloon boy, whose feat is a wonderment.

5—If there’s an acrobat, and an oversized cocktail glass filled with water, she’ll share her balletic poses.

6—A salute to “Hawaii Five-O” features a tourist ork (from the audience), for comic relief. More fun than gents learning to hula.

7—The Hawaiian sand painter creates images with, yes, sand and hand…shared on the show’s huge screen…

8—And voila, her art sashays into a mystifying, colorful rainbow…backed by a sweet vocal by a gent of “Over the Rainbow,” delivered in – what else? – Hawaiian.

9—Hawaii welcomes visitors, so why not include a cache of postcards?

10 – And Hawaii means beach boys, too, so they get their moments of fame.

11—When it’s time to bid adieu, the word to know is “aloha” (again, on a postcard).

12 – Two daredevils walk, jump rope, and risks their lives in this rotating

behemoth, often featured in a traditional circus…

13—And this being Cirque du Soleil, the finale means a burst of color, too…

14 – And this is us when the bright lights go off – me, grandnephew John Rhoades, and my wife Violet…

And that’s Show Biz…

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Cirque du Soleil’s “‘Auana”

When:  5:30 and 8 p.m.,  Wednesdays through Sundays

Where: Cirque showroom, second floor, Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel

Tickets: From $86; visit https://www.tickets-center.com

Discounts available for kamaaina and military

Information: (877) 773-6470

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‘SPONGEBOB’ DIRECTOR, CAST NAMED

Greg Zane will direct and choreograph Diamond Head Theatre’s “The SpongeBob Musical,” opening a run July 18 through Aug. 3.

Jenny Shiroma will be musical director.

Nickelodeon’s undersea world of Bikini Bottom, originally a TV cartoon favorite of young kids, was transformed into a flashy Broadway musical, bringing the heart, humor, fantasy and fun to an adult sensation, with an explosion of sea-worthy colors and antics, and a  bounty of bubbly music enriching the score, with tunes by John Legend, Cyndi Lauper and David Bowie.

Greg Zane

The cast is already rehearsing for the see-worthy fun. Chad Navarro will play the beloved SpongeBob SquarePants, Zach Oldham will be his buddy Patrick Star, Nathaniel Ryan-Kern is Squidward Q. Tentacles, Mehana Stone is Sandy Cheeks, Lee Nebe is Eugene H. Krabs, Presley Wheeler is Sheldon Plankton, Aiko Schick is Karen the Computer, Sage Nguyen is Pearl Krabs, Lainey Hicks is Mrs. Puffs, Landon
Ballesteros is Patchy the Pirate/Perch Perkins, Cassidy Ross is The Mayor of Bikini Bottom,

Genesis Kaeo is Buster Bluetang/Electric Skates, Isaiah Gundermann Graham is Old Man Jenkins/Electric Skates, and Andrew Erwin is Larry the Lobster/Electric Skates.

The ensemble will include Nanea Allen, Marisa Noelle Capalbo,
Celia Chun, Alana Clayson, Sammy Houghtailing,
James Lauer, and Timmy “Tino” Nozaki.


Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and at 3 p.m. Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays. Extended playdates are likely, considering the popularity of “SpongeBob.”

Tickets are $41 to $68, on sale at the at www.diamondheadtheatre.com and at the box office, (808) 733-0274….

And that’s Show Biz…

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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN ‘SIX’

“Six: The Musical”  might be deemed a musical for the Tik Tok generation. It’s now, it’s pow, it’s empowerment for women.

The Broadway show opened last night (June 17) for a two-week residency (through June 29) as the second of three Broadway in Hawaii attractions at Blaisdell Concert Hall.

“Six” plays like a pulsating concert and doubles like a talent show competition. It’s like a routine Broadway musical , but on steroids,  with unbridled energy from a versatile cast of six, which sings loudly and proudly and uncorks choreographics like disco divas. They enacting the six wives of King Henry VIII.

The cast of “Six: The Musical:” Like a “British Got Talent” competition.

With its competitive spirit, it resembles a “British Got Talent” competish, with emphasis on Tudors, but minus the judges.

 It’s a volley of twisted history – fact-checkers need not apply – about grand dames who are  “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, and survived,” in the order of the fates of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr. They form the exes of Henry VIII.

Alize Cruz, as Katherine Howard; she dons a pink ponytail, a la Ariana Grande.

In the touring company, the wives are portrayed by Chani Maisonet, Gaby Albo, Kelly Denice Taylor, Danielle Mendoza, Alize Cruz and Tasia Jungbauer. You won’t remember their names, so labeling the characters as numbers – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 – would facilitate their identities and fate.

This is super cast with tireless moves and grooves. They’re the highlights of a modern playing field, with ounces of bounces like a pin ball machine.

There’s sizzle and socko animation in the scenic design and lighting (often neon), costumes that are reflective short skirts for four ladies, long pants and short pants for two, orchestration that go-go-goes with throbbing and titillating syncopation. The choreography is brisk and bold, with solo and ensemble dynamics.

Gaby Albo, as Anne Boleyn.

If there were a dance floor, hundreds would be gyrating with joy. Many dress to the nines, to reflect the party spirit. And the audience is generous in cheer and esprit.

The show runs a tidy 80 minutes, with no intermission, and clearly leaves the fans wanting more – could be the reason for the two-week residency, compared to a single week for the first show (“Tina, the Tina Turner Musical,” earlier this summer) and the finale (“Chicago,” in December).

Curiously, there are only nine numbers in the production, a solo apiece for the principals, and a trio of tunes featuring The Queens, in the opening, midway through the show, and at the finale. Because the songs are rich and robust, most with a catchy cadence and delivered by the all-star queens, it just feels like there’s a lot more in the score, thanks to the riveting deliveries.

“Six” could be described as an entertainment to empower womanhood, because of the outspoken rants and ramblings in the storytelling. Surely, the wider appeal is to women, but their beaus will find enough eye candy to relish.  The four-member house band dubbed The Ladies in Waiting is comprised of women, deliberately playing on the empowerment of m’ladies.

Pop culture influences are shared, if you explore. Alize Cruz as Katherine Howard flashes a pink ponytail which soars as an obvious tribute to Ariana Grande; Kelly Denise Taylor as Jane Seymour exudes the tone and delivery of either Adele or Beyonce on her “Heart of Stone” tune, bluesy with familiar love overtones.

You’re not likely to carch all the commotion in one visit, so consider a hana hou visit — with seats a-plent, if you buy now…/

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“Six: The Musical”

What: A historical musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss

Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays, now through June 29

Tickets: Visit www.broadwayinhawaii.com or the Blaisdell box office at (808) 768-5252

Top10/15th

‘Wicked’ reclaims No. 1 at the box office

With the closing of both “Good Night, and Good Luck” and
“Othello,” the $4 million-plus box office grosses each produced have disappeared.

Thus, “Wicked” has reclaimed the top spot on the weekly Broadway grosses, for the week ending June 15, with more modest $2 million-plus tallies

The Top 10:

1–“Wicked,” $2.341 million

2 — “Glengarry Glen Ross,” $2.215 million

3—” The Lion King.” $2.086 million

4—“Hamilton,” $2.062 million

5—“Sunset Blvd.,: $1.665 million

6—“The Picture of Dorian Gray,” $1.508 million

7–“Aladdin,” $1.402 million

8—“Oh, Mary,” $1.354million

9—“Death Becomes Me,” $1.378 million

10—”Buena Vista Social Club,” $1.288 million

The complete list, courtesy the Broadway Guild:

And that’s Show Bz…