Happy Easter, one and all
COUNT ‘EM: 4 NEWBIES AT MVT
If It’s new that you want, Manoa Valley Theatre’s 2024-25 season, launching in September, boasts four premieres.
At a glance, here’s what at stake in a longish summary of MVT’s season: An opera company undergoes a madcap quest for a soprano (new); a Caribbean romp has roots in “The Little Mermaid;” an examination of the depth of the U.S. Constitution brings on history of life (new); a man on trial for a crime he didn’t commit enthralls a Georgia town (new), a visit to a Korean-run convenience store is a microcism of life(new), and a tuneful tribute to Broadway’s beloved composer Stephen Sondheim hit all the right notes.
The rundown:
- ”Lend Me a Soprano,” playing Sept. 12 to 28–It’s a take-off of Ken Ludwig’s “Lend Me a Tenor” comedy, equally side-splitting, manic farce, about the misadventures of a hapless opera company attempting to find replacement operatic soprano, amid a tangled web of mistaken identities. A Hawaii premiere.
- “Once on This Island,” Nov. 14 to Dec. 8 – A mystical fairytale, with book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, set in the exotic Caribbean and based on the fairy tale of “The Little Mermaid,” nominated for eight Tony Awards.
- “What the Constitution Means to Me,” Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, 2025 – Heidi Schreck’s boundary-breaking drama is achingly funny, filled with hope and life, tracking four generations of women whose lives have been shaped by the historic document. A Hawaii premiere.
- “Parade,” March 20 to April 6 2025 – A powerful and poignant musical, with book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, A dramatization, with music, of the 1913 trial and imprisonment, and 1915 lynching of Jewish American Leo Frank in Georgia –an exploration of law and disorder of a tragic crime he did not commit. Tony winner in its original run in 1999 and Best Revival of a Musical in 2023. A Hawaii premiere. (Note: closing date not listed in above, in the MVT graphic).
- “Kim’s Convenience,” May 17 to June 8 -– Ins Choi’s heartwarming and hilarious award-winning comedy, about a Korea family running a 7-Eleven-type convenience store, enjoying the hustle and bustle of life. A feel-good ode to generations of immigrants blending in with everyday shoppers that form a microcosm of culture, community, and family in the daily pulse of life. A Hawaii premiere.
- “Side by Side by Sondheim,” July 17 to 27 2025—A musical celebration of the prolific musical genius Stephen Sondheim, Broadway, beloved as greatest composers of songs and lyrics, whose scores and tunes are iconic staples on the Great White Way. Nominated for five Tonys and Olivier Award winner for Best Musical
Season seat renewals are underway through ApriL 15; new subsribers and single-sale tickets will be available soon. Details: (808) 988-6131.
Hana hou for ‘Happily Eva Afta’
Lisa Matsumoto’s pidgin English comedy, “Happily Eva Afta, with music by Roslyn Catracchia, will be staged on June 27 through July 4, at the Kaimuki Performing Arts Center.
It features the perennial characters, like The Wicke Queen, Da Six Menehune, and Hauna and Tantaran, among others. Tickets range from $30 to $46. Information: (808) 988-6131…
Tucker will be honored at ‘Manoa Marquee’
“Manoa Marquee,” Manoa Valley Theatre’s annual fundraising gala, will be staged March 30 at the Monarch Room of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
The event is sold out, but 24 lanai seats – in the beachfront lanai of the Pink Palace – are available, at $300 a person.
The gala will honor Alice Tucker, pIctured left, who now is marking her 50th year as an MVT board member. Tireless and sprightly, Tucker is the longest-serving board member, and a theater buff extraordinaire. I met her several years ago, when I served on the MVT board of directors, and she now resides at Kahala Nui, after rain-caused floods damaged her Aina Haina home.
Cocktails at 5:30 p.m. will precede a 7 p.m. dinner. A silent auction will be held on the hotel’s Ocean Lawn.
Entertainment will be provided by Gunhild Carling & the Carling Family Band.
Details: (808) 988-6131 or www.manoavalleytheatre.com …
Broadwayu grossees for week ending March 17
And that’s Show Biz…
CIONE WILL DO ONE MORE ‘FOLLIES’
Entrepreneur Jack Cione, who resides at the Arcadia, says he’ll do one more “Follies,” at the senior residence this fall.
The show will be entitled “Copacabana,” and will be staged Sept. 4, 5, 6 and 7, with a cast of Arcadia residents as well as core guest performers. “It’s the same cast we had the last year,” said Cione. “And the exactly the same playdates,” because this being a Leap Year with one extra day on the calendar.
Cione, pictured, who recently endured a bout with Covid, said confinement in his apartment enabled him to complete his script. Rehearsals will be held later this year. And Cione indicates that this year’s “Follies” will finally be his finale. (He’s said that before, but that’s Show Biz).
Admission is free, and Arcadians and their guests, will need to get tickets closer to showtime. The public cannot attend, unless invited by a resident.
Meantime, his friends are gathering this Saturday (March 16) at the Manoa home of Becki and Mike Han, to celebrate Cione’s 96th birthday. His actual birthdate is tomorrow ( March 15).
Happy birthday, my friend. Don’t know how you do all that you do…
Schirzinger vying for Olivier Award, heading to Broadway
Hawaii’s Nichole Schirzinger, pictured, who made her West End debut last year starring in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard,” is nominated for a 2024 Olivier Award.
Schirzinger portrayed fading film star Norma Desmond, in the revival of “Sunset Boulevard,” which is nominated for 11 awards, including Best Actress in a Musical. The Oliviers will be announced April 14 at Royal Albert Hall.
As earlier announced, Schiringer and her leading co-stars, will head to Broadway in a revival run. Playdates and theater have not yet been announced. …
‘Wicked’ reclaims No. 1 Broadway slot
“Wicked” has soared to the No. 1 spot in the Broadway grosses of top attractions, toppling the perennial chart leader, “The Lion King,” to third.
The Top 10:
1—“Wicked,” $1,836 million.
2—”Hamilton,” $1,760 million.
3—“The Lion King,” $1,619 million.
4—”Merrily We Roll Along,” $1,562 million.
5—”Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” $1,352 million.
6—”Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” $1,304 million.
7—”MJ The Musical,” $1,248 million.
8—”Aladdin,” $1,207 million.
9—”Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $1,152 million.
10—”An Enemy of the People.” $1,104 million.
The full list, for the week endiing March 10, courtesy The Broadway League:
And that’s Show Biz…
TIME MARCHES ON…CAZIMERO, TOO
March 20 is Robert Cazimero’s “39th” birthday, and he’s traditionally celebrating the whole month.
One “party” was his Full Moon concert last night (March 3), at Chef Chai’s, his monthly sold-out gig. But more on this later.
Cazimero, pictured below, is kumu hula of Halau Na Kamalei O Likolehua, the all-gents group of dancers, and the halau and its leader are staging a benefit for the halau at 7:30 p.m. March 17 at Leeward Community Theatre.
Themed “Pae ‘Aina,” the show – still in planning and rehearsing mode – will feature an all-kahiko for Act 1, according to kumu. A unique Act 2 will assemble the halau troupers in three groups (senior dancers, mid-range dancers, and newbie-younger dancers), to reflect the spectrum of the halau members, according to Cazimero.
The show is sort of a prelude to next year’s milestone for kumu Cazimero –- “my 50th anniversary as a hula teacher,” he said — and the halau will return to the Merrie Monarch Festival in 2025. So, it will be a memorable niche in the halau’s history…
But back to Cazimero’s show at Chai’s. It was a marvelous overview including usual serenades of Hawaiian music, in Hawaiian and in English, plus a nostalgic roster of pop tunes. The result; a lei laced with layers of memories and remembrances, of joy and humor, and nostalgic anecdotes from the past.
Robert Cazimero, on keyboards, with dancer Fern (Kapalai ‘Ula Silva).
Examples:
- The first song he learned with brother Roland, before they became part of Sunday Manoa and then The Brothers Cazimero was “The Nearness of You,” emblematic of their bond that would establish the bros as a bona fide Waikiki entity, for several decades, including their 1982 to 1994 residency at the Monarch Room, at the fabled “Pink Palace,” aka the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Naturally, Cazimero sang “Royal Hawaiian Hotel,” a classic melody combining Hawaiian and English lyrics.
- The mentors who taught him chords and the tricks of the piano were the legendary Mahi Beamer and Loyal Garner.
- Tunes still lodged in his memory book, from visits to Disneyland in the past: “When You Wish Upon a Star,” “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo,” and he sang ‘em all. Even “Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse,” the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song that today’s kids don’t know.
Bully (Keola Makaiau), dancing to “Leahi,” but victim of a mistake.
- His playful moments with featured hula dancers Fern (Kapalai ‘Ula Silva) and Bully (Keola Makaiau) reflected comradery; she was the focus of “Lovely Hula Hands,” with her hula hands graceful as the birds mentioned in the tune; he was the victim of making an error in enacting “Leahi,” the melody about Diamond Head, and the playful miscue meant the dancer had to buy the singer-pianist a drink.
- The drink led to the obvious toast and tune, “Drinking Champagne,” with intermittent pauses for Cazimero to take a sip of bubbly.
Don’t expect to hear these songs or chit-chats in future Full Moon Concerts at Chai’s, since Cazimero never repeats and regurgitates his patter and patterns. You get an original each time he’s at bat…
And that’s Show Biz…
KEKUNA BROTHERS IN 2 SEPARATE SHOWS
Ezekiel Kekuna, the Kaneohe lad tapped to star as Young Simba in Disney’s cast of “The Lion King” on Broadway, is looking forward to return to the Pridelands.
Zeke has been on sick leave for several weeks, due to an injury that left him wearing a leg/foot boot, and he will finally return to the limelight this Saturday (Feb. 24) at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway. He opened last December for a six-month run before the injury in January sidelined him.
Ezekiel Kekuna and his February playdates in “The Lion King.”
Meanwhile, older brother Ezra Kekuna will portray Squidward in “SpongeBob Squarepants: the Musical,” a modified junior production of the Broadway musical based on the cartoon character and his undersea colleagues. It’ll be a three-day run Friday night (Feb. 23) through Sunday afternoon, in a Castle Performing Arts Center production at the Ron Bright Theatre.
Ezra Kekuna as Squidward, in “SpongeBob” at Ron Bright Theatre.
Hence, the brothers Kekuna will be in action in two musicals on two stages for the first time.
“I am so excited to be back and wanted to say a big thank you for your love, well wishes, and prayers,” Zeke said in a Facebook posting. “God blessed me with the best family, friends, doctors, and specialists to get me back to where I’m supposed to be, especially Mom (Sarahlea Gamiao Kekuna) for being there every step of the way. I am ready and look forward to seeing you in the Pridelands!”
Zeke’s performance dates are listed in the visual above; he is alternating with another youth actor as Young Simba, in compliance with usual Broadway guidelines. Many island family and friends had been securing tickets to see him on the grand stage; more are anticipated with his rejoining the cast.
Tickets for “The Lion King” can be ordered at www.disneyonbroadway.com or through usual websites like Ticketmaster or Telecharge.
Seats for “SpongeBob” are available at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/79651sor (808) 233-5626 …
Disney casting for ‘Moana’ cruise
Disney Cruise Line is seeking dancers and singers for planned “Disney the Tale of Moana” shipboard show. Tryouts are underway in Honolulu.
Auditions for dancers were being conducted today (Feb. 20), at 9:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m., with calls for singers set for the same times Wednesday (Feb. 21).
Two islanders are involved in the first theatrical version of the popular Disney cartoon transfer to the stage: Peter Rockford Espiritu and Aaron Sala. “Moana” also is in the midst of shooting a live-action film.
Contracts will be available for eight weeks of rehearsals in Toronto and also for a six-month tour aboard a cruise ship in Disney’s fleet. It’s not stated whether applicants should be able to withstand seasickness at sea.
And that’s Show Biz…