In year two of the pandemic, should kids trick-or-treat?
Last year, Halloween was a washout because of coronavirus.
Trick-or-treating: A go or no?
Though it’s safer now than a year ago, should island keiki (high schoolers included) roam the streets with the Halloween masks or pandemic masks to gather candy and other treats even if they likely won’t eat anyway?
This is not your older sibling’s Halloween, when kids not only had a bag for treats, but carried a jack-o-lantern (with candle, years ago; with batteries, in more recent times). Do you remember jack-o-lanterns?
There still remains that magic number 10 for outdoor gatherings and there are clusters of dozens in costumes parading down the streets, often in clusters larger than 10, to collect the sweets.
So what’s your plan? Keep the kids at home? Don’t hand out treats?
Moses Goods, the respected and versatile performer and writer, has had good fortunes in recent week, with productions “on location” in Hawaii.
His visibility and accolades were tantamount, when he appeared in CBS’ “NCIS: Hawai‘i”as Wally Holman, the Waimanolo-based father of Kai Holman, the secondary agent character portrayed by Alex Tallant supposedly with island roots but dubious loyalty of becoming a “local” again. For the record, Tallant is part Maori and Samoan, and would pass for a Hawaii lad, but lacks the aura and credibility of Goods, formerly of Maui and now of Oahu. Surely, you’re familiar with Goods, a native Hawaiian-black actor-playwright who wrote and starred in a one-man show, “Duke,” about the legendary surfer and Olympian Duke Kahanamoku. The producers wanted to make his at-home scenes credible, so Goods brought in some real vintage photos that are now plopped on a table, providing realistic set accoutrements to the household.
Moses Goods
But here’s where the good fortune comes in. Goods recently auditioned for a recurring role in the HBO Max lifeguard drama, “Ke Nui Road,” the pilot for which begins filming on the North Shore shortly. His character is Jeremy and what he does has not yet been revealed.
“Ke Nui Road” aims to be a lifestyle portrait of the grittiness and grandeur of North Shore lifeguards, in that monster-wave setting that instantly attracts athletes and spectators. No, don’t expect a reboot of “Baywatch;” the “Ke Nui” team should deliver a drama as huge as the waves, at best.
John Wells
Maybe his “NCIS” performance was a factor, maybe not, but Goods got word that he will be seen as Jeremy, and clearly, he impressed the executive producers, John Wells, Matt Kester and Erin Jontow, who had a note of congrats attached to an orchid plant in a basket, delivered to his doorsteps. Naturally, Goods was blown by the kindness and hospitality of the Wells-led team. If you’re up on TV honchos, Wells was the showrunner of “The West Wing” and “Shameless,” Kester is an “”Animal Kingdom” writer, and Jontow is president of Television at John Wells Productions.
Perhaps Wells and team should enlist North Shore resident Jack Johnson to create authentic original island-style music for the score? Just thinking, if the team hasn’t thought of this yet. …
Manoa DNA has Blue Note gig
Lloyd Kawakami
Manoa DNA will take stage at Blue Note Hawaii at 6 and 8:30 p.m. Oct. 13, not focusing on its melodies but doing tributes to legendary pop acts.
The trio now is a duo, with dad Lloyd Kawakami (the D) and son Alx Kawakami (the A) still in the act. Nick Kawakami (the N), son of Lloyd and bro of Alx, now is involved full-time in real estate.
The group – with skills in harmonic vocals — will feature the tunes of Crosby, Stills & Nash and Simon & Garfunkel. It earlier presented a slate of songs by The Eagles.
Tito Berinobis will perform solo from 6 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, at Chart House Waikiki, with a tweaked schedule due to coronavirus restrictions. Chart House is launching a weekend brunch, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., beginning today (Oct.2) and Sunday (Oct. 3). Call 941-6669.
Berinobis continues to entertain at the Ilikai Courtyard from 6 to 9 p.m. Sundays and at the Elks Club Waikiki from 6 to 8 p.m. Fridays, schedules unchanged. …
Say you’re getting married, have a lot of money or a source to get the moolah, and want Bruno Mars to sing “Marry You” as your headliner.
It’s not impossible, and it did happen earlier in September, according to The New York Post, when Troy Brown got hitched to Kristin Ryan at the Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod, MA.
The deep pockets to pay the tab was the groom’s father, who is CEO of Motorola Solutions. His name is Greg Brown, who reportedly had a salary of $20.3 million last year.
Bruno Mars
The Post reported that following dinner, a marching band led guests to a “secret speakeasy,” where guests had to utter the secret password, “Magic,” to receive keys that said “Join us in room 24.”
The clues might have been obvious: “24K Magic” was a monster hit for Hawaii-born Mars.
How long Mars entertained, or what he sang, is not known. How much he was paid is unknown, too, though Scarlet Events, a luxe party planner, indicated that Mars’ standard fee for an event like a wedding starts at $3 million … so the sky’s the limit, budget willing …
New Ballet Hawaii exec director
Kimi Takazawa
Kimi Takazawa is the new executive director of Ballet Hawaii, effective today (Oct. 1). She succeeds John Parkinson, who served the organization for the past 14 years.
Takazawa, most recently the chief operating officer at ‘Olelo Hawaii, has vast leadership and experience with non-profit organizations such as the Boy Scouts and After-School All-Stars.
Former islander Janel Parrish, whose show biz career began when she played Little Cosette here and in Broadway’s “Les Miserables,” will co-star with Ryan Paevy in a Hallmark Christmas movie this coming holiday season.
But she’s not a Hallmark newbie; she previously starred in the rom-com channel’s flicks in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Janel Parrish
Of course, you remember her from “Pretty Little Liars” and “To All the Boys,” among other projects. …
A galactic Cinderella
Cinderella goes galactic in “Interstellar Cinderella,” a University of Hawaii Department of Theatre and Dance and Kennedy Theatre production next month.
The show, a Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) presentation, is based on an award-winning children’s book by the same name, authored by Deborah Underwood. In its Hawaii incarnation, the project will be directed by MFA candidate Taylor Bogan, who also will portray the reimagined heroine in a space adventure incorporating themes of science, courage, kindness and storytelling dreams.
It also will have a streaming element – staged virtually, at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22 and 2 p.m. Oct. 23 and 24 – because of the prevailing pandemic.
Cinderella takes viewers into the 31st century; she is a space engineer seeking to revolutionize space travel with a new invention. Her prince stages a space parade and she sees it as an opportunity to demonstrate a hyper-warp speed engine. Of course, there is an evil stepmother in the mix.
Tickets: $15 adults, $10 seniors, military, UH faculty-staff, and non-UHM students; $5 students with valid UHM ID; visit showtix4u.com/events/kennedytheatre.
I was saddened by the death Sept. 16 of Jane Powell, legendary star of stage and screen and one of the giants of the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals. Sure, she was from another era, when film actors also were marvelous singers and dancers. She was 92.
Jane Powell
I recall going to see Elizabeth Taylor in the leading role in “The Little Foxes” on Broadway, and I was able to buy house seats, meaning res in prime orchestra locations.
While my wife and I were seated, who should come in the same row, but Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood, who settled to the left of us. Then another Hollywood couple showed up and sat next to us to the right, Jane Powell and her hubby. The four of ‘em headed backstage after the performance, to wish Liz well. I introduced myself to the celebs, before we simply exited the theater in awe of the stars onstage and surrounding us. … and surprise! Wagner and Wood were on the same home-bound United flight, en route to an appearance at a Waikiki hotel, which, coincidentally I covered for the Honolulu Advertiser. …
With the launch of a new TV season Monday (Sept. 20), and “NCIS” mothership switching to the lineup from its long-time Tuesday perch, the newbie “NCIS: Hawai‘i” appears to benefit in the ratings, thanks to its slot following the original show’s 19th season lift-off.
A new franchise — this one filmed in Hawai’i — can always use a helpful boost.
Here’s how the evening played out in the ratings:
— No. 1 – CBS’ “NCIS,” the Mark Harmon foundation of the franchise, attracting an audience of 8.5 million viewers and 0.7 rating in the coveted 18 to 49 age demo, a skosh lower than last season’s debut on a Tuesday night.
— No. 2 — NBC’s “The Voice,” with 7.2 million viewers, topping the demos with a 1.1 rating. Its audience of younger fans reflected the uptick in the demo.
— No. 3 – CBS’“NCIS: Hawai‘i,” with 6.6 million viewers and a 0.5 demo rating. Not bad for the newbie.
Mark Harmon as agent Gibbs.
In fine fashion, there was Harmon, as lead agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, recovering from his boat explosion from last season’s finale, and finally connecting with his team including special agent Timothy McGee (played by Sean Murray). Sure, Gibbs is an often threatening bossman, who often smacks the back of the heads of his agents, but he has their back, and vice versa. That rapport is a two-way street; respect for the honcho, and support for the chief. That camaraderie has been the spine that has kept NCIS on the straight-up as the No. 1 procedural for nearly two decades.
Vanessa Lachey, appearing as Jane Tennant, the first woman leading an NCIS team, must not have gotten the memo, or its script writers didn’t, in the first episode of the “Hawai‘i” installation. Her I’m-the-boss tone quickly created friction with a Navy Capt. Joe Milius, portrayed by Enver Gjokaj, with her colleagues awkwardly jostling for relevance. Leaders need to have mutual respect and sensible work ethics to co-exist and succeed.
Vanessa Lachey as agent Jane Tennant in “NCIS: Hawai’i.”
Tennant is a single mother, so is tasked to shape a comfortable home front while juggling her chores as a head agent. She is called from a soccer match to proceed to a plane deliberately pounding into a mountain, so the mission’s finally launched. At best, Lachey has potential to get that chip off her shoulder and lead the team effort. Might take two or three more episodes for this niggler to settle. Alex Tennant ([portrayed by Kian Talan) is the elder son of the lead character and Julie Tennant (played by Mahina Napolean) is the young sister and both logically can anticipate to be more visible in future episodes when the mother meter ticks.
The Hawai’i investigative team is a quirky lot. Lucy Tara (played by Yasmine Al-Bustami), eager to please and curiously swift to proclaim her standing, has an unexpected lesbian embrace, suggesting future LBGTQ themes down the line.
Kai Holman (played by Alex Tarrant) is a junior squad member returning to Hawai’i to serve, still trying to forget or escape his Waimanalo roots; he looms as a key figure, but seems unsettled about where to set anchor. He looks local/Hawaiian (he’s Maori, Samoan and Niuean) and orders kalua pig, manapua and loco moco from a food wagon, but clearly can’t feign the real-local ways. Yet. One of his issues is in doubting his dad, realistically portrayed by Moses Goods, a keiki o ka ‘aina. You can quickly recognize the legit in the first few utterances and moments. Yep.
Jesse Boone (portrayed by Noah Mills), is a homicide detective settling into a new job in the islands, and has the look and physique that could develop into a popular and major sidekick.
Kate Whistler (played by Tori Anderson) also is an outsider from the Defense intelligence Agency hoping to find her niche in the Pearl Harbor realm and seems to have a path for her own rise on the ladder of investigation—and possible revisit her eyebrow-raising smooch with Agent Tara.
And Ernie Malik (played byJason Antoon) is the sometimes goofy techie /intelligence guy – all procedurals have one – who has to dig up investigative files in quick moves.
When a franchise has four shows total (“Los Angeles” and the original still exist, ‘New Orleans” went to TV heaven), it’s tough to differentiate one from the other, except by setting. The military or cop jargon remain the same, but landscape matters. Problem is, “NCIS: Hawai’i” still has competish from locally-filmed “Magnum P.I.” (aerials, surf, hotels, green mountains when it rains), and frankly, reflecting back to the original “Hawaii Five-0,” “Magnum” and other Hawaii series as “Jake and the Fatman” and “Five-0” reboot, the novelty of sea-shore-sun is long gone. The major difference will be in the art of storytelling, and perhaps some day, bona fide Hawaiians, Asians and Pacific Islanders as principal cast, not secondary backgrounders. (Current fave: “Doogie Kamealoha,” the Disney+ creation, with lots of local faces and manners).
At least in the premiere, the newbie had the smarts to embrace local music in the soundtrack, notably “Island Style.” Words and sounds — meaning our cultural tunes — will boost and establish atmosphere, and further enhance and propel the images.
If nothing else, Lachey’s Tennant character has gusto and guts, speaking her mind, and totally immersing herself in island waters (well, clearly, her stunt double did that finale scene). The best bet going for her, and the island-based show, is the fact that it airs here at 9 p.m., following the mothership at 8 p.m. Mondays. Now it has to earn its own stripes. …
