We managed to catch up with Stewart and Tricia Macpherson, the Wellington-based show producers, who had "Blood Brothers" running at the Aotea Centre. The Broadway-quality production stars Down Under fave Delia Hannah as Mrs. Johnstone, the mother who had to do the unthinkable: give away one twin at birth. The Macphersons, who produced such shows as "Evita" and the "other" "Phantom of the Opera" in Hawai'i, were all over the tube, too, with Tricia making her TV debut ("I was so nervous, my feet were shaking") as half of the busy producing team. They were kind enough to enable us to get a backstage tour, too. Their next New Zealand production: "Chicago" in the fall. And yes, they're still hoping to reconnect with Hawai'i when the right vehicle is available ...

TUBULAR TALK: You can't escape familiar faces on NZ TV, too. Dalton Tanonaka and his "Talk Asia" show on CNN is a fixture here ...

Several nights running, Jason Scott Lee was starring in the "Arabian Nights" mini-series ...

Anthony Ruivivar was part of the promotional splash, heralding the start this week of the "Third Watch" series for the Down Under audience ...

And there was Tia Carrere, sharing anecdotes with Donny and Marie Osmond on the syndicated talk show ...

MAORI MENTIONS: It was a first-time visit for us, and while we'll get into more details in a Travel section story shortly, we'd like to share some first impressions.

The Maori people are warm and friendly, the city, clean, the island, vast; we were only on the North Island, and so missed the snow on the South Island.

There are clean public restrooms everywhere, in the heart of the city, along the countryside, at the many beaches. There are virtually no organized Maori cultural shows (you hear that, Tihati Productions?).

The Kiwis don't visibly market their songs and dances, and the only place in Auckland where you get a sampling of Maori music and dance is at the Auckland Museum, and only in mini-shows. The only other place to soak up the poi dances and take pictures of painted warrior faces is at the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua ...

With its island lifestyle and lots of beaches and oceans, it's not surprising to discover that Maoris are athletically inclined. Besides yachting (this is the City of Sails, remember, and New Zealand holds the America's Cup), folks here do a lot of outdoorsy things: soccer, rugby, lawn bowling, swimming, diving, running, biking. This inclination is reflected in the shops at malls and in the city ...

And that's Show Biz ...