Show Biz
Divine Miss M sighted at Nu'uanu estate
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor
PARADISE ALLEY: That was Bette Midler, husband Martin von Haselberg and daughter Sophie checking out the Marks Estate in Nu'uanu the other day. Could the Divine Miss M be contemplating acquiring this 17-acre property when the state puts it up for auction again? C'est possible, since Midler has been in a buying mood. Last year, she purchased (to the tune of $4.5 million) a 1,400-acre parcel of former Kaua'i sugar cane land near Kapa'a and plans to convert it into a timber farm. She already has homes in Ha'ena and Kilauea on the Garden Island as well as her family home in Manoa. ...
Antoni Luke, who had been living in Germany while doing the Stuttgart-based "Miss Saigon" musical (which has closed), is visiting here. He's now anchored in Vienna, where he just completed "Time Out," an adaptation of "Cyrano," and returns to Austria this weekend to begin rehearsals for "West Side Story." ...
Swaine Kaui, who's done his share of school and community theater, is off to St. Louis to attend Webster Conservatory of Performing Arts, a school that accepts 12 new musical-theater students annually. A former student of Yvonne Filius, Kaui will get hands-on experience with the St. Louis Repertory Theatre and the St. Louis Opera Theatre on the Conservatory campus. And he intends to return home eventually to become part of the local cultural scene. ...
Cindy Balfour, script supervisor for NBC-TV's New York-based "Law and Order," took advantage of the show's hiatus by returning home to visit family and friends. She also lunched at Brew Moon, partaking of the 'ono beer crackers. Culture buffs may also remember the Punahou graduate from her dance affiliations with the Houston and Hartford ballets, and the American Ballet Theatre. ...
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BEHIND THE SCENES: Watch for the Chuck Mangione Band at 8 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Kamehameha Court. Tickets are $40, including two drinks. ... Mangione also performs Sept. 15 at the Hamakua Music Festival. ...
Two Filipino faves, Ariel Rivera and Ara Mina, also are Hilton-bound, concertizing at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Hilton Waikoloa's Grand Ballroom. ...
When Manoa Valley Theatre unveils its season opener, "Smokey Joe's Cafe," tonight at MVT, musical director Melina Lillios (keyboards) will be cookin' up a savory tuneful brew with an orchestra that will reunite members of the Love Notes group. Pete "Dr. Doo-Wop" Hernandez (drums) and John Bock (guitar) are taking a breather from Waikiki gigs, with another former Love Noter, Chris "CW" Washington also recruited in the singing ensemble, joining orchestra members Fred Oshiro (bass) and Keith Griffin (sax). ...
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THE PARTY LINE: Restaurateur Ed Wary was nowhere in sight when his Dixie Grill held a "Blues, Brews and BBQ" kickoff dinner last week. Wary was, instead, at Ruth's Chris Steak House with wife Tina and kids Andrew, Ellie and Maddy, celebrating his birthday with a live lobster dinner. Ran into Ruth's Chris owner Randy Schoch, who was playing host to his own shindig for Mrs. Hawai'i Sydney Fernandez Fasi. Wary told Schoch that he just started teaching at the University of Hawai'i travel industry management school. ...
And that's Show Biz. ...
Wayne Harada's Show Biz runs Wednesdays and Fridays. Reach him at 525-8067, e-mail at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 525-8055.
