'You Somebody' cast, crew full of somebodies

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Loretta Ables Sayre, who plays the part of Pua Lusa, and Ray Bumatai, who plays her husband, run through a dress rehearsal for the production "You Somebody." The play was written by Lee Cataluna and can be seen at the Diamond Head Theatre beginning tonight. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Known primarily as a club singer, Ables Sayre has theatrical roots.

"It was time for me to do something again on stage," she said about her re-entry starting tonight at Diamond Head Theatre. "But it's been 13 years since my last show, and the brain cells aren't working like they used to."

Ables Sayre is leaving the glamour of her Saturday-night singing slot at The Veranda of the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawaii to play one good-fun tita mom. It's also a chance to renew old ties with singer-composer Beamer, with whom she performed years ago in Waikiki when both were emerging talents.

The Cataluna vehicle, about the Lusa family's quest to be famous — a "somebody" — in Hawai'i, is loaded with somebodies in slightly different situations.

OK, Ables Sayre is the diva, doing outrageous things.

The composer, a respected ki-ho'alu master, is writing 18 tunes in his first musical comedy. Beamer wonders, though, if this might jeopardize his legitimacy as a Hawaiian musical artist.

The director, Mark Lutwak, usually focuses on children's theater as artistic director of the Honolulu Theatre for Youth. But having collaborated with Cataluna, who writes columns for The Advertiser when she's not formulating comedies and musicals for the stage, he's eager to sail on musical seas for the first time. Their paths crossed when Cataluna participated in HTY's playwriting sessions.

The premise of the musical is that some folks — Pua Lusa in particular — would go to extremes to attain "somebody" status in Hawai'i, with the "somebody" fame linked to finding her boldface name in a particular column in The Advertiser. (Editor's note: "You Somebody" dwells on the desires of the Lusas, trying to be winnahs by "making it" into the Show Biz column in this newspaper. Go figure).

Main thing, everyone's having fun.

Loretta Ables Sayre, portraying Pua Lusa

"I'm actually acting, 'cause I'm not as aggressive as the mother is, and that may be the downfall of my career," Ables Sayre said.

"But I get to sing. And have great fun, playing this woman who just doesn't give up. I think, or like to think, that I have a little more resistance and hesitation. I mean, she wants to be a star so badly, she shows up for the Honolulu Boy Choir audition because they need a star. I don't have that kind of guts.

"But as far as the acting goes, I'm willing to 'make A' on stage. And Pua's in my age range: in her 40s, old enough to be past her prime, but young enough to still chance 'em.

"I can't figure out, though, why I haven't lost 80 pounds so far. I am using muscles I never knew I had, dancing, leaping, whimpering. Salonpas is my best new friend. My poor husband, David, is waiting at home for me, with the bottle (of pain-easing lotion).

"But what joy it is, to create something new. That's what interested me the most, working on something that was never done. I could create this character; I felt her; while I have no children, only a dog, I could stretch and relate to having children. But there was a lesson, too; that you are perfect just the way you are, that you don't have to live anyone else's dream to be somebody. You're important, too.

"Pua is so over the top, with hardly any constraints. It's like I'm in a slingshot, and they whack me out. A riot. There is no other outlet like acting, where you immerse yourself into another ego, do things you don't do in your own life, including the way I dress. I mean, I'm a cross between Carmen Miranda and Karen Keawehawai'i and Hilo Hattie; I believe I will glow in the dark."

She was raised a military brat, in Aliamanu; "half of me had to speak English correctly, the other half pidgin, so I really straddled the fence. But ooooh, when the tita comes raging forward, kinda hard to turn off. I learned, way back then, that to be an entertainer, I had to communicate, to do things past Hawai'i, but it's good fun when pidgin's part of your soul, too."

Her mother hoped to have a daughter who'd have a career as a dental assistant or a secretary, someone other than an entertainer. "But I was surrounded by other kids whose mothers were trying to push their kids into everything and live vicariously through them. The play makes fun of this, but really, we're all individual gifts in this world."

As for Cataluna, sitting in on rehearsals: "The great payoff was when I heard her big guffaws, knowing she was enjoying what I was doing with the mom she had in her head."

Keola Beamer, composer

"I've been cautious, in my life, to work only with people I enjoy working with, and getting to know Lee Cataluna, understanding where she wanted to go, has helped me get this first musical off the ground," said Beamer.

"First of all, I really think Lee is the finest pidgin English writer in the state, so I was anxious to work with her, because in my own normal course of music-making, I don't get to write silly, funny, happy songs. It's been a wonderful release. Imagine, writing songs with titles like 'It's Uji.'"

The music and lyrics are Beamer's, who drew inspiration from Cataluna's script, born from actions of the characters. Because he lives on Maui, Beamer made periodic treks to O'ahu but spent plenty of time on the horn with Cataluna.

"Her script gives me traction; my music gave her play traction; we climbed the hill together," Beamer said. "Sometimes, a character can reveal himself without the complication of words or music, but overall, the music supports the characters."

Curiously, when Beamer was composing songs for Pua and her husband (played by Ray Bumatai), "I had her (Ables Sayre) in mind, well before she was cast," he said. "I kept hearing her voice, and shaped the music around her, so it'll be fun to see it all in place."

Beamer, a Dancing Cat Records singer, composer, and slack-key guitarist, said he will attend this weekend's premiere. He worked with Ables Sayre years ago in Waikiki "and I wouldn't miss this opening."

Mark Lutwak, director

For Lutwak, timing was everything.

He was invited by Diamond Head Theatre to chart the play's maiden voyage. He had admired Cataluna's work since her "Da Mayah" show; she was active in Honolulu Theatre for Youth's playwriting group and even adapted HTY's "Musubi Man" production.

"She and Diamond Head came to me, when the show still was a title and a concept, and over the year, it was a joy to work with her," said Lutwak. "When Keola Beamer came in to do the music, it was truly an opportunity I couldn't say no to."

Because of HTY's smaller production scope, Lutwak welcomed the chance to maximize his vision with a larger-scaled vehicle. "I don't get the chance to do a show this size at HTY," he said.

Ables Sayre's voice was familiar to him, but Lutwak never worked with her, though HTY long-timers recalled when she toured Micronesia with the youth group in "Song of the Navigator" years ago.

"She's amazing; she came in to read for the part, and there were a couple of other strong candidates. But we felt she could nail down the part ... and she has that glorious voice."

With HTY "between seasons," the timetable was perfect. "Our last show was at the end of May; the next one begins rehearsals in August. 'You Somebody' fits in nicely."