SHOW BIZ

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

THEM'S THE BREAKS: Paul Ogata, the radio deejay who moonlights as a stand-up comic with Andy Bumatai at Brew Moon, was out of commission for a while. At Da Bomb's Birthday Party last week, colleague Sam the Man got carried away with a bear hug on Ogata, making the stand-up a sit-down comedian (doctor's orders) for the remaining Brew Moon shows Wednesdays and Saturdays through Dec.13. He had to cancel his gigs with Bumatai last week because the well-intentioned hug tore his ribs from the cartilage that holds them together, according to Ogata. It was a painful, ironic twist of "rib tickler" and "break a leg," said Ogata. Still, he thinks he'll be up and around to launch the Friday and Saturday gig with Bumatai beginning Dec. 19 (10 p.m. curtain) at the Palace Showroom of the Ohana Reef Towers Hotel. "Weird feeling; that's where I started with him (Bumatai) 10 years ago," said Ogata. It's supposed to be a four-month run, following the Frank DeLima revue at 8:30 p.m. ...

WHEE, THE PEOPLE: Emma Veary, who is part of "A Merry Christmas With Friends and Nabors" shows tomorrow through Sunday at the Hawai'i Theatre, performed Sunday at Central Union Church. She sang Teddy Randazzo's "I Love You," accompanied by harpist Nyle Hallman, and dedicated the tune to the late singer-composer who has Hawai'i ties. Veary got a standing ovation. ...

Jimmy Borges, also one of Nabors' Christmas "Friends," will be at Compadres next Thursday with a lucky group of carolers who bought a package at the Hawai'i Theatre's Caper fund-raiser at Neiman Marcus. After a fiesta at the restaurant, he and wife Vicki will board the trolley to see Honolulu City Lights and to lead the singing. Elaine Evans, Hawai'i Theatre's director of development, is among the celebrants. ...

Candy Cane Lane, a holiday wonderland Dec. 12-14 at Bishop Museum, will include music by the likes of Pali, Tony Conjugacion, Imua, Maila Gibson and Keahiwai. ...

Bobbie Cabigon is back from Las Vegas; she brought lei for Martin Nievera and ex-wife Pops Fernandes, who performed at the Orleans' arena. Nope, the couple remains separated — it was an artistic reunion cherished by their respective fans. Nievera starts a January run at the Golden Nugget. ...

Hoku Ho performed at dad Don Ho's show for a few nights (ended Monday) at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. They're back from gigs in Palm Springs, where folks like Sunbeam Beamer, Herb Jeffries and Shecky Greene joined Ho on stage. At least 1,200 fans showed up. So did three inches of sand — yep, sand, not snow — brought on by a sandstorm. Another reason we're lucky to live Hawai'i. ...

At Sunday's final Readers Theatre program of "Tobacco Road" at Army Community Theatre's Richardson Theatre, a young woman visiting from California told ACT honcho Vanita Rae Smith she loved the show and "this is the best $6 I've spent in Hawai'i." She found the event on The Advertiser's Web site and ventured to Fort Shafter. ...

Go Jimmy Go will open up for Fishbone Dec. 12 at Volcanoes. The local band also appears with Last in Line, Black Square and Suspicious Minds in a Surf Night Party tomorrow from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Kemo'o Pub. ...

NAMES 'N' FACES: Welly Yang's Second Generation group staged a show at New York's Lincoln Center, with localites Cathy Foy, Robert Oresco, Jade Stice, Allan Won and Kenway Kua participating. Yang and Stice were in a Blaisdell Concert Hall show last year. ...

Darin Fujimori, a local stunt man and actor with the Hawaiian Stunt Connection, is a gun operator in "The Last Samurai," the Tom Cruise film opening tomorrow. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Wayne Harada's Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays.