SHOW BIZ
Amy and Willie K team up for Pro Bowl show

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

And Reichel got about a half-minute exposure on the BBC recently, with the help of Hawai'i Public Radio "Morning Edition" host Derrick Malama, who also does the weekly Hawaiian music program Kani Ka Pila, from 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays on KIPO 89.3 FM. Malama got a call from Paul and Paul, who host a BBC show, and asked Malama to participate in an on-air chat (it was 10:30 p.m. local time and 8:30 a.m. in London). When the Pauls asked the localite to play something Hawaiian, Reichel's "Ka Nohona Pili Kai" aired, provoking a "beautiful" response from one of the Pauls. ...

ITEMIZATIONS: Singer Jimmy Buffett and his entourage dined at Keo's in Waikiki last week. The singer also stopped to check his photo on Keo Sananikone's Wall of Fame. No word if he had a margarita. ...

NY Yankees manager Joe Torre sure has great timing. While his hometown was under ice and snow in one of the coldest winters in a century, he was on Maui with family and friends, spotted at the Feast at Lele in Lahaina recently. ...

Country singer Don "Geezer" Humphrey, who was out of commission for a while last month to tend to eye surgery, is back at Hanks Cafe. His vision is improving in his right eye, but come March, he'll also have surgery on his left eye. Happily, the surgery hasn't affected his voice or his guitar-strumming. Shawn Ishimoto, who is sightless, filled in while the Geezer was recuper-ating. ...

STAGE BITS: Isaac Calpito, currently performing in the "Mamma Mia!" company in Washington, D.C., is having a memorable time on tour. First lady Laura Bush attended a performance last week and he was able to meet her after the performance. "Fifty secret service guys were backstage and all throughout the theater," said Calpito, a veteran of numerous stage shows here. "It was cool," he adds. On Feb. 16, Calpito returns to New York to do an off-Broadway show, "Bare," which he describes as "a pop opera and the newest, hottest show in NYC." He exits the "Mamma Mia!" cast on Valentine's Day. ...

Just as Y York's two-year Pew Charitable Trust residency with the Honolulu Theatre for Youth was winding down, the local playwright got another prestigious nod: The People's Light and Theatre Company (at Malvern, Pa.) has thrown its support to the world premiere of her "The Forgiving Harvest" play about a widowed farmer's daughter and her prize steer. ...

When the Aloha Performing Arts Company revives the beloved family musical "Annie," Feb. 12-19 at the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu on the Big Island, the title character will be performed by Sierra Saplan, a Kealakehe Elementary School fifth-grader. Dick Hershberger will be Daddy Warbucks, Sue Boyum will be Miss Hannigan, and Eden Hershberger (yes, daughter of Dick), will be Pepper. The fun will come out "Tomorrow," so to speak. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Wayne Harada's Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach him at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.