First-time encounters for 'Copacabana' leads
"Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
"With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there
"She would merengue and do the cha-cha
"But while she tried to be a star,
"Tony always tended bar
"Across the crowded floor, he worked from 8 'til 4
"They were young and they had each other
"Who could ask for more?"
— Barry Manilow's "Copacabana"
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
Photos by Brad Goda
Her name is Zenia Zambrano and she works in human resources at Kaiser Permanente.
Elitei Tatafu Jr., center, is Tony the bartender in "Copacabana," the musical premiering Wednesday at Manoa Valley Theatre.
Lola (Zenia Zambrano) begs Copacabana manager Sam (Scott Moura) for a chance at being a Copa girl, as Gladys the cigarette girl (Suzanne Green) looks on.
But as she's typing away, she often lapses into the Lola showgirl mode, thinking of the character she portrays in Manoa Valley Theatre's "Copacabana," premiering Wednesday, lyrics a-swirl in her mind. Ultimately, she's also trying to learn to merengue and cha-cha and simply get the handle on dance for her first time encountering choreography in a musical.
"Oh, I'm having such fun, trying to add the hyphen (singer-dancer) to my repertoire," said Zambrano. "It's my first time dancing; though I played Patsy Cline in a musical, there was no dancing. So I'm not quite there yet; you might say it still is a work in progress."
His name is Elitei Tatafu Jr. and by day, he works at the Kalihi-Palama Health Center. He's no bartender, though he portrays one named Tony as a stock 1940s-MGM-musical kind of a leading man in "Copacabana." It's his first time front and center.
He's had to comb the musicals shelves to figure out the moves and the grooves of a singing idol of yesteryear. "I never even heard the song before," Tatafu said about "Copacabana." "At the audition, everyone was singing it but me. I'm usually in an ensemble, or in the background, so doing a lead ... is something new for me."
Zambrano and Tatafu are fleshing out the characters who originated in the Manilow hit song, which eventually became a musical revue, expanding into a TV movie, then ultimately a full-fledged Broadway show. The production recreates, as the lyrics say, "the hottest spot north of Havana," where "music and passion were always the fashion."
At the famed Copacabana in New York City, of course.
'Copacabana'
"It's the ultimate party spirit — production number after production number, big costumes, big choreography," said Zambrano. "I'm all over the place. And it's fun to finally play an ingenue."
Tatafu also is traveling down a new path. "I've done shows at Diamond Head and with John Rampage (DHT's artistic director) guest-directing; I thought it would be nice to work at different theater groups for my resumé," he said.
"It's really a brand new experience for me, and all quite amazing. I sing with The Company Singers and did the Jim Nabors Christmas show last year, but this is quite different. My goal is to do good, to make people proud of me."
Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 525-8055.
