Posted on: Tuesday, January 25, 2005
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SHOW BIZ
Sakaguchi, Wong to lead 'Cabaret' cast
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
WILLKOMMEN: Andrew Sakaguchi will portray the Emcee and Erin Wong will be Sally Bowles when Manoa Valley Theatre revives the Tony Award-winning "Cabaret" on March 9. John Rampage guest-directs; the cast also includes Elitei Tatafu Jr. as Cliff, Louise South as Fraulein Schneider, Larry Bialock as Herr Schultz, Lisa Konove as Fraulein Kost. ...
And get ready to welcome back Frank DeLima and Na Kolohe to the Waikiki mainstream. DeLima, who has seen many clubs he worked in shuttered after his occupancy, will do a Valentine's show at 8:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the 'Akala Ballroom of the Queen Kapi'olani Hotel, then open Feb. 18-19 (playing at 8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays thereafter) at the third-floor Peacock Room. Details are not finalized, but let's hope this spot endures. ... CELEB CITY: Singer Cyndi Lauper, in town for a private performance at the Hawai'i Convention Center, treated her entire troupe (18 strong) to dinner at Aaron's Atop the Ala Moana a few nights back. Manager Derek Haderman said she gracefully posed for pictures and signed autographs for staff and patrons alike. Girls just want to have fun, no doubt. ...
Carol Channing, who brings her one-woman show, "The First Eighty Years Are the Hardest," to the Hawai'i Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, has been spotted hither and yon: lunched at the Royal Hawaiian's Surf Room after her arrival Thursday; lunched at Compadres Friday, when owner Rick Enos happened to be in town and on duty; phoned in on Saturday morning with the Perry & Price breakfast show at John Dominis; and brunched at the Moana Surfrider's Banyan Veranda on Sunday. And the week's still young. ...
AMERICAN IDYLL: Jordan Segundo, Hawai'i's "American Idol" finalist from Season Two, is back doing commentary on KHON-2's Morning Show the mornings after the Fox-TV shows. The sequences will likely get a little more intense once the competition is under way. But without a Hawai'i candidate (though some have flown to the Mainland for the initial cattle calls last year), overall viewer interest here must be on the wane. Still, it's smart for KHON to have a fella who's been there, done that, to share a thought. So Segundo is in a nice situation; he remains that rare "Idol" survivor with power and appeal to spare, who keeps on ticking like the Energizer Bunny. And he's still more visible than the more recent finalists, Jasmine Trias and Camile Velasco. ...
NAMES 'N' PLACES: Sorry to hear of the death of Sy Ziyad, known in these parts simply as Sy, who did an incredible Michael Jackson impersonation in the "Legends in Concert" revue that was ensconced in Waikiki for years. He was diabetic, and apparently died of natural causes; he was discovered in his Las Vegas apartment Jan. 18. He had performed in "Legends" before Christmas and his friends are stunned by the news. Services will be held in his Chicago hometown. Notes of condolences may be sent to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kahlif Ziyad, 8813 Cottage Grove, Chicago, IL 60619. ... Jazz singer Keahi Conjugacion is doing an aloha concert (she and hubby Dan Del Negro, are relocating to The Big Apple) at the Honolulu Club's Wednesday Jazz fling from 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow. Accompaniment will be by Del Negro, Todd Street, David Choy and John Kolivas. ... RANDOM NOTES: Maui Theatre, home of the " 'Ulalena" production, is donating $15 of every kama'aina ticket purchased during January to UNICEF. In addition, the theater is hosting a car wash, bake sale and rummage sale Jan. 29, again with proceeds going to UNICEF; that same day, $15 of nonkama'aina tickets also will go to the fund. ... And remember that "Musubi Angel" adoption project at Wabi-Sabi in Kaimuki last year? The campaign raised more than $1,700 for the Eye of the Pacific, according to organizer Irene Kawaguchi of Wabi-Sabi. ... Na Palapalai gives a concert Feb. 25 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. ... Former Honolulans Gina Gutierrez and husband Gary Richardson, who met when both worked for the Honolulu Theatre for Youth (she as publicist, he as tech director), were home for the holidays with children Halley and Max. Gina now is head of marketing for the Ojai Music Festival in California and Gary is tech director at the Cal-Northridge Theatre. Not surprisingly, the family soaked up the shows here — "Stomp!" at the Hawai'i Theatre, "Grease" at Blaisdell Concert Hall. Gina's parents were here from Guam for a New Year's Eve dinner at Compadres and a farewell supper with pals at Dixie Grill. ... And that's Show Biz. ...
Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, or fax 525-8055.
