Posted on: Tuesday, June 21, 2005
SHOWBIZ
Obama to speak at national library event
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
BOOK 'EM: Local librarians attending the American Library Association's annual conference in Chicago starting Saturday will find a familiar Island "name" greeting them. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), a Punahou and Harvard grad, will be the keynote speaker in the opening session at the McCormick Place ballroom. He'll speak on how congressional legislation affects library funding and library privacy issues, as well as the importance of school libraries. Obama, of course, is the author of "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance," a memoir about his life as the son of a black African father and a white American mother and his search for meaning as a black American. The ALA also has tapped The Fonz, Henry Winkler, to be its closing-session speaker next Tuesday. ... WHEE, THE PEOPLE: When Jasmine Trias was on her "American Idol" journey, the staff at Compadres was cheering her on like most others here. So imagine the reaction from GM John Langan and his crew when she showed up last Thursday for dinner (ordering "uno enchilada ranchera," according to Langan) with "three guy friends." She's been in town to huddle about the July 12 launch of her ClockWork Entertainment CD, which will be distributed locally by Aloha Music International. ... Donald M. Asam is new GM of Ruth's Chris Steak House in Restaurant Row; he previously oversaw the daily operations of the Ali'i Kai Catamaran, the 800-passenger dinner cruise ship, as well as managed Regency Culinary Services, which provided 1,000 meals a day. His earlier land-based foodie jobs were with the Hawai'i Prince Hotel, Buzz's Steak House and Pieces of Eight. ...
When 17 former students wind up performing on Broadway and two become Miss America, you're doing something right. No wonder voice teacher Neva Rego earned an award for excellence in education from the National Society of Arts & Letters, which convened last month at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. ...
HITHER 'N' YON: Ron and Mo Bright are back from a rigorous tour to California, D.C. and New York with the Kamehameha Schools Children's Choir. They managed to renew ties with actors Cliffton Hall and Dee Dee Magno, taking in the California Adventure musical, "Aladdin," at the Hyperion Theatre, where Magno is on maternity leave since the birth of Kaeden Riley Hall. Magno eventually resumes the Jasmine role, but their Island pals may want to know that the Halls will be vacationing in Hawai'i in September — to show off their son. Ron, of course, is back in the director's chair, prepping for the July 22 launch of "A Chorus Line" at Castle High School's Bright Theatre. ... We earlier mentioned that Shawna Masuda will be Belle and David Spangenthal will be Beast (as well as director) in Diamond Head Theatre's "Beauty and the Beast," opening July 15. Other leads will be taken by Douglas Sheer (Lumiere), Jimi Wheeler (Gaston), Katie Leiva (Mrs. Potts), TJ Tario (Chip), Pamela Young (Madame de la Grande Bouche), Ralph Brandt (Maurice), Dennis Proulx (Cogsworth), Pedro Haro (Lefou) and Devon Guard (Babette). Emmett Yoshioka is musical director. ...
RANDOM NOTES: Kealoha Kalama, veteran entertainer, recording artist, kumu hula and good-will ambassador, will be honored at the annual Holoku Ball of the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu, from 5:30 p.m. July 23 at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel's Monarch Room. Tickets are $80 ($30 of which is tax-deductible), or $2,500 for 'Ilima corporate tables of eight ($1,820 tax-deductible), with proceeds going to the civic club's scholarship fund. ... Paul Weber, head of casting for MGM Worldwide Television, will conduct a cold reading intensive workshop for professional actors, from 7 to 10 p.m. July 6 and 7 at the Kathy Muller Agency. For details, call 551-6596. ...
SHORTS OF SORTS: Puamana and Hapa will perform at an invitational reception this evening hosted by the board of the Children's Alliance of Hawai'i at Washington Place; Gov. Linda Lingle is expected to participate in a special bill-signing ceremony. ... Elizabeth Tatofi, 16, daughter of Tivaini Tatofi, former member-founder of Kapena, graduated June 3 — a year early — from the Academy of the Pacific, where she was president of the National Honor Society and vice president of the student council. She hopes to become a pediatric cardiologist to serve the children of Tonga one day. ...
And that's Show Biz. ...
Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.
