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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, January 29, 2008

SHOW BIZ
Castle's Bright, Jones reunite in Seattle

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Columnist

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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THE JONES BOY: Christopher Kale Jones, the Hawai'i actor now on the national tour of the Tony Award-winning "Jersey Boys" (he plays Frankie Valli), introduced his bride, the former Jennifer Marie Coker, to his high school mentor Ron Bright when Bright took in the production in Seattle recently. Jones was in Bright's Castle High School production of "Once on This Island" and later played Danny Zuko in Army Community Theatre's "Grease," which Bright guest-directed at Richardson Theatre, and the actor helped secure house seats for his ex-teacher. ...

The Jones-Coker wedding was last October at the Taj Lounge in Chelsea, New York. The couple met in 2006 while doing "Grease" together in St. Louis; she was Frenchy, he was Doody. According to a "Jersey Boys" blog, the proposal happened on O'ahu with the customary down-on-his-knees "will you marry me?" ...

Meanwhile, the Four Seasons musical now is in Houston, with numerous playdates (alas, not here) over the next few months. Las Vegas welcomes the newest company, when Rick Faugno plays Valli in a production opening April 4. Bright, meanwhile, has begun rehearsals for a Feb. 22 opening of "Guys and Dolls Jr.," a youth-oriented production, at Castle. Call 233-5626. ...

CELEB WATCH: Hollywood couple Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell dined at Ruth's Chris Steak House at The Shops at Mauna Lani on the Big Island and staffers felt there was nothing they could do that would be "overboard." "Overboard," of course, was the last flick Hawn and Russell did together. You young ones may know Hawn's daughter, actress Kate Hudson, but nope, she wasn't here. Hudson stars in "Fool's Gold," due in theaters Feb. 8, with Matthew McConaughey, who was here recently. ...

People magazine recently pictured Ryan and Trista Sutter and 5-month-old son Maxwell on the beach on Maui a few weeks back. He was the winner on the TV show "The Bachelorette," when she (the former Trista Rehn) selected him for their televised wedding on ABC in 2003. ...

And the way actor-comedian Jon Lovitz is making the rounds, he's practically a kama'aina. Had dinner with a bunch of friends at Ruth's Chris Steak House Restaurant Row last week and was spotted lounging on the beach at Waikiki another day. ...

Great piece in Entertainment Weekly on the North Shore's Jack Johnson, whose "Sleep Through the Static" CD drops Feb. 5. ...

WHEE, THE PEOPLE: DJ Lanai (Tabura) will be among the locals featured in Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations," The Travel Channel series, which taped shows here recently. Lanai and Kaleo Pilanca, who shared the mike on the Morning Madness show on Island 98.5 (Pilanca no longer is doing radio), did a cooking segment. Lanai got to know Bourdain, the celebrated chef-at-large of New York's Brasserie Les Halles, and pitched a wine show pilot that could be shot in March and April at Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan's Cadiceus Cellars in Phoenix, where the rocker lives. ...

Restaurateur Randy Schoch (Ruth's Chris Steak House, Romano's Macaroni Grill) just opened a new eatery, Ling & Louie's Asian Bar and Grill, in Scottsdale, Ariz., his home base. Schoch is CEO and founder of Desert Island Restaurants, which also operates Thaifoon — Taste of Asia in Salt Lake City. ...

GO FIGURE: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Wonderful World" has regained the No. 1 spot on the local CD best-sellers lists. Bruddah Iz's appeal remains high and constant, 10 years after his death. ...

AROUND 'N' ABOUT: Lea Salonga, the original "Miss Saigon" who also played Eponine in "Les Miserables" here, is bound for concerts at Castle Theatre at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on March 7, at Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu on March 8. ...

With "The Little Mermaid" a current hit on Broadway, it's not likely we'll get this musical in a theatrical visit here soon. While it's not the same thing, the "Hawai'i Theatre Follies," playing Friday through Sunday, will splash out a 12-minute mermaid production number, with Allyson Rendon as the legless figure and Pedro Hara as Neptune, with a great under-the-sea set created by Wally White and special effects coordinated by Bart McGeehon. There's also a chorus of 10 fishy showgirls, decked out in finery by Bill Doherty. ...

And apparently, you can go back to your past. Rob Duval is guest-directing Diamond Head Theatre's "Barefoot in the Park," premiering Friday; he directed his first show in high school — yep, the same Neil Simon comedy. He last helmed 'Iolani School's "High School Musical" (he's an 'Iolani teacher) and is easing down the road with "The Wiz," which bows Feb. 28 at the Hawai'i Theatre. ...

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.

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