Island tunesmith-author Dean Pitchford's ill-fated 1988 Broadway musical "Carrie," based on the Stephen King story, will get a second life on the Great White Way next year. Pitchford's collaborators, Michael Gore and Larry Cohen, were approached to tweak the horror musical with its telekinetic theme inspired by the 1976 flick starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie. So now it's a go.

Stafford Arima, the Broadway director of the boy-band musical "Altar Boyz," will mount a re-imagined version that hooked producers Jeffrey Sellers and Kevin McCollum, the latter being the very successful producer with Island ties, whose hits have included "Avenue Q," "Rent," "In the Heights" and "West Side Story," all with Tony Award credentials.

So while lyricist Pitchford has been authoring books for juveniles ("The Big One-Oh" and "Captain Nobody"), he's been bi-coastal, shuttling from his West Coast base to The Big Apple, where a reading is set for Nov. 29, with a cast headed by Marin Mazzie, of "Kiss Me Kate" and "Ragtime," as the mother Margaret, and Sutton Foster, currently in "Shrek the Musical" and a Tony winner for "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (also starred in "Young Frankenstein" and "The Drowsy Chaperone"), as a gym teacher. ...

NAME-DROPPING: Jewl Anguay, the Käneohe native who previously had leads in "Miss Saigon" and played Princess Nala in "The Lion King," is touring with music biz whiz David Foster in a seven-state (plus Canada) tour, preventing her from flying home to catch little sibs Tori Anguay, portraying Anita, and Zare Anguay, playing Bernardo, in Paliku Theatre's hit revival of "West Side Story," which closes with a 4 p.m. matinee today at Windward Community College. She hopes to be home with family and friends this coming holiday season. ...

HITHER 'N' YON: Mänoa DNA will be off to Hiroshima this week, joining Mayor Mufi Hannemann and other delegates to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Hiroshima-Honolulu sisterhood. Dad Lloyd Kawakami and sons Nick and Alex perform at a Honolulu Day concert Thursday and a fare-well reception on Friday. Then they'll perform at the Nihon Sei-nenkan Hall. Next up: studio time to begin Mänoa DNA's third CD. ...

"Nanea," Nä Palapalai's CD, drops Tuesday, followed by a Thursday concert (including Kealii Reichel) at the Hawaii Theatre. ...

While Howard Dashefsky bolted earlier, KHNL 8 morning co-anchor Diane Ako was teary and emotional when she and Paul Drewes bid adieu recently. KGMB9's "Sunrise" now is simulcast; but nice finale touch, posting every name involved in the wake-up show. The last thing shown and heard: Island video with Nohelani Cypriano's "Beautiful Hawaii" recording. Sweet. ...

FINALLY: Publicist Elissa Josephsohn's tribute show, "A Hard Act to Follow," drew several hundred last Sunday at the Hawaii Theatre, including out-of-towners like Lisa's restaurant clients Randy Schoch (Ruth's Chris Steak House, Romano's Macaroni Grill, The Black Orchid) and Dick Bradley (Compadres, Victoria Station), theater pals Gene Allen and Rex Nockengust, co-producer Richard Vida, and her cousin Ann Hiatt and hubby Tom.

Personally, it was a hard show to swallow — loaded with nostalgic vignettes and remembrances and songs, some linked to her life — because of the finality, meaning this was the final curtain. Uh, but not exactly; last Monday, Lisa's ashes were scattered off The Royal Hawaiian hotel, with 50 showing up with lei, orchids and flower petals galore.

"When we got out there, we couldn't open the ashes, the container was so sealed," Vida said. "Lisa just didn't want to leave the party." ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Reach Wayne Harada at 266-0926. Read his blog Fridays in TGIF and at http://showandtellhawaii.honadvblogs.com.