NEW YORK — Loretta Ables Sayre, the Hawai'i native starring as Bloody Mary in Lincoln Center Theater's "South Pacific," has signed on for another six months, so she'll continue to be a resident New Yorker through early January next year.

We caught up with Ables Sayre and hubby David Sayre over lunch at Bobby Flay's Bar Americain in New York last week. Over chit-chat, she revealed that the musical is back to sell-out status after a brief dip. And while "South Pacific" launches a national tour in San Francisco this fall, the 2008 Tony nominee won't be part of that company.

"At this age, I am happier to be staying on terra firma," she said. "Living out of a suitcase, traveling and rehearsing like crazy in every city ... or going to work across the street from Lincoln Center? It's a no-brainer."

She's also stepping out, taking in her first Broadway show -the Tony Award-winning "Billy Elliot" — and looks forward to seeing more in the months ahead.

Ables Sayre was one of an elite Broadway group recently photographed by Bruce Weber in a Vanity Fair International magazine spread that paid homage to Broadway stars such as Philip Seymour Hoffman. ...

On this Broadway jaunt, we're seeing 11 shows over seven days. Costly but captivating joy.

The gotta-sees? "Billy Elliot: the Musical," "God of Carnage" and "Next to Normal." Stellar for different reasons.

And if you can bear it, explore the trilogy of "The Norman Conquests," but know it's an endurance challenge. After breakfast, we hit the first show at 11:30 a.m., took a lunch break, then ventured to the second at 3:30 p.m. Took a bath break, then made the finale at 8 p.m., then had a late dinner. It's a marathon, but I'm glad I did it, since "Norman" closes July 26. ...

OK, some show observations: "God of Carnage," at the Jacobs Theatre, is a battle royale about two couples bickering over how one couple's son wronged the other couple's son. So funny and powerful, but there are expletives aplenty. Like a modern-day "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," it's foul but not filthy. Jeff Daniels and Hope Davis are one couple, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden the other; the Yasmina Reza piece shows how ugly things can get when parents rant like maniacs and shoot off verbal fireworks. Harden won a Tony for this role; she shrieks and she shines ... supreme social satire. There's a "first" here, too: Davis pukes, and splatters and messes up everything. Second caution: avoid front-row seats. ...

 "Billy Elliot: the Musical" at the Imperial Theatre is this year's Best Musical Tony winner — and it is a wondrous show fueled by feel-good determination. Kiril Kulish was Billy in the show we saw — lanky, sweet-voiced and a terrific hoofer who not only does ballet but also taps. He won the Tony (shared with David Alvarex and Trent Kowalik, who alternate as Billy). You know the story: Brit kid, forced to take boxing lessons, becomes infatuated with ballet, prodded by Mrs. Wilkinson (Haydn Gwynn, who originated the role in London), the ballet teacher. His blue-collar dad (Gregory Jbara), out of work and a rigid traditionalist, forbids Billy to dance, so Billy has to pursue his dream without his family's blessing.

 One other kid trouper, as the cross-dressing Michael (David Bologna), is a firecracker oozing with personality and pipes. Alas, the Elton John score lacks a surging hit song.

"Next to Normal," at the Booth Theatre, is a musical about mental illness. It has a rich Tom Kitt score that sounds like a cross of "Rent" (edgy rock tempos) and "Aida" (musical narratives to tell the story).

For more Broadway blogs, go to http://showandtellhawaii.honadvblogs.com, where I'm sharing diary notes. ...

And that's Show Biz...

Reach Wayne Harada at 266-0926. His blog also appears Friday in TGIF.