Dean Pitchford, the Academy Award-winning composer-scriptwriter, is bringing the Oscar he won for "Fame" to Hawai'i this week.

"I'm sure Mr. Oscar will enjoy his Hawai'i vacation — he's always wanted to see the statue of Kamehameha — but I won't stop twitching until the little guy's back on my bookshelf in Los Angeles," Pitchford tells me.

See, Pitchford, a 1968 Saint Louis School alumnus, will be here this week to help boost a revival of "Footloose — The Musical," his Broadway musical based on his movie, which opens this Friday at Mamiya Theatre, with a Drama Gala this Saturday.

"For years, St. Louis alum Ray Wong has been after me to bring my Oscar with me to the Islands so that he — and other members of the Kalaepohaku family (that's where Saint Louis is located, off Wai'alae Avenue) — can see it in person."

But, in an era of no-no's while flying and tough airport security?

Pitchford feared TSA issues, "wondering how the scanners would react, whether I should get a letter from the Academy (of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences) or liaise with the airline, etc.," he said. His decision: "I simply decided to overnight the hardware to the president of Saint Louis School, Walter Kirimitsu."

His visit includes his class reunion with such Islanders as Jim Nicholson, Buddy Los Banos, Russell Siu and Chris Pablo. ...

Pitchford will do some teaching while he's here. "I'm also giving a two-week seminar in communication — personal and public — for a select group of 10 sophomores and 10 juniors. They won't know what hit them," Pitchford admits. It's akin to a master class. ...

WAIKIKI BUZZ: Watch for the March 18 launch of Kani Ka Pila Grille at the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. The restaurant-club, with its indoor-outdoor setting between the hotel's porte cochere and pool terrace, will fight the tide of restaurant closings with a wave of ambition and optimism ... the birth of a $100 million dream to mix pupu and lite dinner with formidable entertainment to achieve a jam session harkening back to the Territorial Tavern era, or Gabby Pahinui's Waimanalo lawn, or Peter Moon's Kanikapila songfests at the Waikiki Shell.

The return to gentler times and a focus on Island song and dance fits Kani Ka Pila, since kanikapila means "let's play music." Troupers include Cyril Pahinui, Weldon Kekuoha, Kawika Kahiapo and Martin Pahinui, Kauhaki, Manoa DNA, Kimo Kahoano and son Kamuela Kahoano. Hours will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. daily, with show slates TBA. ...

UP TOWN: Food is not the lone draw to Ed Kenney's town restaurant in Kaimuki, where folks can see another side of Diamond Head Theatre costume whiz Karen Wolfe's talent: 3-D soft sculpture made of fabric, in a series entitled "Inner Heart." Costume scraps from her theatrical endeavors, often inserted into her art, give her creations an inner heart. ...

Wood artist Aaron Padilla's works are also on view through March, part of town's art@town program. ...

An artist of another genre — Broadway actor Richard Vida — caught up with pals like Lisa Josephsohn at town the other night, with the latest insights of the stage scene. The upcoming "West Side Story" remount, bilingual edition, appears to have lots of promise, as does Jane Fonda in Moisés Kaufman's "33 Variations," at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. ...

WHEE, THE PEOPLE: Jasmine Trias will rejoin the Society of Seven Las Vegas for another five-week gig, starting this Friday through April 4, at the Outrigger Waikiki's Main Showroom. Reservations: 923-7469. ...

Despite his own prep work for his March 18 premiere of "Tuesdays With Morrie" at Manoa Valley Theatre, Greg Howell was backstage at the Waikiki nei Showroom at our tribute event to dress Tony Young for his Frank N Furter appearance, from MVT's "Rocky Horror Show." You know, wig, makeup, bustier and heels — all in a day's work. At Paul Brown, where Howell works, he met client Judy Lind, who was a student of Morrie Schwartz's at Brandeis University back in the 1960s. ...

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.