Wayne Harada
Star-Advertiser
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Past articles by Wayne:
Show Biz: Christmas cheer for Hawaii VIPs, entertainers
* CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM Actor Jason Momoa addressed kupuna (elders) on Mauna Kea Access Road on July 31, 2019. ’Twas a few days before Christmas And all through the aina; Auwe! Santa was blockaded By the protesters — a downah. “Now Dasher, now Dancer, “Now Prancer and Vixen,” He called out his reindeer To hasten the fixing. St. Nick had gifts to deliver, To folks… → Read More
Show Biz: Shari Lynn to perform at 4 festive gigs in December
Entertainer Shari Lynn anticipated a somewhat quiet December, with only a couple of gigs to wind up the year. Then the phone started ringing, and her calendar started filling up, merrily rolling toward a festive and bountiful season mixing jazz, standards and yes, Christmas fare. → Read More
Show Biz: Emme Tomimbang’s TV special chronicles Willie K’s cancer journey
Two years ago, TV producer Emme Tomimbang started tracking entertainer Willie K’s battle with an aggressive form of lung cancer, filming segments while he was hospitalized as well as on the performance stage. → Read More
Show Biz: Changes afoot for Bette Midler, Bruno Mars
Hawaii’s M&M stars — that would be Bette Midler and Bruno Mars — have been grabbing headlines in recent weeks. → Read More
Show Biz: Tihati Productions extravaganza will celebrate 50th anniversary
Tihati Productions is planning a mammoth 50th anniversary gala, set for Dec. 14 at the Sheraton Waikiki ballroom. For the first time in the company’s history, four shows on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, each with Saturday evening performances. will deliberately go dark to enable 100 singers, dancers and musicians to perform en masse in the largest assembly of Tihati troupers, spread over three… → Read More
Show Biz: Shari Lynn carries on jazz tradition at La Pietra
If youre a jazz buff, the place to be on Sept. 8 is Sunset Jazz: A Sentimental Journey, which marks the 20th anniversary of the jazz fest held on the Great Lawn of La Pietra (aka the Hawaii School for Girls), in the shadow of Diamond Head in Waikiki. → Read More
Show Biz: Newly redesigned ‘Phantom’ chandelier is quite a spectacle
The gigantic chandelier, which descends from the ceiling of the Blaisdell Concert Hall in the final moments of Act 1 in The Phantom of the Opera, is the centerpiece of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. → Read More
Show Biz: Bygone restaurants in Hawaii evoke a menu of cherished memories
When youre of a certain vintage like old, in the 60s through the 80s dining out at a favorite restaurant from the past is difficult, challenging and nearly impossible. → Read More
Show Biz: Paring down record collection recalls musical memories
After 60 years of collecting records, my treasures are mostly gone. → Read More
Actress Ruthie Ann Miles to star in new CBS legal drama ‘All Rise’
Ruthie Ann Miles, the Tony Award-winning Broadway actress with Hawaii roots, will co-star in All Rise, a CBS legal drama this fall. → Read More
Show Biz: Musical shows spotlight 2 seasoned female performers
Two formidable shows, with two seasoned women demonstrating passion for their craft, dominated the island music scene this month. → Read More
Show Biz: Island locale, actors seem natural for ‘South Pacific’ reboot
South Pacific, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical based on James Micheners Tales of the South Pacific, is being made into a new film, and Hugh Jackman has been tapped to play Emile de Beque. It will update the original 1958 film, which was shot in Hanalei, Kauai, and directed by Joshua Logan, with Rossano Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor in the principal roles. → Read More
Show Biz: The best of Broadway
NEW YORK >> Broadway has been bustling with diversity en route to tonights Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall (7 p.m., CBS). → Read More
Show Biz: Former islanders bring their aloha spirit to Broadway
NEW YORK >> The Hawaii spirit lives onstage and offstage in the Big Apple. During a recent nine-night stay I convened with former islanders over lunch and dinner, to catch up on each others lives. In-between the Broadway productions, of course. → Read More
Show Biz: Mary Gutzi brings standards, Broadway flair to Blue Note Hawaii
Mary Gutzi, a Broadway actress-singer, loves the life of a gypsy. She travels to wherever a role or mission beckons, on land or at sea, but her heart remains in Hawaii. → Read More
Show Biz: Rap Reiplinger’s widow pens revealing biography
Leesa Clark Stone had a whirlwind courtship with the late Rap Reiplinger, who initially skipped a blind date with her. Turns out, she would become the only love of his life. → Read More
Show Biz: Entertainers fondly remember composer Jack de Mello
Jack de Mello, the pioneering arranger-conductor-recording artist whose majestic symphonic treatment of island songs reached a global audience, routinely used a pencil never a baton to conduct his orchestra. He died at age 102 on April 27 in Las Vegas. → Read More
Show Biz: Manoa Valley Theatre’s producing director devoted 38 years
From the get-go in 1980, when Dwight Martin became producing director of Manoa Valley Theatre, it was clear that hed pledged his allegiance to the theater. After a 38-year tenure, hes retiring on July 31 and his exit comes amid MVTs activity-filled ongoing 50th-anniversary season. → Read More
Show Biz: Former UH athlete Tumua Tuinei shares comedy at Blue Note
Tumua Tuinei, former University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors player-turned-comedian, makes his Blue Note Hawaii debut Wednesday. He joins headliner Andy Bumatais Comic to Comic series. → Read More
Show Biz: Lei Day celebration returns under new direction from Hawaiian trio Keauhou
Shortly after Robert Cazimeros glorious resurrection of Lei Day last year at Bishop Museum, he bequeathed without ceremony the responsibility for the 2019 production if there was going to be one to Keauhou, comprised of musicians-singers Zachary Lum, his brother Nicholas Lum and Jonah Solatorio. → Read More