By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
From left, Bautista, Tony Ruivivar, Sagum (holding sign)
and Wayne Wakai in the SOS' Beatles takeoff.
From left, Bautista, Tony Ruivivar, Sagum (holding sign)
and Wayne Wakai in the SOS' Beatles takeoff.
Classical rock 'n' roll, Broadway, celebrity impressions and comic gender-bending are key components of the new 90-minute production. The veteran front four -- Tony Ruivivar, Gary Bautista, Bert Sagum and Hoku Low -- preside with style and polish as the most prominent performers. Junior members Wayne Wakai, Roy Guerzo and Randy Abellar each shine as soloists, too.
SOS has been Waikiki's window on Broadway for years and has introduced many residents to the magic of "Les Miz," "Miss Saigon" and "Phantom of the Opera." This season's celebration of the national revival of "The King & I" is a another production-in-miniature that local community theater groups might envy.
An elaborate backdrop and gorgeous costumes establish the setting; inspired arrangements offer fresh perspectives on familiar material. Anna (Bautista) eventually arrives via rickshaw for a zesty encounter with the King (Sagum). Bautista is very pretty in pink; the irrepressible Sagum has a hard time keeping a straight face.
Burt Sagum, right, and Gary Bautista in a
bit that has Bautista looking pretty in pink.
Oldies and Broadway both figure in the first big theme segment. The oldies are the classical rock, and rhythm and blues compositions of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller -- a musical anthology of their work has hit New York as "Smokey Joe's Cafe." Lieber and Stoller wrote hits for groups as diverse as the Coasters ("Yakkety Yak" and "Charlie Brown") and Elvis. The King eventually appears in duplicate with Bautista and Sagum offering distinctly different perspectives.
Impressions are a hit elsewhere as SOS portrays other recording acts who topped the charts. The cast includes The Chipmunks (Bautista, Sagum, Low), Tony Orlando (Abellar), Chubby Checker (Sagum), and the Four Seasons (Low). Bautista's impression of Kyu Sakamoto ("Sukiyaki," 1963) is nicely done and a judicious gesture to any Japanese tourists in the house.
The entire group gets into the act as fully costumed Village People. They follow that with a salute to the Beatles. Bautista applies his skills as an impressionist, singing "Yesterday" as it might sound when interpreted by familiar pop music icons.
The most ambitious and risky material goes well beyond Sagum's traditional mugging. SOS has done basic "boys will be girls" drag stuff for years, but when Ruivivar and Bautista mince and pout through "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" -- singing the Barbra Streisand/Neil Diamond hit to each other -- they're going in a provocative new direction.
The group goes on a gender-bender singing "girls' songs" like "Where The Boys Are" (Bautista), "I Will Survive" (Abellar) and "Stand By Your Man" (Ruivivar, Bautista, Sagum and Low). Ruivivar steals the show as he laughs his way through "Hey, Big Spender."
Audience participation, another SOS staple, works well, too. Three men from the audience get a one-minute course in Elvis impersonation. The idea never seems to fail.
Neither does SOS.
What: Society of Seven