Showgirls cast
By John Berger
their magic well
Special to the Star-BulletinA multi-faceted "local girl" shines as an unbilled star of Showgirls of Magic at Studio 1 Hawaii. Showgirls doing magic in bikinis is the draw. Acrobats, a juggler, audience participation and an impression of Janet Jackson add depth and variety without being filler. In short, Showgirls has more to offer than its preopening hype suggests.
Brightest star of all is the talented Julie Northrup. Her name may not register but she's a Farrington grad who gained fame on the local dance club scene in the contest-winning duo Oscar & Julie, made a career move to Vegas and established herself there, and later returned for a season with Legends in Concert. In two words: She's hot!
Northrup emerges from the ensemble to star as lead dancer, primary illusionist and mistress of ceremonies. She also appears in a show-stopping impression of Janet Jackson ("Janet" vanishes from the stage and reappears elsewhere); a member of the audience assists Northrup with another illusion.
Northrup's final number, "Snow Angels," incorporates hints of hula as she recalls growing up in Honolulu and imagining what it might be like to play in snow.
And then there are the dancers. Local choreographers will certainly find fresh ideas in the synchronized dance numbers. We're selling all-American female sex appeal, guys!
The illusions are likewise short and snappy. Northrup appears and disappears in various ways. A duck materializes under seemingly impossible circumstances. A dancer is shut up in a box that is then pierced with an assortment of objects, the objects are removed and the dancer reappears wearing a different costume. (John Hirokawa has done at least three of the showgirls' illusions previously at Magic of Polynesia at the Hilton Hawaiian.)
Self-appointed guardians of public morality and feminist enforcers of female propriety need not fret. The costumes show nothing that can't be legally displayed in public. There's a bit more skin than currently shown by the Legends dancers but there's nothing Honolulu can't handle.
And so Showgirls of Magic is poised to build on the success of Magic of Polynesia and Legends in Concert in entertaining our increasingly international showroom clientele.
Opinion? People thought Jack Cione was crazy when he presented Prince Hanalei and the Follies Polynesia at the International Market Place in 1977. Others questioned Roy Tokujo's launching of Magic of Polynesia and John Stuart's opening of Legends In Concert in the Aloha Showroom (Hirokawa is in his eighth year headlining at the Hilton; Legends is in its fifth year here). If Showgirls is given time enough to establish its niche, it could become Honolulu's follies for the millennium.
Beyond illusion
What: Showgirls of Magic
