Hawaii

By Dave Donnelly

Monday, March 23, 1998

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Maui hoppin’ with
Hollywood types

LOTS of Neighbor Island activity of late: Gene Hackman and his wife dined at Roy's in Waikoloa. The actor's latest effort is one of those rare things in movies these days -- a film in which the three leading characters are all over 50. It's entitled, appropriately, "Twilight." ... That's not to be confused with "The Guiding Light," whose star, Frank Dicopoulos, sprang for a big time vacation for his wife, mom, dad, siblings and kids -- 11 total -- at Hyatt Regency Maui. Frank enjoyed the hotel's Napili Pool, had dinner with his mom at Swan Court and watched whales frolicking -- do they do anything else? -- off Kaanapali Beach ... Chef Philippe Padovani is leaving Lanai and will relocate in Honolulu where he's been signed on by Alana Doubletree G.M. Glenn Perry to handle food and beverage at the hotel ...

NOW here's somebody who's very well acquainted with the Neighbor Islands. She prefers a kind of anonymity, but when she boards the SS Independence for one of her inter-island excursions, the crew calls her Auntie Janey. She's a charter member of the ship's Holokai Hui, a frequent cruisers' club, and little wonder -- in the past five years the she's taken 40 cruises, her latest being "Hawaii Four-O." Why so much cruising? She calls it her "vitamin sea therapy." ...

Jack's still nimble

SURE, Jack de Mello left the islands he loved so much and about which he wrote and produced so many fine songs. But Jack is still nimble and quick. He now lives in Las Vegas where he reports the summer heat reaches 110 degrees "but with the wind chill factor, it plummets down to 108." Why Vegas? Let us count the ways. De Mello runs down a list: "Great new homes average about $100 per square foot in fee. Gasoline now priced at some stations at 99 cents per gallon. Strolling downtown Las Vegas is like a walk through Kaimuki, saimin stands and all. Even a few doughnut shops that feature malassadas and a radio station that has Hawaiian music." So is he still writing music? He is, he says, adding, "I'm following in the footsteps of my son, Jon." Jack surely misses Hawaii however. As he put it in a recent e-mail: "At night, while in Las Vegas, I often look to the west, past Mt. Charleston and I am certain I can see the glow, in the starlit desert sky, of the lyrical images of Keola Beamer's "Honolulu City Lights." ...

Musical cheers

IN many ways different, in some ways alike, both Manoa Valley Theatre's "Blood Brothers" and Diamond Head Theater's "Master Class" provide for some excellent theater. Neither are musicals in the "Damn Yankees" sense of the word. It seemed inappropriate to applaud the musical sections of "Blood Brothers," as they were merely part of the whole, along with narration and dramatic and comic acting. It's an ensemble show with many performers, and director Lolly Susi gets the most out of each of them. As for "Master Class," it's a bravura acting piece for Sylvia Hormann-Alper, who plays over-the-hill diva Maria Callas trying to pass on the secrets of acting, singing and living to students in her class (including the audience.) A couple of arias are sung by others, but the music was background to the message. Sad commentary: Neither house was close to full on Friday (MVT) and Saturday (DHT). In fact, the latter show's house was less full after intermission, and I'd guess the language in a dialogue Horman-Alper recreated between Callas and the vulgar and crude Ari Onassis in Act One sent some people running. Oh well, for them "Damn Yankees" is coming up next ...