A ‘Bright’ star in
swan songTHIS has always been a musical type of town, and there's not much to refute that these days. Ronnie Bright is doing what he does best, a musical at the Castle Performing Arts Center that features the talented young Kathleen Stuart. Her appearance as Anna in "The King and I" will be her swan song in Hawaii. After being the high point in musicals with Bright since the 5th grade, Stuart is graduating in June at age 16 and will attend Mountain View College in England, majoring in music and theater. I'll wager we'll hear more from her in the future ... Meanwhile, director Jim Hutchison and choreographer Matthew Pedersen have become a double threat. They worked together on "Kismet" for Army Community Theater, are in rehearsals for "Damn Yankees" at Diamond Head Theatre and will return to Fort Shafter for next season's opener, "A Chorus Line." ...
WHAT have we here? A production that's not a musical? Manoa Valley Theatre will be opening "Shear Madness" May 13. MVT head Dwight Martin had been in correspondence with the show's co-creator, Bruce Jordan, since 1989, but it was only last week that the two met face-to-face. Martin flew to S.F. to meet Jordan, see the production of "Shear Madness" there (he'd seen it in Boston) and get ideas for the localized version. Incidentally, the show has been running in Boston for 18 years, Chicago for 12 and Washington, D.C., for 10, making it the longest running nonmusical in American theater history ...
Nada, nada, nada
THE TV series that's become known as "the show about nothing," namely "Seinfeld," has already taped its final episode and everyone had to sign releases promising to reveal nothing about the ending. Most of the actors never even saw a final script, and so far the secret remains intact. There was but a minor chink in the "Seinfeld" armor when KCCN D.J. Ron Jacobs had an old pal of his, Reni Santoni, as a guest on his radio show. Santoni played "Poppy," a recurring role on the show, and mentioned almost casually that many of the people who'd popped up from time to time in the show's nine years were included in the finale. But I liked Bill Clinton's take on "Seinfeld" and what will replace it when it goes off the air. The prez told the audience of White House Correspondent Association members and guests that he thought Congress on CSPAN would be a good replacement. Said Clinton, "Now there's a show about nothing." ...WE'LL have Patricia Lee to brighten our morning newscasts on KHNL-TV beginning today. She replaces Diane Ako, who's moving to weekends. That opening occurred when Heidi Umbau left to follow her husband, former co-anchor Vince Gerasole, who's taken a job with WSB in Atlanta, the ABC affiliate there ...
Sliding or revolving
WHILE chatting with Mayor Jeremy Harris and wife Ramona at Palomino, waiting for the Miss Universe "delegates" to arrive, Mrs. Harris mentioned that they'd just seen "Sliding Doors" and enjoyed it. That's the Gweneth Paltrow flick in which two story lines are played out -- one, when she makes it through the sliding doors of the subway, and the other when they close in front of her, causing her delay. I just couldn't bring myself to ask Hizzoner if he took the film's message personally, with one set of circumstances should he step through the door and take on incumbent Ben Cayetano for the governorship, or stay safely on the other side and remain as mayor. The film had to have some message for him ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
His columns run Monday through Friday.Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.