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COURTESY BAT-EL SHIMI
Patricia Watson wrote and stars in "Soulmates."


Lively rock opera
deserves a wider audience


A YOUNG woman on Maui has done something no one before her has done: written a rock opera for herself.

Patricia Watson is the singer's name, and "Soulmates," a no-spoken-words musical, is her "baby." It got a sensational professional treatment over the weekend at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theater.

Watson has not only written memorable tunes and created meaningful situations, she has managed to write about love, including love of God, without seeming the slightest bit preachy.

She's also surrounded herself and her youthful cast with seasoned pros -- people such as poet/songwriter Rod McKuen, actress Mary Jo Catlett and especially veteran director David Galligan, whose specialty has been musicals.

"Soulmates" fairly filled the handsome theater at Friday's opening but can never hope to be considered a success based on a three-night run. It needs to be -- and is good enough to be -- picked up for a Honolulu run and beyond.

The rock opera is in the style of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Tommy."

The leading lady is Watson herself. Also featured are Watson's love interest in the show, played by international recording artist James Milanesa; Sasha Alexander, a singer and video artist; and especially Big Island singer Priscilla Basque, a sultry performer who has several steamy scenes and songs with Joe (Milanesa) in the early going. They sing "Searching for the Money," "Lies" and "Let's End It While We're Still Friends."

The remarkable Watson writes tuneful and memorable songs for others as well as herself. And director Galligan has done some remarkable staging with the 20-plus ensemble in various embodiments.

The evening starts out with a ballet ("Oh What a Planet") and includes a video of Watson on Maui that could find a home on MTV, a religious service featuring McKuen as a priest who sings a homily he wrote himself, "September Comes Around (Too Soon)," a look at life and impending death.

Catlett plays a playful nun, a far cry from her past roles -- on Broadway in "Hello Dolly" as the original Ernestina with Carol Channing, or on television's "Diff'rent Strokes" or "General Hospital," for which she was nominated for an Emmy.

A team of record producers, surrounded by cheerleaders, sings "We've Got the Team" while rolling around stage in executive chairs.

My favorite number featured Watson and some of the bar girls sitting around a piano, which the actress plays while singing a lament, "Johnny's in Jail." It's a rocker, professionally played, as was everything in the show.

There's a wedding scene set in Hawaii, which thankfully doesn't include "The Hawaiian Wedding Song," and the whole evening concludes with a foot-stomping, hand-clapping rock concert that brings all the main characters together.

There are more talented performers in this show than space allows to recognize, but special mention must go to Curtis Williams, Lono, Kelly Covington and dancer Heidi Lee Hart, who also served as choreographer.

Galligan provided the kind of musical direction we seldom see in Honolulu, let alone on Maui.

And Watson has to be singled out for envisioning her dream, sticking with it for years until she could somehow come up with the money to mount it. The songs are memorable long after one has left the theater, something Broadway hits such as "Urinetown" can't claim. Here's a personal wish that "Soulmates" gets the kind of attention that will give it the success it deserves.



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