Our Picks for the Weekend
Star-Bulletin staff
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FAMILY
Aiea students tackle Broadway and Hollywood
If you haven't heard, musical theater is hot again with the younger set and, in her second year as Aiea Intermediate School's drama teacher, Julia Lopresti will be directing seventh- and eighth-grade students in a show called "From Broadway to Hollywood."
Besides the ubiquitous "High School Musical," the students also will be doing numbers from "Fame," "Hairspray," "Dreamgirls," "Damn Yankees," "Victor Victoria" and "Grease," plus dance numbers from "Moulin Rouge" and "Cabaret."
The school's cafeteria has been renovated for large theatrical productions, and each performing student will have a wireless headset as part of a new sound system.
The school is located at 99-600 Kulawea St., and 7 p.m. performances Friday and Saturday are free. Call 483-7230, ext. 273.
MUSIC
Singer-songwriter Sedaka marks 50 years of hits
Legendary singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka returns to the Hawaii Theatre for a special acoustic concert. He'll be tickling the ivories, featuring the very best of his extensive catalog of songs, plus a Christmas tune or two.
His pop-song repertoire includes "I Must Be Dreaming," "Calendar Girl," "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen," "Breaking Up is Hard to Do," "Laughter in the Rain" and "Love Will Keep Us Together." Recording artists from Patsy Cline, Bobby Darin and Elvis Presley to the Captain and Tennille, Gloria Estefan and Sheryl Crow have all made hits of Sedaka-penned songs.
In June 2004, Sedaka was given the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Help celebrate 50 years of hits with Sedaka twice Sunday, at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., at the Hawaii Theatre. Tickets are $25, $37.50 and $45. Call 528-0506 or visit hawaiitheatre.com.
THEATER
Holiday package includes 2 HOT performances
Give the gift of big voices -- a Hawaii Opera Theatre package.
The $99 holiday special includes two tickets to a performance in the 2008 Grand Opera Season, a backstage tour, four copies of Cabalettas (the HOT newsletter) and an HOT coffee mug. Total value is $175.
The package is available through Dec. 21.
Choose from three performances: "Don Carlo," Feb. 1, 3 and 5; "The Barber of Seville," Feb. 15, 17 and 19; and "Romeo & Juliet," Feb. 29, March 2 and 4. All performances are in the Blaisdell Concert Hall, with English supertitles projected above the stage.
Don't want to settle for just one? Season ticket packages are also on sale. Call the HOT box office, 596-7858, or visit www.hawaiiopera.org.
TELEVISION
Movies special benefits industry foundation
First, it was "Fashion Rocks," the annual CBS special that combines music and clothing trendsetters to kick off New York's Fashion Week. Now it's "Movies Rock," airing 7 to 9 p.m. Friday.
Taped Sunday at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, the special, revolving around music and the role it's had in redefining the film industry, is a benefit for the Entertainment Industry Foundation, encompassing more than 300 social initiatives, from diabetes awareness to arts and music education to women's cancer research.
Artists will perform their favorite songs from popular films, like Fergie doing "Live and Let Die," Usher performing "Singin' in the Rain" and Chris Brown taking on Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock." Other performers on the show include Nicole Scherzinger, will.i.am, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Elton John, John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Nelly and Carrie Underwood.
FOOD
Mix Cafe
35 S. Beretania St. / 537-1191
The success of the Downtown Honolulu Culture and Arts District can be attributed to the "mix": the cosmic alignment of art, cuisine, multiple cultural traditions, fashion and people.
Acknowledging this powerful combination, Mix Cafe recently opened at 1133 Bethel St. to bring European clothing designs for men and women to the streets of Honolulu, while up the street and around the corner, Mix Cafe addresses a hunger for comfort cuisine that's part Italian, part Hawaii-American. Any current patron will tell you, that's a good mix.
Mix Cafe's chef-owner Bruno Iezzi can be counted on to continue adding, subtracting and experimenting with his mix of recipes and fresh seasonal ingredients. In other words, this is not a place for rigid types who must have the same thing prepared exactly the same way each visit.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mix Cafe owner Bruno Iezzi offers a plethora of unique sandwiches, salads and pasta at Mix Cafe in Chinatown.
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At this point, you'll find it's a place for quickie breakfasts, lunches and light or takeout suppers. Iezzi is currently working on differentiating the menu, as well as the space, for a more traditional dinner. He's thinking softer lighting, and more extensive seafood entree and pasta offerings, in about a month.
For now, diners can content themselves early in the morning with Bruno's omelet ($5.75) of his choice of ingredients, or scrambled eggs with a choice of sausage or bacon ($4.50).
During lunch and early dinner hours (current closing time is 7 p.m.), you'll find an array of sandwiches and small selection of pastas for $6.50 to $7.75. Selections vary depending on the chef's whims and availability of ingredients. Of note are fresh roast turkey and pork sandwiches.
Open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays; costs less than $10 per person.
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