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Wood Craft
Ben Wood
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COURTESY LOUIS VUITTON
A reception for the "A Little Night Music" cast was held at Louis Vuitton Ala Moana after Sunday's matinee. From left are: Louis Vuitton's Regional Vice President Dale Ruff, cast member Rosalind Elias, cast member Kristin Stone, Hawaii Opera Theatre's Executive Director Karen Tiller and HOT's General and Artistic Director Henry Akina. Louis Vuitton presented the HOT Summer Season show.
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‘A Little Night Music’ should not be missed
The Hawaii Opera Theatre's "A Little Night Music" is a big success, propelled by a large, handsome cast that is strong throughout in voice and acting skills. The
Stephen Sondheim show is full of fun with tangled romances, both old and new, that crop up unexpectedly involving three households full of colorful characters. The visiting stars are excellent and so are local performers, such as
Kristin Stone, Mary Chesnut Hicks and
Dion Donahue, who hold their own with the visiting pros. And Hawaii's
Leslie "Buz" Tennent is fabulous as a pompous count. He wants to duel with an older attorney (
Jake Gardner), who is married to an 18-year-old girl (
Elizabeth Luna) but finds he is in love with a former girlfriend, an actress (
Diane Alexander), who is more his age. The attorney's son (
Derek Taylor) is in love with his dad's young wife. What's more, the actress is the count's mistress ...
The count's wife tries to make her husband jealous by making a play for the attorney during a stay for the three families at the country estate of the actress' rich mom (Rosalind Elias). Stone portrays the actress' daughter, who lives with her rich grandma, and Chesnut Hicks is granny's servant. She has a lengthy, intimate romp in the grass with Donahue, another servant. Must have been something in the air to make all these people so romantic. A group dinner is beautifully staged with spectacular lighting. Incidentally, all of the characters arrive at the country estate with servants carrying their Louis Vuitton bags. L.V. is the sponsor of the show, smoothly directed by Henry Akina. It's loads of fun and plays Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. at Blaisdell Concert Hall. A reception for cast members and opera supporters was held at Louis Vuitton Ala Moana after Sunday's show ...
Before attending Sunday's matinee of "A Little Night Music" I had a late lunch at Romano's Macaroni Grill. Hostess Cat Masuda sang operatic selections for guests. Her rendition of "O Mio Babbino Caro" was a beaut. Cat is a Kamehameha and USC graduate. I thought Cat would be a music major but no, she studied psychology. Also eating at Romano's Sunday were Body Balance Centre's Maria Torcia-Burke, her husband, Rick, and their son Massimiliano, 6 ... Unfortunately, Lisa Josephsohn's cancer has returned and she took a trip to L.A. to discuss the problem with her doctor. She stayed with a friend and thought she had slammed a door too hard because the house shook a bit. Then it really started shaking as the recent earthquake hit the area exactly when she slammed the door. Lisa is no longer slamming doors ...
It was a great Sunday for former UH quarterback Colt Brennan, who led the Washington Redskins to a 30-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the Hall of Fame exhibition game, and for Hawaii's Parker McLachlin, who won the PGA Legends golf tourney in Reno. Congratulations to both ... Congrats also to Starwood's public relations chief Candice Kraughto, who celebrated her birthday Sunday. Generous husband Keith Kraughto gave her a Louis Vuitton watch, purse and wallet ...
Ben Wood, who sold the Star-Bulletin in the streets of downtown Honolulu during World War II, writes of people, places and things in our Hawaii. E-mail him at
bwood@starbulletin.com