ON STAGE
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Tourists arrive in the isles; the production even depicts the assimilation of visitors into the community.
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Waikiki nei
Everything from Hawaiian history and culture to big-wave surfing are presented with high-tech wizardry, flashy dancing and gentle humor
It took longer than expected, but "Waikiki nei," Waikiki's first new big-scale showroom attraction in recent memory, is up and running at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.
'WAIKIKI NEI'
Place: Fourth floor, Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center
Time: 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays and 8:30 p.m. nightly except Wednesdays and Thursdays
Tickets: $49 to $99 ($29 to $79 children 11 and under)
Call: 931-6100 or visit: www.waikikinei.com/tickets.html
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All things considered -- cast, costumes, music, high-tech bells and whistles -- the show is a welcome precedent-setting addition to the Waikiki entertainment scene. After all those references to Cirque du Soleil that were tossed around during the PR blitz last month, however, it must be said that this is not "Cirque Goes Hawaiian" -- nor is it intended to be anything close to it. And although the pre-opening shows last month were officially off the record, they were viewed by so many people that, in fairness to the official "Waikiki nei" show that opened Aug. 5, the following points are important:
» English narration provides clarity during the introduction. It also clearly conveys the show's themes -- the importance of preserving Hawaiian culture, and that all people have something to share with others.
» The political subtext of the 1893 overthrow of the kingdom is more easily understood, and the performance more poignant now than ever.
» The biggest high-tech numbers, depicting big-wave surfing and canoe paddling, are even more impressive.
Moving forward, Roy Tokujo promised that the show would be something "You can't see (in Las Vegas)." This imaginative but respectful look at Hawaiian culture fulfills his promise.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
The production wouldn't be a show about Hawaii without chant and hula, which open the show.
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The production opens with Hawaiian chant and hula, followed by the arrival of visitors via turn-of-the-20th-century steamer trunks. Several of the trunks "fly" down to the stage in the first of several eye-catching sequences that utilize the showroom's aerial gear.
Visitors and residents meet, gingerly exchange greetings, and then engage in cultural exchange. Hawaiians teach visitors how to dance hula, a visitor does a tap dance for the Hawaiians, and so on.
All this is colorfully staged, but the show really takes off with the first big high-tech number as Jonathan "iNTRiPiD" Sypert "catches" and rides a large "wave" center stage while several others "surf" around him. In spite of the fact that the audience can see the mechanics, the integration of choreographed surfers with the music, lighting sequences, backdrop and sound effects is impressive anyway.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
The colorful set for "Waikiki nei" includes high-tech mechanics that add drama to the storytelling.
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A big-wave canoe segment in which Marcus Quiniones rides a wave up almost into the crowd is another show stopper.
The story of Queen Liliuokalani's imprisonment shows a darker side of Waikiki history. The segment re-enacts how patriots snuck her newspapers by wrapping them around flowers from her estate in Waikiki.
Choreographer Peter Rockford Espiritu addresses current issues in a vibrantly staged number in which Hawaiians dance hula with sticks and pipes as they confront workers at a Waikiki construction site.
A balance to these grittier storylines comes in the evolution of Sypert's character: He arrives as a visitor riding a steamer trunk and is assimilated into the Hawaiian community.
Other familiar faces include Moses Goods III as a pahu drummer in the opening and a gardener in the Liliuokalani segment. Reb Beau Allen earns applause dancing in floppy swim fins, and Bobby Duncan stands out in several numbers as a comical tourist. It's worth noting that the humor is gentle -- visitors are never ridiculed.
That's one more message to take away: Everybody's a visitor when they're away from home.