Star-Bulletin Features


Tuesday, July 27, 1999



By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Andrew Sakaguchi, left, is "sharing" his award for "Kiss of
the Spider Woman" with the other male lead, Guy Merola. The
production also starred Yvonne Filius as the Spider Woman.



Po‘okela winners share
credit with co-star

By John Berger
Special to the Star-Bulletin

Tapa

NO one can say the seven adjudicators who nominate their favorite shows and actors for Hawaii State Theatre Council Po'okela Awards and then select the winners lack a sense of humor. A couple of their nominations this year proved that beyond doubt, but by the time the last winner was announced last night a numbingly unfocused play and appallingly miscast actress were among the also-rans and a number of deserving contenders had new "Pokies" on their resumes.

Where the adjudicators got it wrong the recipients set the record straight.

The adjudicators routinely present multiple awards, and in the case of Manoa Valley Theatre's "Kiss of the Spider Woman," where the on-stage chemistry between Guy Merola and Andrew Sakaguchi gave the show its dramatic intensity, two awards were merited. However, the adjudicators ignored Merola's performance entirely, so Sakaguchi announced that he was "sharing" his Po'okela for Leading Male (Musical) with Merola.

Diamond Head Theatre Artistic Director John Rampage also acknowledged Merola's importance while accepting a Pokie as director of the MVT show.

"Spider Woman" accounted for six of 10 Pokies received by MVT for the 1998-99 season. "The King & I" took nine of the 11 won by DHT. Hawaii Pacific University received six. Army Community Theatre and Honolulu Theatre for Youth were awarded three each. None of the thought-provoking work by the UH-Manoa theater program was deemed worthy of an award. ASATAD's non-PC "How I Learned To Drive" was snubbed as well.

However, the 10th time was the charm for perennial also-ran David F. Kleist. He won Leading Male (Play) for "Jake's Women," his final performance here.

The results reinforced the view that the adjudicators find greatest excellence in well-funded productions of mainstream Broadway and off-Broadway material, and lessor excellence in material from outside that milieu. HSTC member Kumu Kahua, major showcase for island playwrights, opts out of the Po'okela process for that reason, and the most impressive local script of the past year, Lee Cataluna's "Da Mayah," was therefore not considered.

Sound design, crucial to staging contemporary musicals, isn't acknowledged. A category should be added.

The accceptance speeches were generally short and to the point. Rampage took advantage of one of his trips to the podium to call for unity between theater groups. Richard Pellett invited folks who support big-budget musicals to check out the smaller dramatic shows. Martha Walstrum reminded the crowd that the 1998-99 season is actually still in progress and asked crowd and adjudicators alike to not overlook MVT's "Angels In America: Perestroika." Jim Hutchison paraphrased from "My Fair Lady" in accepting a long-overdue award for his decades of work here. Cynthia See thanked a reviewer for going "all the way to Haleiwa" to see her award-winning play, "Under A Shared Sky."

HSTC host Chuck Anctil and co-announcers Jodie Leong and Keoki Kerr presided over a smoothly produced show.


Winning theater

Star-Bulletin

Tapa

Here are the winners in the Hawaii State Theatre Council's 16th annual Po'okela Awards honoring excellence in theater. The awards were presented at a ceremony last night:

Leading male in a play
Bullet David F. Kleist, "Jake's Women," Manoa Valley Theatre

Leading female in a play
Bullet Stephanie Fodor, "The Diary of Anne Frank," Hawaii Pacific University

Leading male in a musical
Bullet Kalani Brady, Fiddler on the Roof," Army Community Theatre
Bullet Andrew Sakaguchi, "Kiss of the Spider Woman," Manoa Valley Theatre

Leading Female in a Musical:
Bullet Stefanie Smart, "The King & I," Diamond Head Theatre

Featured Male in a Play:
Bullet Richard Pellet, "Light Up the Sky," Hawaii Pacific University

Featured Female in a Play
Bullet Martha Walstrum, "Moon Over Buffalo," Diamond Head Theatre

Featured male in a musical
Bullet Matthew Pedersen, "A Chorus Line," Army Community Theatre

Featured female in a musical:
Bullet Vanessa R. Chang, "The King & I," Diamond Head Theatre

Choreography:
Bullet Greg Zane, "The King & I," Diamond Head Theatre

Director of a play
Bullet Clarke Evans, "Jake's Women," Manoa Valley Theatre
Bullet Joyce Maltby, "The Diary of Anne Frank," Hawaii Pacific University

Director of a musical
Bullet John Rampage, "Kiss of the Spider Woman," Manoa Valley Theatre
Bullet Alyson Reed, "Oliver!," Diamond Head Theatre

Musical Director:
Bullet Melina Lillios, "Kiss of the Spider Woman," Manoa Valley Theatre
Bullet Oliver Stone, "The King & I," Diamond Head Theatre

Set design
Bullet Don Ranney, "Kiss of the Spider Woman," Manoa Valley Theatre
Bullet Wally White, "The King & I," Diamond Head Theatre

Costume design
Bullet Sukey Dickinson, "The King & I," Diamond Head Theatre

Lighting design
Bullet Cathie Anderson, "Jake's Women," Manoa Valley Theatre
Bullet Stephen Clear, "Kiss of the Spider Woman," Manoa Valley Theatre
Bullet Dawn Oshima, "The King & I," Diamond Head Theatre

Ensemble
Bullet "Light Up the Sky," Hawaii Pacific University
Bullet "New Kid," Honolulu Theatre for Youth
Bullet "Pageant," Manoa Valley Theatre

Original Script:
Bullet "Under a Shared Sky," Cynthia See, Honolulu Theatre for Youth

Overall musical
Bullet "The King & I," Diamond Head Theatre
Bullet "Kiss of the Spider Woman," Manoa Valley Theatre

Overall Play:
Bullet "The Diary of Anne Frank," Hawaii Pacific University
Bullet "New Kid," Honolulu Theatre for Youth

Pierre Bowman Award
Jim Hutchison

Special excellence awards:
Bullet Army Community Theatre for the Readers Theatre series
Bullet Hawaii Pacific University for outstanding and unique playbills and tickets




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