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Hawaii
FOR years I've seen fine actor Robert Duval wax eloquent on TV talk shows about his passion for the tango, and how important it was to his life. I thought he must have a bubble in his brain. Then came the "Frasier" episode in which Niles Crane and Daphne stop the show at a snooty dinner dance with a sexy rendition of the South American dance. Then I saw "Forever Tango" in San Francisco a few months ago and left the theater enthralled and revitalized. That same production, created and directed by Luis Bravo, opens an eight-performance run at the Hawaii Theater on May 28, and you can bet we'll be returning. The 14 dancers are sensual and artistic to be sure, along with a superb 11-piece orchestra. They're wrapping up an around-the-world tour that took them from S.F. to Europe and the Far East. Don't miss it ... Taken with the tango
IT'S a long way from the tango, but some young folks find the pelvic gyrations of Ricky Martin more to their liking. They'll be screaming their heads off Sunday and Monday when he performs at the Arena ... If Ricky's too hot for your taste, there's an alternative on Sunday. Ernie Chang has been dishing up music by his piano students for years in Hawaii, and some of his charges will be part of the "menu" he's prepared for a musical feast Sunday at Orvis Auditorium. Selections on the menu will be listed as "Appetizer," "Chef's Choice" and the like. "Special of the Day" performer is Wendy Yamashita, a Juilliard grad who's now on the UH piano faculty and who's soloed with the Honolulu Symphony a dozen times ...
Movin' on up
THINGS are looking up for Na Leo Pilimehana as they continue to move upward in their musical career. You see, after winning the "Brown Bags to Stardom" competition several years ago, the trio used to get exposure and experience singing in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center's ground floor Fountain Courtyard. Now the group is taking it to a higher level. Na Leo will perform a free musical concert on April 9 on the Shopping Center's rooftop, part of the center's 20th anniversary celebration, which runs April 1-9 and features other free shows by the Makena, Makaha Sons, Moe Keale, Peter Moon and Olomana ...TWO ex-Honolulu media types, Lyn Cruger (now living in Florida) and John Funk, who's made California home, reunited recently and as the two reminisced about the days of old in Honolulu, Cruger was curious as to how Funk was clearly up to date on happenings here. "It's easy," Funk explained. "I get a daily dose of Donnelly on the Internet." More kudos for starbulletin.com ...
SINCE undergoing open heart surgery in December, entertainer Keith Haugen has lost 30 pounds, including 4 inches off his waist. He decided to celebrate and so in December, one year after his operation, he and some supporters will don T-shirts dubbed "Haugen's Heroes" and they'll walk, not run, in the Honolulu Marathon ...
Cho busines
COMEDIAN Margaret Cho performed five sold-out shows of her one-woman act, "I'm the One that I Want," at Diamond Head Theatre earlier this year. On May 26, she'll return to appear at the Adam Baran Honolulu Gay & Lesbian Film Festival at the Hawaii Theatre and show a sneak preview of the film version of her much-praised work. It deals in part with her short-lived "All American Girl" sitcom ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
His columns run Monday through Friday.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com