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Hawaii
THE circus came to town Wednesday and it was a hoot. Oh, not the Circus Maximus, which took place in front of the News Building when cleaners were hurriedly called by someone to block off the entrance and noisily disrupt a Save Our Zany time
in HonoluluStar-Bulletin news conference with their high-pressure hoses. No, I'm referring to the return of Cirque Eloize to the Hawaii Theater. Go and take your kids this weekend to see a magic amalgam of humor, dexterity and strength created by a company of French zanies. It contains live music created by an even zanier group of musicians whose leader, Pat Donaldson, looks like he could have stepped right out of a company of "The Rocky Horror Show." Oh yes, that show opens tonight at Leeward Community Theater with even more bizarros and the famed "Time Warp" song, which I've nominated as the theme for KHON-TV, which delays the showing of World Series weekday games until after the game itself is over. It's not like a true baseball fan couldn't get the score from CNN or ESPN ...
YOU'D have thought Auntie Pasto's had moved to Kailua when some 400 people supporting St. Anthony's School enjoyed a pasta lunch from restaurateur Ed Wary's eatery. He was an easy mark to hit up for the food since his daughter, Ellie, is a seventh grader at the school ... And at the "Back in Time" benefit for Parents and Children Together on the USS Missouri, it was a special trip back for one person there. Retired Navyman Glen Sears served aboard the battleship back in the 1940s and is especially proud that his son, Glen Jr., is in command of the ship now ...
Stroke of bad luck
FORMER State Deputy Sheriff of Hawaii Glen Sniffen is paralyzed on one side following a stroke. There'll be a fund-raiser to get him Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in hopes it's the answer to his prayers. Friends of Sniffen, who was assigned as personal security for then-governor John Waihee, have put together a no budget event with musicians donating their time. It'll be Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m. at Ocean Club in Restaurant Row. A $15 donation is requested with those "21 years of age or a little older" invited to attend ...PRODUCERS Robert Bates and Cassie Nii have been working on a proposed national TV series called "Fast Forward," dealing with providing info and inspiration for young people entering into the work force. They were shocked recently when the office of Vice President Al Gore contacted them to ask about it ... Scott Shirai, now living in Denver, has been named exec director of the Japan America Society of Colorado. It's a great way to get in touch with his roots, Shirai told friends. "Do you speak Japanese?" he was asked, at which point wife Michelle chirped in, "No, but he can sing Japanese." For some years while living in Hawaii, Shirai taught karaoke singing ...
Irish here and there
ALL members of the Celt-inspired music group Irish Hearts may not be Irish, but they all have that Irish feel and soul. And talk about flexible -- the group, which performs on alternate Fridays at O'Toole's Irish Pub downtown, will be performing in concert Nov. 11 at Star of the Sea Church. The concert costs just $10 with light refreshments after the music. So if you like Irish vocalizing, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bazouki, banjo, flute, pennywhistle, bodhran, concertina and harmonica, make it a point to join in. Hand-clapping and foot-tapping are encouraged ...
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