Rhonda puts on
big, brassy show

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By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com

Big and brassy! That's the quickest way to describe the return of Rhonda, the single-named Maori entertainer who opened in the Esprit Nightclub at the Sheraton-Waikiki last weekend.

She's big and brassy, first, in terms of style and content. Rhonda, who trained for a career in opera before switching to pop music, is first and foremost a singer of big, expansive power ballads such as "This Is the Moment" and "One Moment in Time," and they're a predominant feature in her new show.

Rhonda Where: Esprit Nightclub, Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel When: 7:45 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays Admission: $20 plus a one-drink minimum (includes validated parking) Call: 221-7874

The show is also big in terms of the excitement that the self-styled "Queen of the South Pacific" is bringing to the room and to Waikiki. It's been a long time since there's been something as fresh as this on the Waikiki showroom scene -- in recent years the list of notable showroom acts has dwindled to four, namely the incomparable Don Ho at the Waikiki Beachcomber, the two Society of Seven groups at the Outrigger, John Hirokawa's "Magic of Polynesia" at the Hilton Hawaiian and comic Frank De Lima at the Ohana Reef Towers.

That's been it until now. Rhonda -- who is completely different from all of the above -- is a welcome addition to the small list.

She opens her show with a powerful rendition of the aforementioned "Moment" and follows it with an equally big treatment of "I Am What I Am," the triumphant transvestites' anthem from "La Cage aux Folles." After a few introductory comments, she continues on with an even bigger version of "One Moment in Time," and the theme is set. For power ballad fans and karaoke singers, this show's tailor-made for you!

Rhonda then does a medley of pop standards, some of which display her softer and more soulful side. The medley closes with -- you got it -- a cranked-up rendition of "Danny Boy."

Several selections, "One Moment in Time" in particular, will be familiar to friends and fans who saw her headline the Monarch Room in the late 1980s, and there's little here, in terms of material or arrangements, that feels more contemporary than that. On the other hand, even the most talented of performers can bomb badly with ill-conceived efforts to be trendy, and it's hard to beat a show that a talented and well-trained singer as Rhonda does with tunes she clearly enjoys singing.

The fact that most of her in-between song patter is autobiographical helps any first-timers understand how a Hawaii resident who bills herself as "Queen of the South Pacific" could sing both American show tunes and "Ave Maria" with equal conviction, before closing with several songs that reflect her Maori heritage.

The feel of playing in a big-showroom atmosphere is effectively underscored by the work of her backup group of Allan Fisher (keyboards), Robert Joyce (electric bass), Lucky Salvador (drums) and Robbie Ray (guitar).

Ultimately, like her predecessor Randy Smith, whose karaoke-style "Salute to Sinatra" show headlined the Esprit for more than a year, Rhonda connects with the audience because of the warmth of her personality and the fact that she obviously loves what she's doing onstage.

Rhonda is an engaging as the songs she sings, and we as the audience couldn't ask for a better addition to the Waikiki showroom scene.

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