'WIZARD OF OZ'
Jimi Wheeler played the Tinman, and Dion Donahue, the Wizard, in Diamond Head Theatre's Production of "The Wizard of Oz," led the Hawaii State Theatre Council's annual Po'okela ceremonies, taking six awards last night.
Local theater shines
Diamond Head Theatre is
the big winner in the Po‘okela
Awards with a total of 15
CORRECTION
Wednesday, July 21, 2004Mikel Humerickhouse won the Po'okela Award for sound design for "Ragtime The Musical," presented by Diamond Head Theatre, boosting the musical's number of wins to six, not five as reported in a Page D1 story yesterday. The story incorrectly credited Humerickhouse's win to a different production.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.
Diamond Head Theatre's production of "The Wizard of Oz" took top honors with six Po'okelas, with the troupe's "Ragtime the Musical" following closely with five awards as the Hawaii State Theatre Council announced the recipients of the 21st Annual Po'okela Awards last night at the Koolau Golf Club.
DHT's pace-setting tally of 15 awards overall also included two for "Hello, Dolly!" and one for "Swing." The Actors Group received a total of seven, which included three apiece for "The Trip to Bountiful" and "Two Trains Running," the latter show presented as a co-production with Leonard Piggee's Honolulu African-American Repertory Theatre. Paliku Theatre received three awards for its spring production of "Noises Off."
Three other local theater groups received awards in at least one category.
'BAT BOY'
Shannon Loo won as Leading Male in a Musical in Manoa Valley Theatre's "Bat Boy."
The Po'okela Awards are presented by the Hawaii State Theatre Council to recognize and acknowledge excellence in local theater. The founders of the awards decreed that as many as three examples of excellence can be recognized in each category -- a policy that has been a subject of controversy within the theater community, and much public comment, over the years.The category that had three winners this year was Female in a Musical, with voters torn in narrowing their choices further than Tricia Marciel ("Kiss Me, Kate," ACT), Julia Ogilvie ("The Wizard of Oz," DHT) and Kathleen Sulieman ("The Wizard of Oz").
The adjudicators may also present up to two awards for achievements that fall outside the standard categories. Ten categories doubled up on winners, including Leading Female in a Play, with honors going to Jo Pruden ("The Trip to Bountiful," TAG) and Fan Xing ("Nozaki Village," UH); Featured Male in a Play, recognizing Moses Goods III ("Two Trains Running," TAG) and Brent Yoshikami ("Noises Off," PAL); Overall Musical kudos to DHT's "Ragtime the Musical" and "The Wizard of Oz"; and Overall Play honors going to TAG's "The Trip to Bountiful" and "Two Trains Running."
'RAGTIME THE MUSICAL'
Jerold Solomon, above, played Coalhouse Walker in "Ragtime the Musical," sharing Nonresident Guest Artist honors with his co-star Crystal Williams.
The HSTC Board of Directors chose the late Jo Diotalevi to receive its Pierre Bowman Award for lifetime achievement for her contributions at Kailua High School, Manoa Valley Theatre, Honolulu Theatre for Youth and on the Big Island.Two of Hawaii's major community theater groups, Honolulu Theatre for Youth and Kumu Kahua, again chose to opt out of Po'okela adjudication for 2003-04.
The adjudicators were therefore unable to consider the world-premiere productions of new works by Hawaii resident playwrights Dennis Carroll ("Massie/Kahahawai"), Lee A. Tonouchi ("Gone Feeshing") and Yokanaan Kearns ("Dis/ Troy") for excellence in the Original Script category, or to consider the work of Kumu Kahua and HTY actors and tech crews in any category.
As a result, there were no honorees in the Original Script category.
BACK TO TOP |
'NOZAKI VILLAGE'
Front to back: Xing Fan, Gilbert Molina and Chris Masato Doi star in "Nozaki Village," for which Xing won Leading Female in a Play recognition for the University of Hawaii.
Winner's list
Here are the winners of the 2004 Po'okela Awards:
Leading Male in a Play: Jim Tharp, "On Golden Pond," TAG
Theatre group abbreviations:ACT: Army Community Theatre
DHT: Diamond Head Theatre
HPU: Hawaii Pacific University
HSF: Hawaii Shakespeare Festival
MVT: Manoa Valley Theatre
PAL: Paliku Theatre (Windward Community College)
TAG: The Actors Group
UH: University of Manoa
Leading Female in a Play: Jo Pruden, "The Trip to Bountiful," TAG; and Fan Xing, "Nozaki Village," UH
Leading Male in a Musical: Shannon Kaleo Loo, "Bat Boy: The Musical," MVT
Leading Female in a Musical: Kim Anderson, "The Wizard of Oz," DHT
Featured Male in a Play: Moses Goods III, "Two Trains Running," TAG; and Brent Yoshikami, "Noises Off," PAL
Featured Female in a Play: Clara Ann Chorley, "Noises Off," PAL
Featured Male in a Musical: Scott Moura, "Man of La Mancha," ACT
Featured Female in a Musical: Tricia Marciel, "Kiss Me, Kate," ACT; Julia Ogilvie, "The Wizard of Oz," DHT; and Kathleen Sulieman, "The Wizard of Oz," DHT
Choreography: John Rampage, "Ragtime the Musical," DHT
Director of a Play: Sharon Adair, "The Trip to Bountiful," TAG
Director of a Musical: John Rampage, "Hello, Dolly!," DHT; and Scott Rogers, "Bat Boy: The Musical," MVT
Musical Director: Roslyn Catracchia, "The Wizard of Oz," DHT; and Donald Yap, "Hello, Dolly!," DHT
Set Design: Tom Giza, "Man of La Mancha," ACT
Costume Design: Sukey Dickinson, "Ragtime the Musical," DHT
Lighting Design: Dawn Oshima, "The Wizard of Oz," DHT
Sound Design: Mikel Humerickhouse, "Amadeus," DHT; and Rick Jackson, "Camelot," ACT
Nonresident Guest Artist: Jerold E. Solomon (actor), "Ragtime the Musical," DHT; and Crystal Williams (actor), "Ragtime the Musical," DHT
Ensemble: "Noises Off," PAL; "Swing," DHT; "Two Trains Running," TAG
Original Script: No honorees
Original Music Score: No honorees
Overall Musical: "Ragtime the Musical," DHT; and "The Wizard of Oz," DHT
Overall Play: "The Trip to Bountiful," TAG; and "Two Trains Running," TAG
Adjudicators' Special Excellence Awards: Mark Archibald (video design and editing), "Gunfighter," MVT; and Ricardo D. Trimillos (musical director), "Nozaki Village," UHM
Pierre Bowman Award: Jo Diotalevi
'TWO TRAINS RUNNING'
Gemini Burke as Holloway and Donna Sallee as Risa were part of the ensemble that led "Two Trains Running" to win Overall Play and Ensemble honors for The Actors Group.
Click for online
calendars and events.
