‘Pops’ season shining with stars

Can the Honolulu Symphony's Pops season make the stars come out? How about Pat Benatar, the Temptations, Jake Shimabukuro, Na Leo, Wynonna Judd -- and the Beatles?

Well, that last one is actually a tribute to the 40th anniversary of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." But the rest are sure enough for real, and the whole package has substantially reduced ticket prices.

Matt Catingub is booked to conduct all seven Pops concerts, including the world premiere of Benatar's symphony pops show -- developed with Catingub -- before she takes it on the road.

All concerts are at the Blaisdell Concert Hall:

Pat Benatar: 8 p.m. Oct. 6 and 7. The "Queen of the '80s," a permanent Maui resident, actually began her musical career dabbling in opera, off-Broadway productions and New York's cabaret circuit before breaking out with stadium-shaking monsters such as "Heartbreaker," "Hit Me with Your Best Shot," "Love Is a Battlefield" and "We Belong."

"Give Our Regards to Broadway!": 8 p.m. Oct. 27 and 28. You can't get Catingub off the boards. This tribute to New York's "Great White Way" features local singers and the Honolulu Symphony Chorus. Top hat and tails are optional.

Jake Shimabukuro: 8 p.m. Nov. 24 and 25. It's always possible that Shimabukuro's ukulele will burst into flames -- yes, he's that zippity-doo-dah. One of Hawaii's true virtuosos of the home-grown instrument.

"Christmas with Na Leo": 8 p.m. Dec. 8 and 9. Gorgeous music and lovely harmonies expected from Hawaii's premier covey of songbirds, with guests from the Kamehameha Schools Glee Club and the Honolulu Symphony Chorus.

The Temptations: 8 p.m. Jan. 19 and 20. Ain't too proud to beg for more of Motown's R&B wonders. We're talking "My Girl," "The Way You Do the Things You Do," "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," "I'll Be There" and "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)," just to begin with.

Wynonna Judd: 8 p.m. March 30 and 31. Why Nonna, indeed? As the younger half of the Judds, Wynonna was part of one of the most successful singing duos of all time. Not just country duos, mind you. We're talking 20 million records, more than 60 industry awards, including five Grammys, nine Country Music Association Awards and eight Billboard Music Awards, and that's just as of this writing.

"Beatles Tribute": 8 p.m. April 27 and 28. JohnPaulRingoGeorge made musical history with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," creating not just a time capsule of GearFab London, but a new standard of song classics -- "With a Little Help from My Friends," "A Day in the Life," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "When I'm Sixty-four." See you on the flip side.

Information: 808-792-2000 or boxoffice@honolulusymphony.com to request a season brochure.

Note: The symphony's Halekulani Masterworks classical season was announced in Monday's Star-Bulletin. Find it at starbulletin.com/2006/03/13/features/story02.html.

Symphony revamps prices

Upcoming season ticket prices and seating were subjected for the first time, according to Honolulu Symphony officials, to rigorous examination and parceled out according to a "really scientific study." In other words, the market forces of supply and demand have moved into the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

Publicist Kristin Jackson said that in general, most seat prices and admissions have decreased. "We raised our highest-priced seats slightly for a full season subscription, from $756 to $812, because we haven't raised subs prices in several years," said Jackson. "The average patron spends around $350 per subscription. The Section A prices were the only ones that increased."

Last season, the lowest-priced Masterworks 14 subscription was $266. This season, it's $189. For the Masterworks and Pops series, a block of seven concerts can be had for $98; last season, it averaged $150. Other packages are still in the works.

"It is our mission to make attending the Honolulu Symphony more accessible to a wider audience, so we've significantly lowered subscription and single-ticket prices," said Jackson.

"The starting price for all concerts is $15 so that audiences can experience an unforgettable live musical performance for around the same price as seeing a movie."

Longtime subscriber Barbara Overholser , feels that balcony seats have gone up too much, and those in reduced-price areas have "terrible acoustics. The few available seats are in the bad-sound sections... I guess they want to make the price so high that people won't sit up there."