Hutchison's life to be celebrated on Friday
By Wayne Harada
A who’s-who in entertainment — actors, actresses, directors and musicians and more — will assemble for a “Celebration of Life” at 3 p.m. this Friday at Diamond Head Theatre, in remembrance of veteran show biz icon Jim Hutchison, a Maikiki resident who died last Thursday at age 75 from bladder cancer.
Hutchison was a director, dancer, choreographer, actor, producer and show biz veteran on and off stage, who had nearly 40 years of experience in shows on Broadway, on TV, in films and in Island musicals, dramas and dance productions.
The initial list of performers include fellow directors Terence Knapp and Glenn Cannon, singers-actors Shari Lynn, Cathy Foy-Mahi, Dennis Proulx and Zenia Zambrano, and accompanists Don Conover, Donald Yap and Beebe Freitas, with Freitas’ actress-composer daughter Roslyn also slated. Ballet Hawaii dancers also will perform.
Hutchison’s two children with actress-singer Wisa D’Orso, son Kurt and daughter Tita, are also expected to take the stage.
Hutchison was artistic director at Honolulu Community Theatre (now Diamond Head Theatre) for 18 years and has served on the Ballet Hawaii board of directors and taught dance there for many seasons.
A reception will follow the program, hosted by Devon and Tim Guard and Indru and Gulab Watumull, plus other friends of Hutch, as he was called by his peers.
Show and Tell Hawai'i
April 20th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Tears are in my eyes as I write this- my experience with Mr. Hutchison was brief, but one that I will always hold dear. In some ways, he changed my life. I was an extremely shy 8th grader who had a love for singing. I had dreams of performing and loved watching musical theatre, but it just was not in my personality. Still, I did audition after audition at different theatres, and though I usually made it past the first singing round, I could never get the dance steps right. Then I auditioned for Scrooge at Diamond Head theatre. The auditions were private, just the pianist and Mr. Hutchison. I will always remember his kindness, as he could tell that I was so nervous before my audition song ("Not while I'm around"). His compliments after I sang made me feel like a million bucks. And I got in to the musical, he even made me the oldest sister in the Miyashiro family- we got our own scene! I never once remember him raising his voice or being stressed that we couldn't get our steps right. He only showed us patience, kindness, and humor. It was one of the most special Christmases of my life. I gained so much confidence from his belief that I could be a part of his show.
He surely touched and changed the lives of more people than he ever knew.
April 20th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Sounds like quite an impressive tribute. But then again Jim Hutchison was a considerable talent and impressive man.