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Bruno Mars is the BRIT’s International Male Solo Artist

Wayne Harada — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:10:51 +0000

Though he came out winless in the recent Grammy Awards, local boy Bruno Mars copped the International Male Solo Artist at the BRIT Awards 2012, topping Aloe Blacc, Bon Iver, David Guetta and Ryan Adams.
He was the competition’s Best International Breakthrough Act at last year’s competition, providing he’s still a popular fixture on the global music scene. “I want to thank everybody in the UK for supporting me,” said Mars.
His global counterpart for International Female Solo Artist was Rihanna.
Other gong winners included Lana Del Rey, International Breakthrough Act; Adele, British Female Solo Artist and MasterCard British Album of the Year; Ed Sheeran, British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act; Coldplay, British Group; The Foo Fighters, International Group; One Direction, British Single; and Blur, Outstanding Contribution.
Mars told the Brits that his second album should be released sometime soon.

'Five-0' back in form, winning Monday slot

Wayne Harada — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:21:43 +0000

CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” has found its voice again, recovering lost viewers over the past week, drawing 10.20 million viewers Monday night (Feb. 20). It led its hour with a 2.8 adults 18-49 rating, besting an also-improving “Castle” on ABC (9.66 million viewers, 2.1 adults 18 to 49) and a declining “Smash” on NBC (6.47 million viewers, 2.39 adults 18 to 49), according to preliminary overnight Nielsen ratings numbers.
Tapping Hawaiian culture and loaded with local color and guest stars, the “Five-0” segment, “Kūpale, earned sufficient points for effort and a demerit or two for execution.
The theme of na koa Hawaiian warriors, duking it out in traditional costumes in an ancient artistry of warfare, was certainly an opportunity to depict a rarely seen and photographed element of Hawaiian culture. The peg to economic greed (involving ferry service), however, was a bit far-fetched, and a crime involving shark-toothed weapons clearly a miniority issue. If anyone owned one of these rarities, would he really use it in a traceable offense?
The parade of jock guest players — notably Apollo Ohno, Olympian medalist skater as a thief of an artifact, and Shane Victorino, the Phillies outfielder as a corporate type conducting training in the wild a stone’s throw away from the Hawaiian practitioners — were casting coups but were essentially extended cameos, not fully realized roles. Ohno’s gig, the larger one, should have somehow found an arc to the finale; folks adore him, after all, and would be eager to see him delude McG and company at least with a fight — not via tear gas drop.
Nice to see Islanders Al Harrington and Dennis Chun in recurring appearances, linking the old “Five-0” with the reboot, and doubly nice to hear Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) uttering the effective but infrequent “Book ‘em, Danno” to Danny Williams (Scott Caan) again, with tongue slightly in cheek.
The banter between these two was spot-on spiffy, from the opening scene when Danno turned McG’s quarters into his personal refuge while the latter was away, to those in-the-car exchanges about anything and everything. The friction is fun, fast, frequent — caustic conversation.
With James Caan, actor Scott Caan’s dad, guest-starring in next week’s episode, it’s a good bet that “Five-0” will maintain its momentum to lead the hour again. We can only hope.
* * * *
Maybe “Five-0” should invite Bruno Mars to be a guest performer sometime. Might steal more viewers from "Smash," which featured his music and his name, but not him in the flesh.
Though physically absent, Mars' music and his magic were part of this week’s Broadway musical drama, wherein a mythical Bruno Mars Broadway show, complete with a performance of his “Grenade” hit, was bandied about.
Or maybe Mars might just skip episodic television and go for the gusto, mounting his own musical on The Great White Way. Might make him the billionaire he aspires to be.
What you think?

Whitney's greatest hits: So what are your faves?

Wayne Harada — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:39:27 +0000

Whitney Houston will be remembered and saluted, in private funeral services in New Jersey on Saturday (Feb. 18).
She may be gone, but her music lives on forever — receiving posthumous sales boost akin to the Michael Jackson passing. In death, she has new life on the sales charts, online downloads and, yes, airplay on radio.
Assuredly, she is one of the best-selling singers with a legendary roster of hit music.
So what are your favorite Whitney Houston songs?

These are mine:

1 – “I Will Always Love You” (1992). Her signature song, featured in “The Bodyguard,” her biggest film starring Kevin Costner.
2 – “Greatest Love of All” (1986). A cover of the original George Benson chartbuster, but nonetheless an iconic tune for Houston.
3 — “One Moment in Time” (1988). This surely is a punctuation mark in her career — a tune recorded for the 1988 Olympics, celebrating special moments in time. The lyrics — and her performance —bring on chicken-skin chills. Sample lyrics:
I want one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity...
4 — “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” (1987). This one earned her a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
5 — “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?” (1988). A rockaballad for heartaches and heartbreaks — and a healer at that.
6 — “How Will I Know” (1985). A solid R&B number with broad appeal — in dance, pop, adult contemporary genres.
7 — “All the Man That I Need” (1990). Another cover (by Linda Clifford and Sister Sledge) that ultimately got the Houston hypnosis — with a surging gospel flavor before a grand finish, as demonstrated by the YouTube live performance.
8 — “So Emotional” (1987). This was Houston’s sixth consecutive No. 1 winner, composed by the duo who were responsible for Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.”
9 — “Saving All My Love for You” (1985). This was her first Grammy win (Best Female Pop Vocal), despite being a cover of an earlier minor hit sung by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. of the Fifth Dimension.
10 — “Didn’t We Almost Have It All?” (1987)". It didn’t win, but was a nominee for Song of the Year in 1988.

Have any titles to add to the list?

And for a compilation of different strokes of Houston’s No. 1 biggie, “I Will Always Love You,” Google “vulture.com glee vs. YouTube” — and see some stunning renderings, by a Taiwanese boy, a young girl, Meredes from “Glee,” a saxophonist and, er, a bizarre but entertaining upbeat render by a woman from the Balkans.
They will always love her...

NBC music wins Mondays; a mishmash 'Five-0'

Wayne Harada — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:11:00 +0000

NBC has found its voice for Monday nights — despite dips in the overnight Nielsen ratings — beating CBS in numbers. And it's got to do with music.
The Peacock network’s “The Voice” drew 16.1 million viewers in its two-hour frame (7 to 9 p.m. here, 8 to 10 p.m. on the Mainland), logging a 5.9 adult 18-49 rating, which was down from last week. Its new show “Smash,” at 9 p.m., pulled 8.09 million viewers and a 2.8 adult 18-49 rating, but dropping 26 per cent from its premiere last week.
This was good enough for NBC to bypass the parade of comedy sitcoms on CBS from 7 to 9 p.m., with the Eye network hitting a season low for Mondays (13.433 million viewers for NBC, 10.319 for CBS).
Who's singing all the way to bank?
In spite of a problematic script, with several bumps in execution, CBS’ Island-filmed “Hawaii Five-0” at 9 p.m. held its own with 9.53 million viewers and a 2.6 adult 18-49 rating, compared to NBC’s “Smash,” which had 8.09 million viewers but a better 2.8 adult 18-49 rating, and ABC’s “Castle,” which earned 8.88 million viewers and a 2.0 adult 18-49 rating. “Five-0” was down a tenth from last week, but “Smash” had a major 26 per cent fallout, compared to last week. “Castle,” on the other hand, was up a skosh from a week ago.
Thus, the jury still is out on the 9 p.m. Monday schedule — clearly, “Smash” with its second episode mixing musical drama and show biz dreams, has become a modest player, eroding some of the viewership of the competing procedural dramas. So it’s still a free-for-all for now.
Back to this week’s “Five-0” episode, entitled “I Helu Pu,” or “The Reckoning.
I reckon good intentions got in the way in writing and execution of this mishmash.
Like the bloodied body found at the end of a laundry chute, this episode was one of the messiest yet — repeated flashbacks that disrupted the storytelling flow, action that put McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) in peril (a car hits him while he’s in pursuit of a perp, giving him gashes on his face that required bandages, which appear and disappear, because of the see-sawing flashback mode, outdated cold war themes about Russian invasions that seemed more James Bondian than McGarrettian.
Further, loyalties and trust were tested, along with common sense, so Lori Weston’s out from her Homeland Security post to aid the governor. (OK, stop the cheering, gang, but admittedly, it’s about time)
How viewers stuck this one out is somewhat baffling. But locals are bound to be loyal, perhaps waiting for that hail-mary pass.
With Lori (Lauren German) deciding to resign and move on, even terminating her adoration for McG, there’s closure to this snail-paced story arc that has plagued the pacing of the show for months. Even minimalizing the productivity of the four-member “Five-0” 'ohana in the process.
There were some bothersome bloopers: How can Kalakaua (Grace Park) merely don scrubs and steal a blood sample from a hospital? Crimefighters breaking the law?
And why were there numerous technical blips in the soundtrack, with a frequent “silent” pause that often dropped a word in dialogue? On whose watch are these things happening?
As Governor Denning, Richard T. Jones finally gets ample screen time ... but the imposing character is demonstrating more menacing maneuvers than aloha or likeability. His way or no way. Remember, the state’s chief executive officer previously took a bullet — and not via an election.
On the Go Local barometer, it was a nice touch to toss in Jake Shimabukuro as a silent auction attraction at the gala that had the cast decked out in formal wear; and season tickets to the University of Hawaii Warrior football games was a nice boost for the team, however premature. Is this the new Norm? Chow Time well before the fall kickoff?
What’s your take?

Grammys remember Houston as Adele assumes throne

Wayne Harada — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:04:58 +0000

Did you watch the Grammys Sunday night?
Clearly, it was exactly what it was repositioned to be: an annual salute to the music industry’s best, coupled with an eleventh hour tribute to the incomparable, if not incomprehensible, Whitney Houston, who died the day before the awards cast.
With Britain’s Adele winning the lioness’ share of trophies, the obvious emerged: she is the darling now and for the immediate future.
I mean, don’t you wish she would cross the pond and come share her vocal prowess in Honolulu?
As far as the audience was concerned, she could have read the phone book ... and emerge a winner. Her vocal of her iconic “Rolling in the Deep,” the first public warbling after months of a challenging throat problem, she was immediately a jewel.
So with Houston’s passing, there was an unofficial turning-over-the-scepter aura as Adele emerged as the belle of the Grammy throne by sign-off. She was a terrific, hypnotic trouper — who made her lyrics spring to life. And her beaucoup trips to the podium, to say thanks and all that usual ritual, were charming, demonstrating her earnest joy and appreciation. Someone like her doesn’t come down the path too often.
Neither does a Jennifer Hudson, who easily is becoming the most versatile and dependable (and slimmed-down) non-winner of “American Idol.” She was tapped to focus on the Houston memorial, and while no one can equate Houston’s emotion and endurance in reaching the high-high notes on “I Will Always Love You,” Hudson did a damn good job in a darned difficult situation, putting her own imprint on a classic that, simply, will never be outdone. It’s Houston’s hit, then and still, but Hudson managed to make that nervous moment work. Don’t think anyone else in the music biz could have stepped in so late and step out so luminously. Well, maybe Dolly Parton, who wrote the song, could have been lassoed. But as charismatic as Parton might be, on her own terms, Hudson’s presence sort of suggested a sisterhood in motion— one song dynamo singing a fond farewell to another.
The Grammys was also an evening of reincarnation, not all good.
Who’d ever thought a Beatle would be so accessible and adorable ... and engaging the home and live audience with his sentimental pre-Valentine’s balladry, then going high-energy rocker later with “The End” with David Grohl and Bruce Springsteen. Yesterday and today blended with oozing charm, yea yea yea. Everyone loved him!
And then there were three Beach Boys, trying to get those good vibrations going again. OK, it wasn’t as energetic or harmonic as yesterday, but to get Brian Wilson to sit at the keyboard and try to have fun, fun, fun again – with Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnson, at that — we got a Grammy Event. Even with the peculiar and awkward patchwork of Maroon Five and Foster the People, who were along for the ride.
Further, with Glen Campdell diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the “Rhinestone Cowboy” was magnificent, not just collecting a Lifetime Achievement Award, but showing he still has a lot of achievement in his boots, with Blake Shelton introducing him in song and in back-up... gentle on anybody’s mind.
It was great to see The Boss in action, too, but Bruce Springsteen’s early segment was at best, fresh and now.
To remember Etta James, Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys demonstrated love and aloha for the blues queen, but face it — the remembrance quotient was higher and brighter for Houston.
Not so cohesive or coherent: that bizarre Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood duet. Something got lost in the process, since there was more discomfort than delight in the blending of the generations.
Best performance of the night? Hometown loyalty aside, Bruno Mars strutted with the sound and style of a superstar, but he was outshadowed by Taylor Swift, with her down-home and stylistically chic “Mean.” A splendidly-staged, superbly performed, Grammy-winning turn by Swift, who now is the Queen of Mean. In a good way.
Again, wouldn’t you like to see her live and in the flesh in our town?
As for the flow and flavor of the event, there was far too many moving visuals, during segments by everyone – Chris Brown, Rihanna, Kathy Perry, Nicki Minaj. Dizzying and distracting.
And what say you, about LL Cool J, the evening’s host? He has roots in the music biz, but folks know him now as a star of CBS’ “NCIS: Los Angeles.” So he had the creds to host, though at times, he was a bit procedural, like he was analyzing a case on his TV show.

Rough waters for debut of ABC's ‘The River’

Wayne Harada — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:20:34 +0000

“The River,” the newest ABC series filmed in Hawaii, got off to a modest start in its Tuesday (Feb. 7) premiere. Preliminary overnight Nielsen ratings indicated that rough waters are ahead — the two-hour debut show finished second in its 8 to 10 p.m. (9 to 11 p.m. on the Mainland) time slot.
“The River” averaged 7.5 million viewers and a 2.4 rating in the 18 to 49 adult demos, with the first hour doing better than the second. It needs a major surge to become a prime time player, though the show was up 4 per cent compared to the earlier “Off the Map” series that also was filmed locally, but eventually canceled.
Tuesday, of course, is CBS’ night, with the one-two punch, “NCIS” at 7 p.m. and “NCIS: Los Angeles” at 8 p.m. The flagship procedural, marking its 200th episode, drew 20.8 million viewers and a 4.1 adult rating. “NCIS: LA” was down a skosh, with 16.12 million viewers and a 3.1 adult rating, but nonetheless first in its time slot.
CBS’ “Unforgettable” won the 9 p.m. hour, with 11.70 million viewers and a 2.2 adult rating.
Are you a potential "River" fan? Did you watch? Did you like?

'Smash' No. 1 at 9 p.m., but will 'H50,' 'Castle' recover?

Wayne Harada — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:44:19 +0000

“Smash,” NBC’s ambitious and admirable backstage musical drama on the making of a Broadway show, was a ratings smash Monday (Feb. 6), attracting 11.5 million viewers in the preliminary overnight Nielsen survey. Fueled by a powerful lead-in “The Voice,” “Smash” also beat the competition with 3.8/10 rating in the coveted 18-49 adult demographics, capturing No. 1 in the 9 p.m. (10 p.m. Mainland) timeslot.
This crushed both CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” and ABC’s “Castle.”
“Five-0,” which boasted a stellar, on-the-edge-of-your-couch kidnapping drama involving Danno’s daughter Gracie and plenty of gutsy teamwork and chases, attracted 9.8 million viewers and a 2.7/7 rating in the 18 to 14 demos, down a tenth, but good for second place, reducing “Castle” to third with 8.72 million and 2.0/5 rating in demos — a season low.
“Smash” premiered strong, with 4.2 adults 18-49 from 9 to 9:30 p.m., though dropping to 3.4 from midpoint to finale.
This was the highest 18-49 tally for any regular show in the pre-news Monday schedule so far this season, nearly quadrupuling NBS’s season average in this slot. “Smash” replaced “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” which is moving the Wednesday landscape.
So the bigger issue now is: Will it have legs? Will “Smash” take the dash out of “Five-0” and “Castle,” which had been jockeying for the 1st or 2nd spot during the 2011-12 season? Or will CBS and ABC eventually reclaim former Monday primetime laurels?
Both “The Voice” and “Smash” had been touted on NBC’s “Super Bowl” coverage, and the plugs paid off.
“The Voice,” at 8 p.m., logged 17.7 viewers, reflected 6.6 adults 18-49 demos, making it the peacock network’s highest-rated regular show in four years, exclusing the “Super Bowl,” which, of course, was a ratings magnet with 111.3 million viewers this past Sunday, the most-watched TV show ever.
* * *
Back to “Five-0”: This episode, entitled “Mai ka wā Kahiko,” or “Out of the Past,” was one of the most gripping to date, just the kind of ammo needed during February sweeps. Alas, the numbers didn't materialize — but not without effort. McGarrett, Danno and Chin Ho, and yes, Lori, too, projected the kind of brisk, taut teamwork lacking during much of this season. When Danno’s girl was in peril, there was swift movement, action, and reaction — tight writing, smart acting, spot-on directing.
The frisky and fun opening, with Lori and McG racing up the Koko Head stairs, was a contrast to the tension whichfollowed — pursuit of a cop gone bad and out of prison, who happens to have a revenge motive to get back to Danno, whose testimony got him in jail.
Acting laurels go to Scott Caan, whose Danno was all grit and snarls, opposite Peter Greene, who played his ex-partner Rick Peterson. Hook ‘em Danno. There was credible and earnest pain in his quest to get this dude back in cuffs and behind bars — and equal sizzle with his ex, Rachel, mother of their captured daugher Gracie.
That wrong-way drive makai on South Street, right next to the former Advertiser building on Kapiolani Boulevard which houses “Five-0” production studios, was swift and sensational — how they shut down the busy street for filming is a testament to savvy film-making.
Finally, here's something to ponder. If “Five-0” overdid “product placement,” with that Subway display a couple of weeks ago, there was a bit of “service placement” or "personality placement" in this one.
Murder was committed in the washroom of Hawaiian Airlines jet; Hawaiian is the show’s cooperating airline, which the plane soaring in the opening credits, and frequently shown in a number of episodes. And you might have noticed that Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian Air CEO and president, played himself in a planeside press conference, which is a first for “Five-0” and him. And Hawaiian employee Denby Dung was that in-flight attendant tending to the passengers and the ruckus in the air.
Because Dung also is the spokesperson for Kia, the automaker, which is a season sponsor of the show, this was another instance of “service placement.” She and the car are regularly seen in TV commercials before and during the episodes, with a “proud to be a sponsor” message.
Any comments and/or observations?

TV Review: ‘Smash,’ in a word, is a smasheroo

Wayne Harada — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:26:20 +0000

“Smash,” NBC’s tuneful and powerful backstage musical filled with front-and-center wattage, debuts at 9 p.m. (10 p.m. on the Mainland) Monday — and it’s a smasheroo.
It replaces “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” which is moving to Wednesdays, but for Hawaii viewers, it’s going to make a bit of impact on the struggling “Hawaii Five-0” on CBS and the other primetime contender in the Monday TV radar, “Castle” on ABC.
This premise — the making of a Broadway musical, going through process and procedure (yes, with several clichés on how a wannabe becomes a star) — has star power seen and unseen. “Smash” has been receiving a lot of buzz, in NBC promos (you can watch the pilot episode in advance, at (http://www.nbc.com/smash/video/special-full-length-preview---episode-1/1380656), but notably with “Super Bowl” exposure.
Producer Steven Spielberg, collaborating with creator Theresa Rebeck, aims to create a must-see that echoes the heartbeat and heartache of “American Idol,” “High School Musical,” “Fame,” “The Voice,” “Dancin’ with the Stars,” “A Chorus Line,” and “42nd Street.” Even “Glee.”
The show embraces known songs but the originals — in a show-within-a-show, about the legend that is Marilyn Monore — are being composed by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, whose Tony Award-winning “Hairspray” already is a viable credit.
So here we have fiction coated with creative and credible drama, with that urgent, surging “I hope I get it” battle cry that underlined every candidate from “A Chorus Line,” which dealt only with chorus-line dancers. This one takes the ambition to the max: the chance to make a name and gain fame in a Broadway smash. So as the melodrama unfolds, the real-life tension — will it make and break into primetime powerhouse? — delivers additional anticipation.
Throw in the never-tired myth and magic of Monroe — and the doctrine exhibits a potential winner in the context of the production. In real life, there’s potential beyond the small tube: the producers have boldly stated that if “Smash” doesn’t cut it as TV fodder, it will eventually find its way to the Great White Way reality. How brilliant is that?
“Smash” involves two composers, Julia Houston (played by Debra Messing) and Tom Levitt (Christian Borle), who are successful Broadway creators who are clueless about their next project. Levitt’s new backstage assistant, Ellis (Jaime Cepero) suggests why not a musical about Monroe?
So Houston and Levitt write one song, which goes viral on YouLenz (OK, the obvious inspiration is YouTube, which either should sue or give in to a realistic deal with the network to consummate the reality of an online posting in real life), and the production starts to take shape with the signing of a producer, Eileen Rand (played by Angelica Houston, whose real-life director-dad John Huston, directed the real Monroe in one of her stellar films, “The Misfits), and a director, Derek Willis (Jack Davenport).
Obviously, the puzzle now involves the search for a star to play Monroe.
Well, “Smash” has not one but two Monroe jewels. And that’s where the show draws its power and conflict. Director Levitt favors his Broadway trouper named Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty, whose real-life credits include “Wicked”), because she has cred, the blonde hair, the sumptuous lips and, well, knows the Broadway routine. Her audition finds her decked out as Monroe.
Everyone adores an underdog, and here’s where there’s joyful pleasure: Karen Cartwright (2006 “American Idol” runner-up, Katharine McPhee), becomes a thorn and a game-changer, even if she isn’t blonde, not as curvaceous, and is a virtual unknown. Karen has the smarts to do her audition as herself, no costume, no wig, and she sings “Beautiful,” the earlier Christina Aguilera hit). Beautiful, indeed.
But Karen has baggage and conflicts on the home front: the tryout comes at a time when she and hubby Frank (Brian D’Arcy James) are in the midst of trying to adopt a baby from China and worrisome parents from Iowa. But she is a toughie, with the boldness to put off the advances of the show’s director during a late-night “callback” in his apartment. You go, girl!
These struggles, both personal and professional, contribute to an edginess, albeit stylized, in the mounting of a show and the making of a star — an arc that will continue to pit one Monroe against the other, in the next few weeks.
Sure, you can root for your candidate, and there are no judges with backs against the auditioneers, or livingroom voters ready to cast a telephonic vote. Just the wisdom of a mundane show biz element poised to grab viewers on a Monday night, creating a competition with two procedural shows. So which show will smash the ratings barometer on Monday night?

How Lani Misalucha could change the Waikiki showscape

Wayne Harada — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:37:12 +0000

The Lani Misalucha show, ensconced in the Magic of Polynesia Showroom at the Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel, is a work in progress. It aspires to be one of Waikiki’s new mainstream attractions in a diminishing and dissolving Waikiki species: the showroom spectacle.
With Las Vegas-style wattage, Misalucha moves and grooves with a pastiche of tunes and a parade of costume changes befitting a showroom queen. As a former Best Female Singer in the gambling capital, she does it all here — pop, opera, rock, impersonations — and is the focus of a high-energy, high-octane, high-stakes effort.
Not everything works. Yet.
I’ve seen the show twice; once in December, once in January. She and the show are on the right track, with family-friendly, visitor-targeted elements. At a recent Saturday night performance, the packed house included perhaps 75 per cent locals — so Misalucha could evolve as the queen of Waikiki amid a landscape more inclined to feature male headliners or Polynesian-luau extravaganza.
It’s not an easy journey, however.
With two careers on the line — show headliner Misalucha’s and producer Roy Tokujo’s — the show is one to watch. It has immense potential, but for now lacks the wow factor that might place Misalucha in the winner’s circle and Tokujo back at the reins of a crowd-pleasing blockbuster. It boils down to material: as Misalucha settles into her year-long run, she ought to tweak her songs and re-examine her songbook.
The Filipina singer, who previously co-starred with the classic Society of Seven here and in Las Vegas, is a superstar diva in her native Philippines. Tokujo is a veteran show producers, whose credits in the Islands include the original “Magic of Polynesia” show in Waikiki as well as the “Ulalena” success in Lahaina. Despite Tokujo’s short-lived “Waikiki Nei” extravaganza at the Level 4 showroom at the Royal Hawaiian Center across the street, Misalucha’s production could be his rebound vehicle and her star-turning endeavor.
Of course, it takes time, determination, artistic zeal ... and tour groups. For the visitor population, Misaluna has the foundation support of Roberts Hawaii, the tour company, which also is producer of John Hirokawa’s “Magic of Polynesia” show that precedes Misalucha’s newbie in the same 700-seat showroom.
Hers, however, is not a dinner event, so the producers are in the midst of organizing a Hawaiian luau-type show on a deck outside the Jimmy Buffett restaurant on the hotel’s second floor, one below the showroom, which logically could feed perhaps 200 spectators prior to Misalucha’s show. It’s all coming sometime this spring, part of a piggybacking process to create traffic for larger headcounts in the showroom.
With two back up singers and a four-member band which sounds much larger, Misalucha is a tireless workhorse who has shelved her general shyness offstage and is blossoming into a luminous bulb in the Waikiki nightlife spectrum.
A true chameleon, Misalucha soars from operatic “Con Te Partico” to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” with nary a bat of the eyelash; she magnifies lessons learned, during her Las Vegas tenure with Tony Ruivivar and the SOS, traipsing through vividly funny impersonations of Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Tina Turner and Diana Ross; with her two backup singers, Star Kalahiki and Christine Souza, she bounces through a medley of ABBA tunes that is more “Mamma Mia” than the Swedish originals; and she puts an indelible personal imprint of Whitney Houston’s biggie, “I Will Always Love You.”
Of course, the staging is showroom-smart, with draped curtains and sound-and-light modifications that make her costume changes chic and appropriate for a mainstage diva. And her four-member band — leader Robert Shinoda on guitar, Mark Tanouye on bass, Garin Poliahu on drums and Michael Grande on keyboards — is integral in her transformation from rocker to impressionist to balladeer.
Yes, there are ballads, including the Dusty Springfield dust-off “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” but there are more rock-pop entities, like a hana-hou medley of disco and Donna Summer that leave you breathless.
I wish that Misalucha would update and rethink her repertoire; why not a prevailing pop fave like Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”? Or a simple and shrewd “quiet moment” number, sung with a simple spotlight perhaps from a stool, to demonstrate the prowess and power that lurk in her soul? And, because she is performing for a mixed local and visitor crowd in Hawaii, some suitable Island song in the lineup to accentuate and punctuate her intention of being One of Us?
Budget restrictions aside, it also would be great if she had a male co-star or guest, because then there would be opportunity for interplay with duets, expanding her appeal and providing a more valid reason for her to change clothes.
During one of Misalucha’s exits to change gowns, Kalahiki and Souza leave the stage vacant (OK, the band is there) to kibitz with the audience and sing in the aisles — a plus for rapport, but a negative for production logic. A stage should never be bare in the course of a show.

LANI MISALUCHA

When: 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays
Where: Magic of Polynesia Showroom, Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel
Cost: $55, $65, $99 (includes Jimmy Buffett dinner before show; a luau component is the works); child and kamaaina rates available
Information/reservations: 954-8652, 971-4321, www.laniinwaikiki.com, www.robertshawaii.com

TV director John Wray will retire on Jan. 27

Wayne Harada — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:16:47 +0000

After four decades of behind-the-scenes direction and action, TV director John Wray is retiring on Jan. 27.
That’s bad and good news.
Bad, because Wray has been a dedicated mover-and-shaker of so many television staples on two stations. Earlier at KGMB, currently at KITV.
Good, because he and I have talked about retirement over the years and stepping down will mean a lifestyle with less stress and a new destination. Wray will turn in his city workaday regimen for a countrified lifestyle as he relocates to Waimea on the Big Island in March, to settle in the family home of his wife, Margo Burlingame Wray.
Betcha Wray will soon bring his ray of sunshine to the active performing arts community and climate there. He hopes to get back into action “in any way I can, " so you folks in Kohala and Kamuela should reach out and solicit his support.
“It’s been a great 40-year ride for me, 16 years at KGMB directing Phil Arnone’s shows,” said Wray. Aside from a five-year gap spent working in Oregon, Wray also put in 20 years at KITV.
You may not have known his name or recognized his face (unless you worked with him on a television project), but you’ll certainly remember with glee and joyh the parade of his varied TV projects.
At KGMB, the CBS affiliate, Wray’s credits include such benchmark shows as “Checkers & Pogo,” “Homegrown” music specials with Ron Jacobs, comedian Andy Bumatai’s “High School Daze,” the youth-oriented “Hawaii’s Superkids” and more. He directed KGMB’s news programs in the era of Bob Jones, Tim Tindall, Ken Kashiwahara, Linda Coble and Leslie Wilcox, plus Joe Moore when he was a sportscaster. There were “Rainbow Basketball” home and road games, plus the popular wrestling matches with Ed Francis and Lord “Tally Ho” Blears, and the first University of Hawaii-Hilo Vulcan basketball series, when “Russ Francis flew tapes of the games back to Honolulu because there was no satellite TV availability,” said Wray. Plus the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in the era of Krash Kealoha.
At KITV, the ABC affiliate, his legacy includes 18 years of directing “Merrie Monarch” coverage from Hilo, numerous Miss Hawaii pageants, and Keiki Hula competitions. Plus hundreds of local TV commercials, involving “folks who’d never been in front of a TV camera before.”
That’s quite a credit roll.
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