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Deedee Magno Hall, a Los Angeles-based singer-actress who is the wife of homegrown Broadway actor Cliffton Hall, will join the cast of Johnson Enos’ "Honu by the Sea" when the show participates in a Capitol Hill Ocean Week celebration in Washington, D.C., this summer.
Hall, a seasoned Broadway trouper, will take on the role of Lehua, the mother honu (sea turtle). Her show credits include "Miss Saigon" and "Wicked."
During the Ocean Week celebration, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History will host "Honu" in two performances at 2:30 and 4 p.m. June 11 at the Q?rius theater, like in "curious."
"I’m so excited," Enos said about the first musical from Hawaii to get a showcase opportunity at the Smithsonian.
Some other new performers are part of the traveling cast: Shawna Masuda, Lia Krieg, Nickey Enos, Rachel Wong, Meilan Akaka, Miguel Cadoy III, Bryce Irvine, Matt Mazzella, Barry Quilloy and Kaipo Leopoldino.
"Honu" is a Disneyesque fantasy musical about a young boy who finds a magical sea star that grants him a wish to spend a day with undersea creatures. He befriends ocean species and learns about the urgency to keep the environment clean and debris-free.
Enos earlier brought an abridged "Honu" for a brief run at the Seattle Aquarium, and such exposure has triggered vigorous interest. Watch for an announcement June 3 at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s Monarch Room (where "Honu" had two previous runs), when a partnership with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Wakiki Aquarium is announced.
In short: "Honu" is going national. …
AS THE WHEEL SPINS: It’s been four years since Pat Sajak, "Wheel of Fortune" host, and Joe Moore, KHON2 news anchor, did a play together. So the Army buddies are prepping for a June 19-29 staging of"Wrestling Ernest Hemingway" at the Hawaii Theatre. Moore contacted Steve Conrad, screenwriter of the 1993 film, and got permission to adapt it for the stage with Sajak. It’s about two old men who reflect on friendship, loneliness and the frustrating reality of aging. Loretta Ables Sayre will be aboard, too, as a snack shop waitress who gives the two ol’ buzzards a difficult time. …
ON THE MEND: Keith Haugen‘s favorite dancer, wife Carmen U‘ilani Haugen, won’t be hula-ing for a while, nor will she attend the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo this week.
She broke her hip when she slipped on a wet sidewalk while at the downtown post office. Three people walked past, looking askance and perhaps mistaking her for a homeless soul. But Aileen Deese, executive director of Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii, stopped to help.
She called Keith and was instructed to make a 911 call and request an ambulance for transport to the Queen’s Medical Center.
According to Keith, Carmen had hip surgery the following morning and since has been making a nice recovery. She is already in therapy and receiving tons of emails, Facebook postings and phone calls of support.
The mishap will prevent Carmen from actively entertaining in the next few weeks with her Carmen Haugen Quartet, but she will emcee and sing when her group takes the stage at the Eighth Annual Peace on Earth Concert on May 30 at the Hawaii Theatre. And, yep, the guest of honor will be Deese. Aloha lives! …
UPDATE: Ikaika Kahoano, son of radio personality and TV host Kimo Kahoano, is now with the U.S. Postal Service. You may remember LMNT, the boy band he co-founded at the height of an ABC TV series dubbed "Making the Band" in 2000. He was behind the counter at the Hawaii Kai post office last week — on loan from the Kahala branch. …
And that’s "Show Biz." …
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist; reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com; read his Show and Tell Hawaii blog at www.staradvertiser.com.
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