Loretta Ables Sayre, who is reprising her Bloody Mary role in the Paper Mill Playhouse’s current production of "South Pacific" (playing through May 4 in Millburn, N.J.), was able to reunite with some of her original Broadway cast mates during preproduction work in New York. Clearly, she’s a Broadway insider now.
"I did have a few nights to meet up with some of my old pals from New York," she said. "Saw my friends Kelli O’Hara (who was Nellie Forbush) and Steven Pasquale in ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ and was so moved when I saw her backstage that I could barely control myself. Their singing in this show is so glorious and the last 20 minutes of the show has music almost too beautiful for words. I really hope that this is the show that brings her the Tony that she so deserves."
Ables Sayre also connected with best buddy Danny Burstein a few times and caught him in "Cabaret," the revival with Alan Cumming and Michelle Williams. "He is brilliant as usual," she said. (Burstein was Luther Billis in "South Pacific" and now is Herr Schultz in "Cabaret.") She crossed paths with Paulo Szot (Emile de Becque in "South Pacific"), who was en route to do an opera in Australia, and Laura Osnes, who succeeded O’Hara as Nellie andplayed "Cinderella" on Broadway before moving on to "The Threepenny Opera" with F. Murray Abraham.
Continuing her name-dropping, she ran into other "SP" chums Matthew Morrison (Lt. Joe Cable and "Glee"), Christopher Gatteli (who did musical staging) and Ben Davis (Emile de Becque in a MUNY’s "SP," which Ables Sayre also did last year; he’s now in "Violet"), all busy with their individual projects. "Rehearsals and work get in the way of a fun social life," she said. …
WHEE, THE PEOPLE: With "Hawaii Five-0" on hiatus (filming of Season 5 resumes the first week of July), lead actor Alex O’Loughlin finally had time to wed his girlfriend, Malia Jones. It was a private ceremony here, so to protect his privacy, mum’s the word on who was there. …
Daniel Dae Kim, Chin Ho Kelly toO’Loughlin’s Steve McGarrett, dined with friends at Chef Chai last week before heading to the spectacular first of three Bruno Mars concerts at Blaisdell Arena. From that glittery golden coconut tree-imprinted black curtain hiding the stage to the explosion ofgolden confetti (listen up, Rip Taylor!) that created a shower like no other near the end of the show, hometown hero Mars proved he’s at the head of the pack of touring luminaries. …
And certainly, Mars’ shows had that multiplier effect; he helped area restaurants fill seats. Chef Chai Chaowasaree, for instance, was jammed with early diners and expected similar throngs each night. It’s further proof of how big visiting shows (think "The Lion King") help the economy. But the lateness of Mars’ final song (fans exited at 11:15 p.m.) might have dashed plans for post-concert dining. No matter; come back soon, Bruno. …
Oh, add comic Frank De Lima to the list of those doing Mars parodies. He popped into the Michael W. Perry/Larry Price Saturday show at Jade Dynasty, appearing as a Chinese impersonator, and proceeded to mimic ‘Bruno Ma,’ doing "Just the Way You Are" with rewritten lyrics and a Chinese accent. …
BITS ‘N’ PIECES: Honolulu Theatre for Youth, led by artistic director Eric Johnson and actor-collaborator Alvin Chan, helped Imagination Stage win a Helen Hayes Theatre Award (outstanding production, theatre for young audiences) for"Anime Momotaro." HTY originally staged it here in 2011, and Johnson pitched it to Imagination Stage, a regional youth theater group based in Bethesda, Md., with joyful results. …
B.K. Cannon, local actress, had a guest role on Mindy Kaling‘s "The Mindy Project" on NBC last week. …
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.
