David Furumoto, an expert in kabuki, Noh drama and odori (dance), is visiting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he now is associate professor of theater and drama. He’s participating in the weekend Kikunobu Dance Company’s "Honor and Perpetuation" concert, playing its final performance Sunday at Kennedy Theatre.
We ran into him when he was dining with his theatrical buddy, Karen Yamamoto-Hackler, at Manoa’s Tokoname restaurant. Furumoto said he is here for the 50th anniversary of the Honolulu-based dance school led by his sensei Gertrude Tsutsumi (theatrically known as Onoe Kikunobu). The company was among the first artists to perform at then-new Kennedy Theatre, named after the late President John F. Kennedy.
The current program is master Kikunobu’s 15th in a glorious and respected career. Furumoto is a homegrown Asian stage expert known for a string of kabuki stints during his days at Kennedy where he performed in or directed several shows, including the classic James Brandon adaptation of "Narukami: The Thundergod," which he also directed for University of Wisconsin audiences two years ago. …
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Hawaiian Airlines fliers will notice in-flight menu changes this summer. Chef Chai Chaowasaree, the creative genius of Chef Chai restaurant, updates the airborne menus regularly, and the carrier flew him all over its route maps to examine the meal choices on Hawaiian as well as rival carriers. Chaowasaree still has New York on his itinerary before launching savory new dishes this month. Can’t wait to try ’em, particularly since we’re bound for Sin City as well as the Big Apple this summer. Hawaiian has been pioneering food particularly in its domestic first class, and remains the lone U.S. carrier still offering free meals in coach. …
If you’re not immediately planning a Hawaiian trek this summer, you might get an indication of Chef Chai’s inventiveness in the four-course meal offered at his restaurant from 4 to 5 p.m. daily at $40 per person. …
SEA WORTHY: Keali’i Reichel has recorded "Hawaii," a Johnson Enos composition in English and Hawaiian, expressly for Enos’ "Honu by the Sea" musical. The show hits the road this summer as the first-ever Hawaiian production to play the Smithsonian’s Q?rius Theater (the name is a play on "curious"), at 2:30 and 4 p.m. June 11 at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The
Reichel recording debuts as the pre-show lead-in for "Honu," Enos’ empowering musical with environmental lessons about a Hawaiian beach boy whose wish to spend a day under the sea is granted. "Honu" just added another first: a June 9 play date at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. …
AROUND ‘N’ ABOUT: Islander Joy Abbott, who divides her time between Philadelphia and Honolulu, took in the opening and after-party for her late husband’s "Pajama Game" revival in London, reporting four- and five-star reviews from media. The musical features George Abbott‘s book, and as his widow, she oversees matters involving all his plays. …
"George’s shows are alive and well," she said in an email. The Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut is staging "Damn Yankees" (George co-wrote the book), which she attended. She’s looking forward to returning home here this week — in time to take in Jack Cione‘s "Come to the Cabaret," the expansion of his Arcadia Retirement Residence’s "Mardi Gras Follies," Saturday night at Hawaii Theatre. …
Edgar Ramirez, best known for his work in the miniseries/movie, "Carlos," has replaced Gerard Butler in the remake of "Point Break," which originally starred Patrick Swayze and filmed here. With director Ericson Core shifting the surfing element to extreme sports, Hawaii as a filming destination is questionable. …
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.
