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Baby Bash gathers up head-to-toe coverage

Ronald Rey Bryant, the hip-hopper-rapper known by his stage name Baby Bash and for hits such as "Suga Suga," stopped by Island Slipper store at Ward Warehouse to buy some cool hats for his recent concert at Bar Paparazzi. Nice to have a shop that offers gear for the foot and the head. … Justin Chambers, who is Dr. Alex Karev on ABC’s "Grey’s Anatomy," visited Cheeseburgers, Mai Tais & Rock ‘n Roll for dinner a few nights back at the Wailea Shopping Center. He was visiting with wife Keisha and their five kids: Isabella, twins Maya and Kaila, Eva and Jackson. …

And while basking in the sun here recently, Oscar-winning actors Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz were a coosome twosome. Cruz is playing Blackbeard’s (Ian McShane) daughter in Disney’s "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strange Tides," now filming here with Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow. …

KIKA MEETS KOKO: Kika Matsumoto, who books convention entertainment here, visited the "signing" gorilla Koko at the Gorilla Foundation in California where she had a rare opportunity to "speak" to the "signing" gorilla. "It is extremely difficult to see her," said Matsumoto. The foundation has been building a Maui ape preserve in West Maui to provide gorillas a natural environment, and someday Koko just might hele on over.

"When I asked her if she wanted to come to Hawaii, she went to her box of favorite things and pulled out a silk lei and put it on," said Matsumoto. With a vocabulary of 1,000 words she can sign, Koko "seems to understand what you are saying when you are speaking. She is a very special lady … the highlight of my trip," said Matsumoto. Oh, she went to Italy, too. …

ITEMIZATIONS: Isle actress Shawna Masuda performs next Sunday in "MIZ Saigon," an orchestral/choral endeavor marrying tunes from "Les Miserables" and "Miss Saigon," with the Sun Valley Opera at the Sun Valley Pavilion in Idaho. Masuda joins four opera troupers and conductor Brett Strader to re-create legendary songs by Alan Boubil and Claude-Michel Schonberg. Masuda played Eponine in Diamond Head Theatre’s "Les Miz" and was Kim in Army Community Theatre’s "Miss Saigon," so she has the required vocal punch. …

That four-day run of "The Boys in Autumn," starring periodic actors Joe Moore and Pat Sajak, netted $57,000 for the Hawaii Theatre Center, surpassing their earlier "The Odd Couple" and "The Honeymooners." …

Honolulu-born JD Webb was up for a Daytime Emmy for outstanding original song for a drama series last week. The tune was "Captured," for which he composed lyrics, featured on NBC’s "Days of Our Lives." …

Hula’s Bar & Lei Stand marks its 36th anniversary on Thursday. …

And that’s "Show Biz." …

Read Wayne Harada’s "Show and Tell Hawaii" blog at staradvertiser.com. Reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com.

 

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