78
Gotta hand it to impresario Jack Cione, the most active senior at the Arcadia, where “Thank God I’m Old,” a musical revue he conceived and directed, is a hit sellout. The show, playing Thursday through Saturday, is the sixth in a “Follies” series at the retirement facility — and the best ever, with guest artists like dancers John and Karen Kotake and ensemble troupers Geovanna and Chuck Lewis, who join Arcadia residents in playful, adorable fun. There’s plenty of lip-synching and dancing with pride and precision, and Cione’s accumulation of costumes dating back four decades is part of the draw: mirrored, plumed and sequined gems for the women and candy for the eyes. Arcadian Marci Taylor-Kaneshige’s solos on “Whatever Happened to Class” and “The Best of Times” are senior moments to remember! …
Happy to spot Ron Toma in the cast, too; with wife Yvonne, they’ve discovered retirement bliss at the Arcadia. …
SIGHT ’EMS: That was Sir Anthony Hopkins at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse by Wolfgang Zwiener a few nights back. The Oscar-winning Hannibal Lecter star of “The Silence of the Lambs” dined in the private room at a dinner hosted by Higgins Harte International Galleries, the exclusive art agent for Hopkins. Of course, he’s the eye-patched Odin, father of the titular superhero in “Thor.” …
Hopkins also found his way, with a party of six, to Sabrina Collo’s Sabrina’s Restaurant, where exec chef Steve Cianfrini served an array of Italian fare. …
PHANTOM UNMASKED: Byron Nease, the Broadway actor who relocated to Hawaii, has a cleverly titled show called “The Phantom Without the Opera,” at 7 p.m. July 23 at Unity Church at Diamond Head. Nease, who starred as Raoul in a touring “Phantom” here, also has donned the mask to play the Phantom elsewhere. He’ll sing tunes from the show, of course, and Mihana Souza will be guest artist. Refreshments in the church garden at 6 p.m. will precede the performance. Tickets: $40 at the door, with proceeds going to the youth-oriented “Live Music Awareness” and Unity Church. Information: 228-4499. …
HERE ’N’ THERE: Joy Abbott, who lives part of the year in Miami, is home again. In New York recently she took her Punahou classmates Barry and Iris Chung and Elva Yoshihara to the opening of “Lucky Guy,” an off-Broadway show by her pal Willard Beckham, a frequent Halekulani guest. In the Big Apple, Abbott — widow of the legendary Broadway writer-director George Abbott — met with organizers from the Society of Directors and Choreographers to make plans to honor a director with the “Mr. Abbott Award” Oct. 3 in New York. While visiting director Harold Prince at his office, Abbott learned he is readying two new shows for the next season. …
Dolores Treffeisen, retired Temple University employee from Philadelphia, has been spending her three-week vacation here, with front-row reservations for every Society of Seven/Martin Nievera performance at the Outrigger, through the acts’ run, which ends Saturday. …
As part of his “To the Sea” tour, islander Jack Johnson will be all over the map this summer. Like today, he’s in Croatia. … Great that another “Lost” actor, Terry O’Quinn, will become a “Hawaii Five-0” regular this fall. CBS starts season two filming in July. …
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.
