Before departing for the East Coast and a fall slate of show biz-related events, isle resident Joy Abbott, the sometimes singer and widow of Broadway producer-director-playwright George Abbott, gave a performance with longtime pianist and buddy Betty Loo Taylor at the Arcadia retirement residence in Manoa. About 200 residents, relatives and friends attended, bestowing a standing ovation. Even an Alzheimer’s wheelchair patient approved by smiling for the first time in months.
The hourlong show was a montage of songs and memories, punctuated with anecdotal reflections, about Abbott’s life with music and her 25-year courtship, then marriage, to the iconic Broadway legend who courted her for 25 years before marrying her.
Abbott and Taylor tossed in titles they had recorded on their Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning jazz CD.
The listeners were charmed by Abbott’s candor, honesty, vision and conversational ease; the performance was informal, but insightful.
Elva Yoshihara, a Punahou chum and Arcadia resident, arranged the show with kokua from entrepreneur Jack Cione, a fellow resident.
Abbott is in Philadelphia this week to present George Wolfe ("Angels in America," "The Normal Heart") with the Mr. Abbott Award on Monday. She participates in a theatrical seminar Oct. 23 at her alma mater, Temple University, joined by director Thomas Kail ("In the Heights") and choreographer Jonathan Cerullo at the recently established George and Joy Abbott Musical Theater Center.
She authorizes and releases rights to her husband’s catalog of shows. The latest request comes from Portugal for a translation of "Damn Yankees," with soccer replacing baseball as the sport where everyone sings "Heart." In Portuguese. …
MEDIA MATTERS: Marlene Sai (Auntie) and Chad Takatsugi (Kala) provide voices in filmmaker Michael Q. Ceballos‘ animated "E Ho‘omau!: Why Maui Snared the Sun," shown at the first Guam International Film Festival this weekend. "The Menehune and the Birds" and "Pele Searches for a Home" comprise the E Ho‘omau! trilogy, with companion graphic novels and science books. …
Paul Theroux, the novelist who lives here, has a bylined five-page piece dubbed "The Sixth Beatle?" in the current Newsweek, which chronicles the amazing symmetry of the vision and artistic mission of the late Beatle George Harrison and Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The peg is "George Harrison: Living in the Material World," a three-hour documentary on Harrison directed by Scorsese and produced by Olivia Harrison (George’s widow). It airs starting Wednesday on HBO. The article notes parallels in both Harrison and Scorsese’s viewpoints, including music and gardening; too bad there wasn’t a mention that Harrison, who died a decade ago, lived part of his life on the Valley Isle. …
DATEBOOK: "Al Waterson and You" has anchored at the Warriors Lounge of the Hale Koa Hotel, where singer-host Waterson oversees open-mic singing from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturdays. Though Hale Koa targets the military, anyone can partake — no admission, with food and drink options and $3 validated parking. …
Augie Rey, too, now is part of the Hale Koa’s Warrior Lounge lineup, performing from 8 to 11 p.m. Fridays. …
Meanwhile, Rey’s daughter Tahiti becomes a Friday regular from 5 to 8 p.m., beginning this week, at RumFire at the Sheraton Waikiki. She’s also at Tiki’s Bar & Grill from 9 to 11 p.m. Mondays, Formaggio’s at Kilohana Square from 8 to 11 p.m. Wednesdays, with a gig at the Cheesecake Factory Oct. 13 and 27, and at Duke’s Oct. 22. …
WHEE, THE PEOPLE: Fran Kirk watched the University of Hawaii Warriors play in Las Vegas recently; she also worked in a round of golf with her Society of Seven buddies Tony Ruivivar and Bert Sagum and longtime pal Benji Labrador. But, ouch, a sprained ankle on the course meant Kirk was wheelchaired onto her Hawaiian Air flight, and has been on Celebrex and ice packs since. …
Things I didn’t know: Vicki Borges, spouse of jazz crooner Jimmy Borges and scheduler for Gov. Neil Abercrombie, is a cousin of Tom Bergeron, host of ABC’s "Dancing With the Stars." …
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.
