Return of the Kings

Augie T idolized local laugh-meisters Edward Kaahea, Frank De Lima, Mel Cabang and Andy Bumatai while growing up, crediting these elders for inspiring him to carve out his own career in comedy.

Knowing the four funnymen were no longer regularly at the mic, Augie T (the “T” stands for Tulba) formed Na Ali‘i of Comedy to reboot local-style stand-up with a statewide tour. He booked gigs with Kaahea, De Lima, Cabang and Bumatai in Kona and Hilo and Kauai earlier this month, with two more stops: Maui on Friday and Blaisdell Concert Hall on Saturday.

“Everyone respects each other and we’ve been having fun,” said Tulba, 43, the prevailing comedy favorite of his generation.

“We traveled in vans, driving from Kona to Hilo, working out (the kinks). No one’s gone overtime (hogging the mic). We’ve tested the lineup: Mel followed Andy one night, Andy followed Mel another. And word’s gotten out; we’ve had calls from the mainland so we’re thinking of Las Vegas in August, San Francisco and San Diego in October.”

The four stand-up pioneers collectively have amassed more than 120 years of comedy experience over the past four decades. Though he worked the past year with De Lima here and on the mainland, Tulba said he knew that a gathering of his all-star mentors in one show would touch audiences’ funny button and provide employment for what he dubbed the “royalty” — hence, “Na Ali‘i” — of stand-ups.

“It’s hard to find sponsorships to do shows. But when you work together, you help each other, and the ultimate goal is to put on a successful show,” he said.

There was only one rule: no dirty language, only family-friendly gags. Each dude gets 20 minutes onstage, with Tulba emceeing and doing some incidental shtick. The whole laughfest, both onstage and off, is being taped for eventual video-on-demand downloading on OC16, then possibly a DVD, with some footage already posted on Bumatai’s Facebook page.

“One of the goals is to help give each one some work,” Tulba said. “The other is to let the guys inspire the future young comics.”

De Lima, 62, who’ll do onstage costume changes to enact a couple of his flamboyant characters, agrees with the tour’s family-oriented mandate. “I wouldn’t do it any other way,” said the 14-time Na Hoku Hanohano award winner.

He still visits schools to advocate a drug-free lifestyle and performs as part of a program to reassure youngsters shifting from elementary to middle school. But there’s nothing like laughter and applause from the longtime fans, De Lima said.

Bumatai, 57, who has headlined in comedy clubs across the country, said he prepared for the Na Ali‘i tour by test-driving his material Thursday nights at Che Pasta in downtown Honolulu.

“It’s not so much about memorizing … but to remember the segues so I can find my path,” he said.

Comedy acts are a bargain for club owners and ticket buyers in a weak economy, he said. “Very cheap: You hire a comic, you provide a mic and there’s only one plane fare and hotel room. That’s why comedy is thriving again.”

Kaahea, 62, the surviving member of the iconic Booga Booga trio he founded with the late Rap Reiplinger and James Grant Benton, said he joined the tour to fulfill a personal mission: “I feel a responsibility to that legacy.”

Now a vegetarian and an ordained pastor, Kaahea said the passing of his two buddies was “one of the reasons I came to God … to protect and prolong their memories.” He’s operated a comedy club at the Marriott resort on Kauai and hosts a religious show on KESU radio, and will soon relocate to Hilo to be near his grandchildren.

FOR CABANG, 70, who served time in a Nevada prison from 1998 to 2001 for crimes related to an illegal sports-betting operation, the gig is a chance to rebuild. He said he lost everything in the wake of his legal troubles — his home, his dignity — but gained a new wife.

“She’s very religious and honest. She compliments me, but she also gives me good scoldings for picking on someone in the audience,” he said. “I used to be brash; she now makes me think.”

Bumatai, who has worked with Cabang in the past, said the comedian earned a bad rap from routines that were peppered with X-rated language and sexual content. But Na Ali‘i of Comedy audiences won’t have to worry bringing the kids. ”He’s not scatological. But he’s a lot of fun,” he said.

“What’s good about this tour is that everyone gets to see us old guys … who don’t swear,” said Bumatai, who’s always been family-clean. “Being old and ugly can be a plus.”

Kaahea said signing up for the tour sparked an epiphany: “My entire life is flashing by, being together with balding, older comics. We’ll either be politically correct … or the laughing stock.”