Madonna and Steven Tyler, or at least tribute artists that looked remarkably like the superstars, were on hand to mark the first anniversary of Legends in Concert Waikiki’s all-star "Rock-A-Hula" show.
The milestone proves that it’s not impossible to see Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson (or their look-alikes) perform in Hawaii, nor is it impossible for a Waikiki evening show to have staying power. When Legends returned to Hawaii last December after more than a decade on hiatus, nearly everyone said it wouldn’t last.
"There were a lot of skeptics. Until we came the nicest venue in Waikiki sat empty for years. But we’ve proved that we have got some staying power," said Brian Brigner, Legends in Concert’s chief operating officer. "We’ve got a multiyear deal at Royal Hawaiian Center, and we aren’t going anywhere."
The partnership between Las Vegas-based Onstage Entertainment Inc., owner of the Legends in Concert brand, and longtime Hawaii cruise and transportation operator Star of Honolulu Cruises & Events brought 65 jobs to Waikiki. It also filled the 21,000-square-foot space left vacant when Roy Tokujo’s Las Vegas-style show, Waikiki Nei, closed in 2008.
Legends in Concert Waikiki has invested more than $2.8 million renovating the fourth-floor, 700-seat theater, Brigner said.
"We spent $1.6 million on the lighting and the acoustical treatments alone," he said. "Recently we brought someone in from Vegas to test the fly rig that Steven Tyler uses. Everything takes money."
Legends also has made significant investment in its personnel during the first year. Local dancers, musicians and entertainers now have a chance to work a year-round Waikiki production six days a week and cultivate their own talents.
Shaeja Lee, a Legends dancer who grew up on Kauai, was offered a chance to tour with Wayne Brady and could train as a tribute artist.
"We’re talking about training me to become Beyoncé or Jennifer Lopez," Lee said. "I would love it."
Brigner said Legends, which is the longest-running show on the Vegas Strip, has seven locations, tours worldwide and offers its 600 performers and staffers room to grow.
"I look at our dancers as more than just taking a contract," he said. "I look at them having a career with us. Our Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston and Carrie Underwood were all dancers before they became tribute artists."
Lee, who has been working for Legends since its Waikiki debut, said the show gives her and other Hawaii entertainers hope.
"It’s the only show that has this type of variety in Hawaii. It’s wonderful. I can live my dream to perform and stay in Hawaii and raise my 5-year-old son," she said.
Lee, who knows firsthand how tough it is for shows to make it in Waikiki, wasn’t always so sure that she could pursue her passion in Hawaii. She was one of many performers who lost a job upon the closure of the short-lived Hawaii Pacific Swing, a 1940s-themed show headlined by Nathan Osmond, nephew of Donny and Marie.
"It’s been tough," Lee said.
To be sure, hundreds lost their jobs, including Tommy D, who played Roy Orbison, when a previous Legends Show in Waikiki, which was under different management, closed in 1999. Ownership of the previous Waikiki Legends belonged to the now-defunct RBLS Partnership of Nevada, which licensed the brand name from Onstage but was not otherwise affiliated with the company. At least four other impersonator shows in Waikiki, including Aloha Las Vegas — the one that gave Bruno Mars his start — also have failed.
Some say that Hawaii’s visitor mix — more than 65 percent have been here before — makes it difficult for paid attractions to generate the patrons that they did before Hawaii became such a mature destination. That’s why the Legends show in Hawaii is the only branded one since the show opened in Vegas that is specific to the market, Brigner said.
"It’s nice that they incorporated the Polynesian part. We’ve got kahiko, hula dance and the Tahitian dances, which I studied for years," Lee said. "We don’t do that anywhere else."
The return of Legends also gave Johnny Fortuno, a Wahiawa boy with a voice like Elvis, a chance to return home to Hawaii. Last year he came back to open as the "young Elvis" and has been held over this year to sing hits from Elvis’ 1973 "Aloha from Hawaii" concert.
"This is the biggest opportunity in Hawaii for an entertainer; otherwise there’s mainly only bars and clubs," Fortuno said. "I hadn’t worked for Legends in years. When they called me, I was singing in Las Vegas under my own name. It’s ironic that I got my start here in this very showroom."
Fortuno, who worked for the previous Legends company, said the difference is night and day.
"The one before didn’t want to listen; this time it’s different," Fortuno said. "They pay attention to the entertainers, the guests and the community. I know they are going to continue succeeding."
Brigner said Legends Waikiki has made progress every month.
"We’re growing a little bit at a time," he said. "That’s OK since we came in with a long-range strategy."
