Brad Powell, one of the pillars at The Actors’ Group and a veteran drama teacher, actor, director, producer and TV personality, will be center stage when TAG formally names its performing arts venue the Brad Powell Theatre on Dec. 8.
The honor is fitting. Powell has been a spark plug for TAG for 16 years and counting and a stage fixture for decades.
The naming, at the Dole Cannery Square facility leased by TAG, will take place following the 2 p.m. performance of "Hollywood Arms," the drama by Carrie Hamilton and Carol Burnett, which Powell is directing. Eric Nemoto, TAG founder and president, said the naming will properly honor the Po‘okela Award winner and recognize his "matchless contributions to The Actors’ Group."
The naming notion happened when Powell was away on a trip; he’s appreciative of but unruffled by the honor, voted on by the TAG board. "My sister, who’s 90, called from the mainland and said, ‘I thought you were supposed to be dead to get this honor,’" said Powell, 80.
"I think I should call Ron Bright and ask him," he said of the retired Castle Performing Arts Center director, whose name now is on the Castle High School theater.
The celebration will include beverages, finger food and desserts; TAG welcomes potluck nibbles, too.
Reservations for the play and the celebration can be made at www.taghawaii.net, by emailing frankie.enos@ gmail.com or by calling 783-9700. Powell directs "Smokey Joe’s Cafe" July 3 at Manoa Valley Theatre and then directs "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" (a hit from Broadway’s last season, which he landed for TAG) in August at the Brad Powell Theatre. …
MOVIE MATTERS: Looks like John Krasinski, who costarred in NBC’s "The Office," is joining the cast of"Deep Tiki,"Cameron Crowe‘s current film shooting here with Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Danny McBride, Bill Murray, Jay Baruchel and Alec Baldwin. Krasinski is set to play "a military man wed to McAdams who is the ex of Cooper." With such a galaxy of stars, it’s somewhat amazing howthe cast has pretty much stayed under the radar. Crowe is a Hollywood writer, director, producer and actor, with diverse credits that include "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," "Almost Famous," "Elizabethtown" and "Jerry Maguire." …
WHEE, THE PEOPLE: Bette Midler hosted her annual Halloween spectacle, "Hulaween in the Big Easy," on Halloween at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City; proceeds aid the New York Restoration Project. …
Speaking of New York: A Tihati Productions performing group, led by Nicole Thompson, flew to the Big Apple recently, with only the knowledge it would be entertaining a celebrity audience. Turns out the event was a Halloween party, "Ready, Set, Gauguin," hosted by socialite Allison Sarofim at her New York apartment. Folks such as actor-director Woody Allen, actress Laura Flynn Boyle and designer Valentinowere there. Guests donned Polynesian attire reflective of the Gauguin era, so aloha shirts, pareu and coconut bras were totally en vogue. …
MUSICAL NOTES: J.P. Lam, an entertainer and savvy businessman, has joined the Shirokiya family’s real estate division, but his ties with the Beach Boys sound-alike group The Dukes of Surf will be creating buzz. The Dukes’ "Aloha Christmas" digital download on iTunes will kokua the Hawaii Children’s Cancer Foundation. …
And Michael Ige, performing as Uncle Tadashi & Da Boyz on "Da Yoisho Song," has a potential novelty hit. It’s a clever hybrid of bon dance tempo and hip-hop jive, with da kine pidgin and local-style punctuation points — plus a contagious taiko undercurrent. "Yoisho" loosely is an expression of "heave-ho." …
Kalapana was the opening act for Atsushi from the Japanese megaband Exile at a fan concert Saturday night at the Waikiki Shell. …
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.
