NEW YORK >> Would you pay $1,450.80 for two tickets to Broadway’s box-office champ, “Hamilton,” the 2016 Tony Award-winning best musical conceived and written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda?
Can’t believe it, but I did! It was worth every penny.
I normally opt for orchestra seats, but at the time I was buying, the price was $1,500 to $2,000 apiece. After the Tony noms were announced, with “Hamilton” landing a record 16 (and ultimately winning 11 trophies), orchestra prices spiraled to even loftier ranks. Some seats were listed at $3,000 each.
But everything “Hamilton” comes at a price. I bought a “Hamilton” T-shirt for $30, plus a snappy baseball cap with “A. Ham” embroidery for $35. Great souvenirs, so what’s an additional six or seven $10 bills to the sum already invested?
“Hamilton,” clearly, was a highlight of my two-week Broadway visit, where I took in 16 shows. (I’ll recap in a story June 26.)
Meanwhile, there were Hawaiian moments aplenty:
>> Honolulu performer-
teacher Shari Lynn was in the Big Apple to catch up on shows and do research for projects she hopes to develop shortly. I had breakfast with her one morn at Pigalle, a theater district coffee shop. She told me she was determined to celebrate her late mom’s 100th birthday June 8 by visiting her mom’s birthplace on Broome Street. It was a day of downpours, so she ducked into the Tenement Museum for shelter. “I found, for sale, a little square tile in an Art Deco style that said, ‘Ask not what your mother can do for you, but what you can do for your mother’ — a lovely way to remember the significance of the day,” she said. Yep, she bought it. …
>> Daniel Dae Kim, with his kingly haircut filling in from his earlier shaved look, was a surprisingly appealing song-and-dance leading man as the King of Siam (opposite Marin Mazzie as Anna) in the Tony-winning “The King and I” at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. Backstage, Kim obligingly posed for a photo with my wife, Vi, and me. …
>> Hawaii’s Tony-winning Ruthie Ann Miles, who charms as Lady Thiang, is uncertain what’s next after “King” closes June 26. As a Tony winner last year, she said she was “deeply disappointed” at not being invited to be a presenter this year. New locals in the cast: ensemble members Erica Wong and Bobby Pestka and orchestra member Morris Kainuma; associate choreographer Greg Zane will retain that slot when the show launches a London-bound tour later this year. …
>> Keola Settle, who has roots in Laie, plays the waitress Becky in “Waitress,” a new musical by Sarah Bareilles starring Jessie Mueller at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Settle represented her cast at “Stars in the Alley,” a free show June 3 at Shubert Alley, with performances by the casts from top Broadway shows. ‘Twas the next best thing to the Tony Awards. …
>> Over at the St. James Theatre, where “Something Rotten,” the musical sendup of Shakespeare, still is a riotous hit (’twas my second time applauding), local actor Aleks Pevec remains in the ensemble. …
>> The Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Hokule‘a and crew docked in the Hudson River on June 5 as part of the global “Malama Honua” worldwide voyage. It was a dark and gloomy day, but several hundred showed up, including Leon and Malia, with sunny smiles peeking from beneath dripping umbrellas. “We’re honored to be at the historic arrival in NYC,” said Malia. …
>> Lunching one day at Applebee’s in Times Square, Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole’s lilting voice was heard singing “Over the Rainbow.” And on a morning when I popped into the New York Hilton’s sundries store to pick up a newspaper, Bruddah Iz was oooo-oooo-ing again. …
>> Spotted Matt Yee, in town for a cabaret show at Laura Beechman Theatre, at Cirque du Soleil’s “Paramour” show at the Lyric Theatre. …
And from New York, 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 staradvertiser.com.
