FRIDAY-DEC. 29
>> Diamond Head comes alive with ‘The Sound of Music’
Just in time for the holidays, Diamond Head Theatre is presenting the stage musical of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music,” the charming story of plucky young novitiate Maria, assigned to be the governess for the rowdy Von Trapp children, who finds love and family in the shadow of World War II.
Director Greg Zane said the Broadway show is “grittier” than the filmed version in that it contains more of “the rise of the Nazi party in Austria and how a lot of Austrians actually welcomed the Germans into Austria.” For example, the Baroness, the obstacle to Maria’s interest in the stiff Captain Von Trapp, is portrayed as a Nazi sympathizer, Zane said.
“Then it also deals with timeless elements of love and faith and music,and the ability to find your life and find your true self,” Zane said.
Zane has directed “The Sound of Music” at DHT twice before, but a 2017 trip he took to Salzburg, site of the original story and the movie, inspired him to make a few changes from his previous productions. “It’s such a beautiful little city, and people are outside all the time,” he said, “so I thought maybe instead of setting this show in interiors, have them outside, on the terraces and the mountains.”
Familiar faces Sarah Halford and Matthew Pennaz, pictured at right, play the two leads. Zane praised Halford for “digging deeper” into the role, having played Maria before.
Pennaz, meanwhile, has to portray the captain’s “fierce patriotism” while dealing with the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the loss of its seaports.
“The Navy was his identity, so he’s lost that and he’s lost his wife, who he loved very much,” Zane said. “So there’s a lot of hurt there and he’s kind of closed himself off to his children. And then this woman comes in who inhabits love and joy.”
“THE SOUND OF MUSIC”
>> Where: Diamond Head Theatre
>> When: Opens 7:30 p.m. Friday; then 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 3 p.m. Saturday matinees on Dec. 7, 14, 21 and 28; and 4 p.m. Sundays; through Dec. 29
>> Cost: $15-$50
>> Info: 733-0274, diamondheadtheatre.com
FRIDAY
>> Mike Epps headlines Hawaii Theatre
The multitalented performer Mike Epps brings a irreverent, bawdy sense of humor to Hawaii Theatre on Friday.
Epps, a native of Indianapolis, has a long and varied career in show business, starting with his appearance on the Def Jam Comedy Tour in 1995 and leading to film roles, comedy albums and comedy specials in the ensuing years. He played the memorable stoner character Day-Day Jones in the 1999 comedy “Next Friday” opposite Ice Cube. He’s called that role a “mirror” of his life, as documented in his 2018 book “Unsuccessful Thug: One Comedian’s Journey from Naptown to Tinseltown,” which revealed his path to comedy — such as being so terrible at crime that he had to call police to help him when a dog trapped him in a house he was robbing.
Epps can now be seen starring opposite Eddie Murphy in the recently released Netflix film “Dolemite is My Name,” a story based on the life of Rudy Ray Moore. Moore, an underground comic and filmmaker who created a series of underground films in the 1970s, is considered the Godfather of Rap.
Epps’ comedy is scatological but lighthearted, full of comical sound effects and imitations, with commentary on black life in America, race relations and the difference between whites and blacks.
MIKE EPPS
>> Where: Hawaii Theatre
>> When: 8 p.m. Friday
>> Cost: $60-$80
>> Info: 528-0506, hawaiitheatre.com
FRIDAY
>> Asian Blend celebrates CD release
CD release parties are always a time for celebration, but when Asian Blend celebrates the release of their new album “Maui Magic” with a dance concert tomorrow at the Ala Moana Hotel, the celebrating will be especially sweet.
Keyboardist Mitch Hazama founded the group in 1972 when he was a University of Hawaii-Manoa student and hired Jay Molina two years later to play bass and sing. Asian Blend then stepped up to full-time work as nightclub headliners in Waikiki, where they wore eye-catching black-and-white jumpsuit uniforms.
As the years passed Hazama and Molina made plans for an album, writing the album’s title song in 1992 and recording it in 1993. But things bogged down from there.
“‘Maui Magic’ was written in 1992 when Asian Blend was performing with Sonya Mendez,” Hazama said via email from his home on Maui. “When Sonya moved to Georgia, that same year, we replaced her with Pamela Petersen and Pamela recorded ‘Maui Magic’ with Jay Molina in 1993. The plan was to record our other originals and release our first CD later that year. Never happened.”
“At that time, I was managing Aloha Airlines and could not find time to dedicate to the CD project. After the shutdown of Aloha, I moved on to Alert Alarm. Same scenario, no time to work on the CD. Twenty-six years, we finally got it done!”
Pictured, front row from left, Asian Blend is Desiree Echalas (lead vocals), Alan Pascua (vocals) and Earl Apo Jr. (percussion/vocals), and back row from left, Molina, Hazama and Dave Ray Toma (guitar); long-time drummer Mike Kennedy, pictured far right, has been replaced by Garin Poliahu. Also performing with the group tomorrow are Jeannette Casuga Trevias (keyboards/vocals), Todd Yukumoto (saxophone/flute), Eldred Ahlo (trumpet/flugelhorn), and Aron Nelson (keyboards). Vocalist “Little Albert” Maligmat will be sitting in as a special guest performer, and founding members of Asian Blend Mel Shibuya (drums) and Eric Sekigawa (vocals) will join in.
— John Berger, Star-Advertiser
ASIAN BLEND
“Maui Magic” Release Party
>> Where: Hibiscus Ballroom, Ala Moana Hotel
>> When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow
>> Cost: $40 presale (includes reserved seating, nacho bar and the CD) and at the door (no CD included)
>> Info: 281-4655, mmprod@gmail.com
DEC. 5
>> Dominic Fike makes the most of rough youth
Multigenre artist Dominic Fike is riding a wave of success to stardom.
The 23-year-old performer from Florida, who began as a rapper in high school but has incorporated his own cool, moody vibe into his music, was the target of a war between various record labels. At the time, his work was only being distributed online, and he did not even have a large online following. But with the release of his EP “Don’t Forget About Me, Demos,” record labels engaged in a heated battle for his talents, with Columbia Records eventually signing him for a reported $4 million.
“Don’t Forget About Me, Demos” is a set of tunes that describe the ups and downs of a relationship in a particularly diffident, wary tone. “Call me what you want, when you want, if you want/And you can call me names if you call me up,” goes the verse in its top single “3 Nights.” Fike wrote the songs while he was under house arrest for battery of a police officer.
Fike grew up in rough circumstances. His mother was in and out of jail — on the day that “Don’t Forget About Me, Demos” was released, he had to take his mother to jail on a drug charge —and he was often left with a crack user while trying to care for his siblings. His album brought him new options; it was praised by influencers like Kendall Jenner and DJ Khaled, and he recently made his TV debut on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.”
Fike is part Filipino, but that’s not the only reason he might interest locals. Jack Johnson was an early inspiration for him, and some say Fike’s guitar playing is reminiscent of Johnson’s. Fike’s sincerity also has its appeal. In one video, where he composes his song “Rain or Shine” live, he apologizes to a stick for stepping on it. He also used part of his Columbia Records money to hire a lawyer to get his mother’s sentence reduced.
DOMINIC FIKE
>> Where: The Republik
>> When: 8 p.m. Dec. 5
>> Cost: $25
>> Info: 941-7469, jointherepublik.com or 941-7469
