Even though he’s undergoing painful treatment to combat cancer beneath his tongue, Andy Bumatai is a true champion. His “Cancer Treatment: Weak Tree,” as posted on YouTube, is bona fide Bumatai — filled with achingly funny lines, jammed with the reality of a legit health threat, yet sobering as a testament to his wit and comedic genius.
His throat raw and hurting, complicated by a yeast infection, Bumatai’s video update of his condition is stunning. Hooked to tubes while receiving radiation treatment from a hospital bed, he thanks his supporters for donations, pleads for continued GoFundMe kokua (www.gofundme.com/Bumatai) and demonstrates authentic transparency about the ravages of his condition. It is occasionally unbearable to watch, yet there’s a twinkle of hope beneath Bumatai’s somber facade. He trudges awkwardly down the hall to the men’s room with a metallic hospital “tree” laden with liquids that likely will be part of his regimen for another month. So say a prayer, send a donation, spread the word: Bumatai needs all our aloha now. …
The comic’s showbiz roots run deep; ditto, his peer friendships. Prior to the first of a series of chemotherapy and radiation sessions, Bumatai’s buds — then and now — got together at the Mililani Mauka home of singer Loretta Ables Sayre to party and recall the good times. Andy’s wife, Sherry Bumatai, was there, natch; ditto Kanoe and John Miller. “We talked and laughed for hours,” said Ables Sayre, who said their careers date back to the time Andy opened for Keola and Kapono Beamer, Kanoe was the featured hula stylist and Loretta was the spotlighted singer at the Ocean Showroom of the old Reef Hotel. Then Kanoe and Loretta opened for Andy when he headlined at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s Monarch Room.
“We’re still friends,” said Ables Sayre. “Still laughing and loving each other through all the twists and turns of our lives. He needs all the support we can give him now.” Laughter, she said, “was the best medicine for all of us.” …
HELLO, FOLLIES: Jack Cione’s eye-filling, soul-moving “Follies” spectacle, playing Fridays through Sundays through May 29 at the Arcadia Retirement Residence theater, is the best one yet. Themed “Lullaby of Broadway,” the cast of 34 comprising mostly senior retirees from the Arcadia lip-sync and prance in a knockout pastiche of Broadway tunes and Great American Songbook classics.
The costumes are incredible. Bill Doherty fashioned a bounty of garb, notably for “Circle of Life” from “The Lion King,” and outdid himself. A cheetah puppet, a zebra, a voodoo priestess adorned with kitsch and a pair of rams with curlicue antlers parade through the theater like the Broadway original.
“It would take a $50,000 budget to get these costumes for a show,” said Cione of the spectacle and punch of vivid color. Arcadia volunteers helped stitch, assemble and glue-gun fabric and froufrou, and material donations enabled the company to embellish costumes and even strip out donated white sheets to create a barnyard of chickens doing the “Chicken Dance.”
Arcadians and their guests attend free, so if you know someone there, make a plea to secure a seat. Or wait for the expanded version partnered with the Hawaii Ballroom Dance Association — “Mardi Gras Follies 2016” at 7 p.m. June 25 at the Kaimuki High School Auditorium. For details and a full review, see my blog at blogs.staradvertiser.com. …
TELEVIEWS: Bruno Mars fans hungry for new music got a surprise treat when he guest-starred on The CW’s “Jane the Virgin” on Monday. He debuted and performed an unreleased tune, “Rest of My Life,” which became a pivotal moment when Jane (Gina Rodriguez) and Michael (Brett Dier) danced at their wedding. Could evolve into a wedding fave, for brides and grooms alike, with lyrics that express marital joy: “It took us a lifetime to find each other; it was worth the wait ‘cause since I finally found the one.” …
Reminder: “Jimmy Borges: A Life Story,” that TV special on the jazz singer, will air at 7 p.m Thursday on KGMB and at 9 p.m. June 3 on KHNL. An incorrect date on the first viewing was listed here last week. …
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 staradvertiser.com.
