Jade Stice, a singer-actress from a Kaneohe family of performers, is directing “Songs for a New World,” premiering Friday at Paliku Theatre. The musical by Jason Robert Brown, a cornerstone of the budding I’m a Bright Kid Foundation, will be staged after a precurtain gala dinner at Hale Akoakoa, the dining hall at Windward Community College.
Stice, last seen and heard onstage in IABK’s “Children of Eden” in October, chose to be behind the scenes this time and admits she was drawn to “Songs” because the score included tunes that explore life, love and choices we make that signal consequences.
Stice resorted to a quote by Brown to explain the gist of his work: “It’s about one moment,” she said. “It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice, or take a stand, or turn around and go back.”
Putting a personal spin on the theme in “Songs,” Stice is forging ahead. “Absolutely, my life has been affected by one single moment,” she reflected. “It was probably the moment I stood on a street corner in New York City and used a pay phone (cellphones didn’t exist) to call up a casting director to ask if he would see me for ‘Miss Saigon,’ which had recently opened in London. The man was Vinnie Liff (who later auditioned Hawaii youths for Broadway musicals like “Les Miserables” before he died), who told me to come right upstairs and sing for him in his office. He changed my life.”
She was 18 “and just dumb enough not to be terrified. … I would never have the guts to do something like that today.”
She had a run in “Miss Saigon,” but now admitted, “Theater for me was always just really, really fun. I don’t know that I ever decided to ‘do’ theater as a career (but) it was just always part of my life.”
The late and beloved drama teacher at Castle High School was her mentor; Ron Bright inspired scores of local kids to follow their Broadway dreams. “Mr. Bright was an influence in my life from sixth grade until today,” she said. “He gave me and so many others a safe place to grow up, learn about life and love and responsibility. And, oh yeah, we did some shows, too!”
She had sisters (Ligaya and Paraluman) also involved in musicals during high school and they clearly were instrumental in swaying her to follow the brick road.
“Once my older sister Ligaya got involved in shows at Castle, it became a family affair,” said Stice. “So in essence, it was her decision to do theater that influenced me and my life path; and the butterfly effect from that is still felt in my life today. Ligaya and I are both on the board of the I’m a Bright Kid Foundation, to honor the legacy of Ron Bright, and my involvement with the foundation ranges from being a cast member in various shows to directing the children’s summer program (and also) directing projects like ‘Songs for a New World.’”
She was living in NYC when “Songs” was originally produced. “It’s one of those shows that people know and know very well but it’s not gotten play outside of that. I’ve always wanted to do the show, mostly because I connect to the notion of that moment before something really life-changing happens.”
The piece is not scripted, requiring the director to define time, space and characters, and Stice admitted having “visions in my head of what was happening during the songs. Honestly, I get just as much joy out of directing as I do performing.”
The cast includes Kevin Pease, Susan Codispoti Hawes, Pomai Lopez, Michael Cabagbag, Vanessa Manuel-Mazzullo and Miguel Cadoy III.
For “Songs,” she wanted to create that urban feel of “you are alone, but you’re really never alone” feeling, drawn from walking the streets of New York and “loving the pace, loving the crowd and the push-and-pull of what was going on around me.”
The play begins with all actors on stage together, quickly dispersing to their busy city lives not actually knowing each other. “But for that one moment at the top of the show, and then again at the end, they are connected. The human experience connects us all.”
“Songs for a New World” plays Fridays through Sundays, through Dec. 1. For tickets to the gala or the show, go to imabrightkid.org. …
SANTA OF SORTS
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And he is a she — namely, Loretta Ables Sayre — who made a brief, but robust, performance Nov. 10 at Blue Note Hawaii at the Outrigger Waikiki resort.
She brought a song bag of tunes, from Gershwin oldies to her signature “Bali Ha‘i” (from her Tony-nominated Broadway hit, “South Pacific”), and plenty of chitchat about Christmas (“six weeks more,” she said) and the already decorated tree at her Mililani Mauka home.
“Whatever Lola Wants,” sensuous and seductive, and “That Ol’ Black Magic,” rich and sultry with emotional wallop, were highlights.
Ables Sayre reigned, dearly, with her honesty, passion and talent, surrounded by top-notch musicians, Jim Howard (piano), Dean Taba (bass) and Darryl Pelligrini (drums). For her hana hou hou hou, she jingled through “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” …
BOOK ’EM
Frances Kakugawa, the island-reared educator, poet, author and motivational speaker, is in Hawaii for a series of caregiving sessions in Hilo (last week) and Maui (this week). Her latest book, “Echoes of Kapoho,” is just out, crammed with precious and poignant recollections of small-kid-time in Kapoho (and other environs). Enmeshed with poetry, plus inspiration from her fictional Wordsworth character, the tales reflect her vivid imagination and a penchant for storytelling. …
“The World of Tihati,” my first book about Tihati Productions’ milestone 50th anniversary, was co-authored with my wife, Violet Harada. Jack and Cha Thompson, Tihati co-founders, will join us in a book signing at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Barnes and Noble, Ala Moana Center. Come say hello. …
And that’s “Show Biz.”…
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist. Reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com.
