Joy Abbott, who specializes in jazz, standards and the Broadway milieu, will be joined by pianist Betty Loo Taylor in a pledge-season fundraiser concert Sept. 16 at the PBS Hawaii studios.
The concert will follow Leslie Wilcox‘s "Long Story Short" profile on Abbott airing Aug. 16 on PBS, featuring the Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner and her links to island music and the Broadway and Hollywood scene. Abbott, a singer, is the widow of Broadway legend George Abbott, an iconic composer, playwright, producer and director of scores of shows on the Great White Way.
Abbott and Taylor will give a free performance for residents and guests Sept. 12 at the newly remodeled and expanded theater at the Arcadia Retirement Residence on Punahou Street. It will be their third engagement there, coordinated by resident Jack Cione. …
Cione, by the way, is producing and directing "Cabaret II," a HawaiiBallroom Association gala, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Ala Wai Clubhouse. …
ALL IN THE FAMILY: When Ron Bright was auditioning for roles in Paliku Theatre’s "Les Misérables" opening Sept. 20, stage vet Mary Gutzi was in the house. Only after her cousin Carmella Hernandez‘s granddaughter Camille Perry was selected as one of the two Little Cosettes cast did Gutzi reveal her family ties. "She got the job all on her own; it was her first musical theater audition," said Gutzi of Camille, who’s been dancing with Ballet Hawaii and involved in hula but never before did an audition like this. …
Bright’s ohana,familiar to show-goers, will be among the talent involved offstage. Clarke Bright, the director’s son who also is bandmaster of the Royal Hawaiian Band, will be musical director of "Les Miz." Also helping out will be Mary Hicks, opera singer and choral director, as vocal coach, and Lloyd Riford, set designer. …
NAMES ‘N’ PLACES: The Equus Hotel, located on Ala Moana Boulevard on the west side of Waikiki near The Modern, has been a hangout for celebrities. The casts of "Wicked," "Rain" and Blue Man Group have stayed there, and Mike Dailey, Equus owner and the son of Fred and "Murph" Dailey, who opened and operated the now-gone Waikikian in 1956, said notables have been attracted to the hotel long associated with the polo crowd because of the senior Dailey. Proximity to The Modern, Nobu and Morimoto helps. …
HAWAIIAN ABROAD: There will be hula and other Polynesian songs and dances in Glasgow, Scotland, thanks to local boy Mark Pinkosh‘s Starving Artists organization, which is staging a sampler titled "The Gathering Place" this weekend at the Merchant City Festival.Dancers Kailani Ranoa, kumu hula Kauila Barber and singer Lasinga Koloamatanagi will share Hawaiian, Maori, Tahitian, Fijian and Tongan classics, a prelude to a grander 2014 summer production. …
The Brothers Cazimero(Robert and Roland Cazimero) will bring Hawaiiana, hula and buddy Amy Hanaiali’i for the first time to the historic Napa Valley Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Theater this fall. The two acts teamed up recently in a Kauai gig, so a hana hou was natural, with the wine country setting providing a different kind of canvas for their tapestry of island sounds. Tickets for the Oct. 5 show: $45 and $55, at www.lincolntheater.com. …
The I Heart Radio Music Festival, Sept. 20-21 at the MGM Grand’s Garden Arena, will be a hot ticket, with Clear Channel assembling Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Chris Brown, local boy Bruno Mars, Maroon 5, Keith Urban, Miguel, J. Cole and fun., withRyan Seacrest hosting. …
DATEBOOK: Tony Bennett performs at 8 p.m. Sept. 23 (yes, a Monday) at Blaisdell Concert Hall. A master of cool, for sure. …
National CD sales are up again, so Hungry Ear Records’ Hawaii Record Fair 2013, set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 11 at the McKinley High School cafeteria, should be amagnet for music buffs — a chance to buy, sell, trade and talk story. …
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.
