The owners of CabaRAE, the theater-in-the-round show at the Hilton Hawaiian Village that features a variety of big-top-style, human-powered circus-type acts, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
The voluntary petition filed late Friday by attorney Christopher Muzzi listed assets for RAE Entertainment Group LLC of between $100,000 and $500,000 and liabilities of between $1 million and $10 million. Muzzi was unavailable for comment Monday.
The filing estimates that money will be available for distribution to creditors and was signed by Alan and Wanda Goldberg, the husband-and-wife team that, aided by investors, built a new, multimillion-dollar showroom on the Hilton property.
CabaRAE opened in the showroom on Halloween night in 2014 after a seven-week run in the Tapa Ballroom.
In April the show closed temporarily, with plans to open for another season, which it did. However, the show hasn’t gone on “for a couple months now,” said Cynthia Rankin, Hawaii regional director for Hilton corporate communications.
“All we know is, they still have the showroom, and they are looking at revamping and coming out with a new show,” she said.
The Goldbergs, themselves performers, imported additional performers from around the world, putting them up in at least six rented units in the Tradewinds Apartments at 1720 Ala Moana Blvd.
The owner of the Tradewinds filed six suits for summary possession — essentially, eviction — in October, and in November the courts issued rulings in the building owner’s favor.
Other lawsuits filed previously against RAE Entertainment Group and its affiliates included a lien and a foreclosure action filed by a contractor and a landlord-tenant complaint filed by Hilton Hawaiian Village. The foreclosure complaint and the matter filed by the hotel were later dismissed by the court.
In the bankruptcy case the creditors owed the most money are Kentucky-based Kloiber Holdings LLC with a claim of $1.1 million, Hilton Hawaiian Village with a claim of $121,000 and Kapolei-based consulting and marketing firm Rubicon with a claim of $50,000.
The Goldbergs had told at least some of their creditors that a new investor had been lined up “that’s going to fund things,” said Patrick Bullard, principal at Heinrich & Bullard Marketing.
“I am optimistic that Alan and Wanda will work with the investor to take care of the bankruptcy situation, come out of the reorganization and get everybody taken care of. That’s what he’s communicated to me,” Bullard said.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser also is among those with unsecured claims cited in the filing.
CabaRAE was ambitious and expensive from the start, which also could be said for long-running Waikiki shows such as the “Magic of Polynesia” at the Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Resort and “Rock-a-Hula,” the newest incarnation of “Legends in Concert Waikiki” at the Royal Hawaiian Center.
The long-running shows have well-established financial backing and widespread support from others in the visitor industry, including key activity desks that cater to the visitor market. Observers say CabaRAE did not have the same level of support.