FRIDAY-SEPT. 25
Theater companies wade into politics
It’s all politics, all the time for Honolulu theater companies, two of which are staging political plays.
The Actors Group will stage “The Best Man,” a Gore Vidal play that depicts what happens during a political party’s convention. Think this year’s Trump-Cruz debacle at the GOP convention was a picnic, or the finger-flicking Democratic convention was fun? Check out Vidal’s semifictional characterization of the 1960 Democratic convention.
The play has won several Tony Awards, including best play, during its premiere run, and subsequent stagings have won Tonys for best revivals. TAG’s production stars David Farmer as the principled Secretary of State William Russell; Al Lanier as his rival, the unscrupulous populist Sen. Joe Cantwell; and Peter Clark as outgoing President Art Hockstader, who enjoys seeing the two mix it up.
And learn how U.S. politics got its start with Paliku Theatre’s production of “1776, the Musical,” which tells the story of Founding Fathers John Adams (Eli Kent Foster), Benjamin Franklin (Gary Morris), Thomas Jefferson (Neil Scheibelhut) and others as they struggle to persuade members of the Second Continental Congress to vote for independence.
SATURDAY
Isle koto school marks 30 years with concert
The dulcet, exotic sound of the Japanese koto will be on full display as a local koto school celebrates its 30th anniversary in Hawaii with a concert Saturday.
Sawai Koto Kai Hawaii is the local branch of the Sawai Koto Institute, an international koto school in Japan founded by renowned koto player and composer Tadao Sawai. The Sawai Institute founded its first overseas branch here 30 years ago, and several of its graduates have taught at the University of Hawaii and the local school, said Darin Miyashiro, the most recent Sawai student to teach here.
The concert will feature several members of the Sawai family, including Hikaru Sawai, son of the Sawai founder, who, when he’s not playing and composing for koto, plays heavy metal guitar (thus the bleached hair in the photo). “Although being a heavy metal guitarist, he writes very melodic material, so koto players in general, even those who prefer traditional music, they want to play it, too,” Miyashiro said.
Performers will come from Japan and the mainland to join local performers. Both the traditional 13- and 17-string koto will be featured. Contemporary and traditional music will be performed.
The Greenroom Festival spotlights reggae and surf-themed art
The ocean and art join forces once again when the Greenroom Festival returns to the Waikiki Shell on Saturday.
The festival is organized by Japanese entrepreneur Naoki Kamayachi of Green Room Inc., a Tokyo-based branding company that specializes in fashion, music and sports. Kamayachi runs similar festivals in Japan, aiming to raise awareness about the necessity of preserving and protecting ocean waters and beaches and promoting the beach lifestyle.
Highlighting the festival will be an appearance by the Green, one of Hawaii’s most successful contributions to popular music on a national scale. The band formed on Oahu in 2009 and gained attention with its eponymous debut album, which was named Best Reggae Album of the Year on iTunes in 2010. The Green followed that up with “Ways & Means,” which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Reggae Chart in 2011.
Also on the bill is Big Mountain, the band that turned pop hits, such as Peter Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way” and George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun,” into reggae tunes. Jawaiian-reggae duo Def Tech, consisting of Hawaii native Shen and Japanese-born Micro, Japanese rap group Ketsumeishi and Japanese jam band Special Others.
The music starts at 4 p.m., with Big Mountain taking the stage at 7:45 p.m. and the Green at 9 p.m.
Check out artwork by artists known for using surf themes in their work, such as Heather Brown, Zak Noyle, Christie Shinn, Nick Kuchar, Matthew Tapia, Koji Toyoda and Kris Goto.
Bassist Lyman to play jazz event
The talented bassist and guitarist Alika Lyman spent a few years in Seattle making music a few years back. Now he’s going big, namely, to the Big Apple, New York.
“Once I got to Seattle and realized I could live on the mainland, I set my sights higher, and I always wanted to live in New York,” he said.
His recent marriage to a flight attendant who got an opportunity to work out of JFK airport has given him that opportunity. “I just think this is my shot, my chance,” said Lyman, 28, who plans to emphasize his bass playing in New York. “Every time I come back from New York, I practice and have new sights. You bring the bar up every day. Being around that every day will help my playing.”
Lyman started playing rock early in his career, playing the music of bands such as Yes and King Crimson. He didn’t start playing jazz until he was in 20s and moved to Seattle, where he lived for three years. There he learned the intricacies of improvisation and the underlying structures of music. “It was when I started learning the mechanics of how the music worked, that’s what excited me,” he said. “I learned it’s not just improvisation, it’s not just form, it’s this cool thing right in between.”
You can hear Lyman play bass Saturday as part of the Jazz Peace Concert at the Royal Hawaiian Center’s Royal Grove. He’ll share the stage with Chris Yeh on saxophone, Roland Sugimoto on keyboards, Chris Pangaribuan on drums and concert organizer and vocalist Mihoko M. You can also catch Lyman at Taps and Apps in Mililani on Wednesdays through October.
