- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Nov. 10, 2019
For nearly 25 years, KoAloha Inc., one of the leading brands of Hawaii-produced ukulele instruments, has been a mom-and-pop entity. As it grew into a popular brand of ukulele, it evolved into a mom-and-pop-and-two-sons success story.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Nov. 3, 2019
Two years ago, TV producer Emme Tomimbang started tracking entertainer Willie K’s battle with an aggressive form of lung cancer, filming segments while he was hospitalized as well as on the performance stage.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Oct. 27, 2019
Hawaii’s M&M stars — that would be Bette Midler and Bruno Mars — have been grabbing headlines in recent weeks.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Oct. 20, 2019
Two veteran events producers — logging more than 100 years of staging shows in separate platforms in Hawaii — continue to keep ’em coming.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Oct. 13, 2019
Hawaii’s Dean Pitchford has launched an off-Broadway musical based on his first book, “The Big One-Oh!,” in the underserviced genre for young audiences and families.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Oct. 6, 2019
For the first time in the company’s history, four shows on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, each with Saturday evening performances.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Sept. 29, 2019
A celebration of life, reflecting the prolific and groundbreaking achievements of professor-actor-director Terence Knapp, will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at Kennedy Theatre.
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- By Review by Wayne Harada Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Sept. 22, 2019
“Kinky Boots” is a hoot, filled with men dolled up as women, life lessons about bias and misconceptions, and division awaiting resolution.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Sept. 22, 2019
There was a time — three or four decades ago — when leading Waikiki hotels provided a prime-space supper club, where meals were served prior to or during a show.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Sept. 15, 2019
“Children of Eden” is a sumptuous and soaring concoction with a jolt of vocal and choreographic fireworks.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Sept. 8, 2019
Two rising stage actors from Hawaii will perform onstage at the Blaisdell Concert Hall when Jonathan Larson’s Broadway musical “Rent” plays Dec. 24 to 29.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Sept. 1, 2019
Without fanfare, Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole, the beloved Hawaiian entertainer with the angelic voice and kolohe demeanor, has quietly become a master of the music universe.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Aug. 25, 2019
If you’re a jazz buff, the place to be on Sept. 8 is “Sunset Jazz: A Sentimental Journey,” which marks the 20th anniversary of the jazz fest held on the Great Lawn of La Pietra (aka the Hawaii School for Girls), in the shadow of Diamond Head in Waikiki.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Aug. 18, 2019
When Loretta Ables Sayre performs her Tony-nominated role in a concert presentation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” in Cleveland, she’ll be at her glamorous best.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Aug. 18, 2019
Terence Richard Knapp, a prolific actor, director and educator perhaps best known for his one-man show on Father Damien, died Monday at Saint Francis Hospice. He was 87.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Aug. 11, 2019
The gigantic chandelier, which descends from the ceiling of the Blaisdell Concert Hall in the final moments of Act 1 in “The Phantom of the Opera,” is the centerpiece of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Aug. 4, 2019
When you’re of a certain vintage — like old, in the 60s through the 80s — dining out at a favorite restaurant from the past is difficult, challenging and nearly impossible.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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July 28, 2019
It takes more than a dress and a wig to transform Christopher Obenchain into the menacing headmaster Trunchbull in Diamond Head Theatre’s current hit show, “Matilda the Musical.”
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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July 21, 2019
What makes Willie K so mesmerizing? I wondered, after missing his Blue Note Hawaii performances for four months, and it dawned on me at his July 9 show why he’s authentically cool.
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- By Wayne Harada, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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July 14, 2019
After 60 years of collecting records, my treasures are mostly gone.
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- By Review by Wayne Harada Special to the Star-Advertiser
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July 14, 2019
“Matilda the Musical,” which opened Friday night as Diamond Head Theatre’s season finale, tackles serious themes — bullying, parental neglect and verbal assaults — with comedic results.
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