Diamond Head Theatre

Fall 2014
Volume 100 • Issue 1
Inside This Issue
The Joy of Theatre
1
Executive Director’s Message 2
From Shooting Star to
Broadway Star
3
Happy 100th Birthday, DHT! 4
Murder in the House
7
Kids, Theatre and Summer
8
Coming Soon
The Joy of
Theatre
How UH Dean and DHT
Volunteer Tom Bingham Found His
‘Theatre Legs’
T
om Bingham may be a dean at
the University of Hawaii, but
at Diamond Head Theatre, he’s
simply known as Michael Bingham’s dad.
That’s one of the fun things about DHT—
you never know at first glance what
someone does in his or her “real life.”
People become involved in the theatre
for a variety of reasons. For Tom it was
his son Dustin, who was participating in
our Musical Theatre Experience (MTE)
summer camp. Then along came his son
Michael, who also signed up for MTE and
got bitten big time by the theatre bug. Mike
eventually auditioned for DHT’s Shooting
Stars and then remained with the troupe
throughout high school, learning everything
and anything he could from the Shooting
Stars’ director John Rampage.
Sept. 8 - Oct. 19, 2014
During Mike’s time with the Shooting
Stars, he had the opportunity to travel to
New York with the group. Tom served
as one of the chaperones and says that
“the New York trip was pivotal in Mike’s
development.” According to Tom, Mike
had already been toying with the idea of
studying theatre—but the trip solidified
that desire. He’s now studying theatre at
Elon University.
At the same time, Tom began
discovering his own “theatre legs.” His
very first production as a volunteer was
9 To 5: The Musical. He decided to crew
for it because Mike was in the show
and he thought it would be the perfect
opportunity for them to spend time
together before Mike left for college. When
asked if it was intimidating to be backstage
during that fast-moving show, he admits
that it was and adds, “Thankfully there
were experienced crew people to coach me!”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
December 5 - 21, 2014
Jan. 30 - Feb. 15, 2015
For Tickets
Call 808.733.0274 or visit
www.diamondheadtheatre.com
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Looking back, Tom confesses that
he had initially volunteered at DHT
in the spirit of a somewhat-obligated
parent—but even after Mike left for
college, he couldn’t help but stick
around. When asked what transitioned
him from supportive parent to the
super volunteer he is today, he says,
“I’ve been teaching in the arts all my
life, so I’ve seen what the arts can
do for kids. The programs at DHT
do those things. I decided this is
something I would like to remain a
part of.”
He also says that the people at
Aloha from DHT’s
Executive Director
2
One hundred years—that’s all we’ve
talked about in the two-year run up
to this season. What shows should we
pick? What events should we have?
How should we promote the season,
the theatre, and everything else?
I’m sure you’ll agree the shows we
selected are truly spectacular. John and
I go to New York annually to meet
with the royalty houses, which hold the
show licenses, so we’ve had a few of this
season’s shows in our pockets for a year
or more. We held them back for this
season because we wanted to present
the best of the best—and we feel we
have. Our patrons seem to think so
too, as we’ve got a record-breaking 73
percent season subscription audience
(meaning people who’ve bought the
whole season package). We’ve actually
had to stop selling season packages to
leave some room for show-by-show
ticket buyers.
As for events, we expect a
magnificent opening night. And,
we’re planning a little something for
the holidays as well as for spring. In
DHT are another big draw that
keeps him involved. “I really value
the people that I’ve met here—both
those who work at the theatre and the
volunteers—who without fail have
been really fun to be around. They
all want to do well. As volunteers,
especially working backstage, we get
pretty upset if something doesn’t go
right. We take it seriously. It’s good to
be around people like that.”
Tom has been with the University
of Hawaii for 27 years, and luckily
his job allows him the flexibility to
volunteer as much as he can at DHT.
He’s served as a crewmember for
five shows now and reports that he’s
placed all of this season’s shows on his
calendar. He hopes his schedule as a
dean will still continue to allow him
to help with a show or two (or even
three).
“The things that I’ve done here—
Shooting Stars parent duties, ‘Ilima
Awards, Murder Mystery Dinner,
concessions, ushering, crew—it all
comes back to the mission and to
the results that the theatre gets,” he
says. “And, the people that DHT has
attracted make it a special place. I want
to keep doing this as long as I can.”
Everyone at Diamond Head
Theatre hopes for that as well. Take a
bow, Tom!
addition, we’ll
be hosting
our 100thanniversary gala
on April 25.
Save the date!
We’ll send out
information
soon. It’ll be
a black-andwhite ball
at the Sheraton Waikiki—a real
extravaganza—with the theme
“Broadway of the Pacific.”
Summer at DHT will include the
musical Shrek, and we’ll offer food
trucks for picnicking on the lawn
between the Saturday matinee and
evening performances. We’re still
working on the details, but we’re very
excited about it.
Sandwiched in between the shows,
the events and the celebrating, we’ll
be busy sharing the story of Diamond
Head Theatre. You’ll be seeing stories
about DHT, formerly known as
Honolulu Community Theatre, in
periodicals around town in the months
ahead.
Researching our history has been
so much fun. We’ve been reading
correspondence from the 1900s and
the early 20th century up through
the present day, including telegraphs,
handwritten notes (remember those?!)
and typed carbons of letters from
people who traveled the world, took
in theatre productions in other cities
and then returned home to their very
own Honolulu Community Theatre,
of which they were inordinately proud.
We’ve poured over news clippings,
carefully opened old photo albums,
laughed and shed tears over charming
life stories of folks who loved our
community and our theatre. We’ll
be telling those stories in Encore
throughout this season. The first
quarter-century is detailed in this issue.
The journey to reach our 100th
season has been exciting—and
humbling, as we’ve realized how many
came before us. They left us their little
jewel of a theatre to keep polished and
shining bright, and we aim to do that
for the next 100 years and more. I look
forward to doing my part in keeping the
performing arts alive for the generations
to come.
Encore! is published by Diamond Head Theatre, 520 Makapuu Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96816.
Phone
(808)733-0277
Facsimile (808)735-1250
Box Office (808)733-0274
www.diamondheadtheatre.com
Writers
Editor
Graphic Designer
Coordinator
Deena Dray, John Rampage and Mary Calantoc
Stacy Pope
Bernie Kim
Lauren Lee
Our Mission Statement
Established in 1915, Diamond Head Theatre is
the Broadway of the Pacific, producing the best live
community theatre entertainment and advancing
the theatre arts through education in Hawai‘i.
From Shooting Star
to Broadway Star
Aleks Pevec Returns Home
to DHT and Shares His Story
of Success
B
roadway actor Aleks Pevec started
his performing career right here at
Diamond Head Theatre as a member
of our Shooting Stars troupe. So, on a
recent Saturday afternoon, with both
a matinee and evening performance of
Catch Me If You Can to prepare for, he
made time to meet with our current
Shooting Stars kids to tell them his
story.
In addition to his years as a
Shooting Star, Aleks had also
performed in many DHT musicals,
including Oliver!, Annie Get Your
Gun and Nine. It was through these
experiences that his deep interest in
musical theatre developed. “Theatre
became my passion,” Aleks explained.
“And unless you have that passion, you
shouldn’t make a career out of theatre,
because you need it to survive and keep
pushing ahead.”
At the age of 14, Aleks and his
family moved to California, where he
combined his love of performing with
his love of sports, especially soccer.
“Learning to be a team member in
sports really prepares you to be part
of the team when you’re in a show,”
he noted. “It’s not just about you—it’s
about your connection to everyone else
involved in the show.”
Aleks was always a natural when
it came to dance and eventually
focused on the one form he’d always
Aleks Pevec with some of the cast of Oliver
avoided: ballet. In fact, he encouraged
our Shooting Stars to take ballet to
strengthen their technique and learn
how to take care of their bodies. He
also started working early on with a
vocal coach, who sensed that Aleks had
a larger voice inside him and helped
him develop the enormous vocal range
he has to this day.
After college, Aleks began
auditioning for professional theatre
and spent two years as a swing in the
L.A. production of Wicked. A swing
is the person who has to learn all the
blocking, dancing and singing parts
for six, seven or even eight different
performers and be prepared to replace
anyone who is sick or injured. It takes
enormous focus and hard work to be a
good swing, and he was—but he also
had his sights set higher. Broadway!
His plan for Broadway was unique,
but also very sensible. He would not
move to New York until he had a job
in a Broadway show. He saved his
money from Wicked and flew to New
York whenever there was an audition
for a show he thought he had a chance
at. “I knew my strength was a big
voice that could belt the high notes
and get me noticed, so I concentrated
on auditioning for those,” he said. It
all paid off when he was cast in the
Broadway premier of Catch Me If You
Can.
With a contract for Catch Me If You
Can in hand, Aleks made the move to
New York. He has since appeared in
the Broadway revival of Evita, starring
Ricky Martin, and the Encores!
production of The Most Happy Fella At
City Center. He’s currently appearing in
the Broadway smash hit, Aladdin.
As a last word of advice to the Stars,
Aleks emphasized that theatre is “a
career, not a job. You have to respect it.
And you have to take care of yourself,
because your whole day has to be in
preparation for that next performance.”
With those words still echoing
among the group of kids, Aleks
departed to warm up for DHT’s
3 p.m. matinee of Catch Me If You
Can, held on the same stage he had
begun building his own career path to
stardom.
3
Aleks with the Shooting Stars
Happy 100th Birth
1918
1915
4
1922
1927
1929
1929
We Proudly Present Our First 25 Years in Celebrat
I
t’s Diamond Head Theatre’s 100th anniversary season—
and in celebration, we will be sharing vignettes of our
venerable theatre’s history with you throughout the year.
Here we present the first 25 years in living color.
Diamond Head Theatre was founded in 1915 as a
theatre group called The Footlights. According to the group’s
very first constitution and bylaws, its purpose was “the study
of drama.” The club, which began with all women, hosted
two dramatic readings a month and produced one play a
year. Annual membership for active
members was $2.
For the first 25 years, The Footlights
found themselves producing shows in
such legendary venues as The Opera
House, The Lanai Theater, Sans
Souci, The Hawaii Theatre, The Royal
Hawaiian hotel, Punahou School and
the University of Hawaii’s Farrington
Hall. Some performances even took
place at members’ homes, such as in the
garden of the Dillingham home, where
the group performed The Lady Of The
Weeping Willow Tree.
The first official Footlights production was The Amazons,
a farce in three acts, on April 28, 1915. The show featured
an “all-star cast picked from amongst Honolulu’s cleverest
amateurs,” according to a review. This included Mr. William
Lewers, a known local actor at the time. Although when the
club was first formed, men were not permitted as members,
Mr. Lewers helped out where he could, starring in many
productions as well as directing and teaching. In 1920 The
Footlights finally opened its membership to men, and by
1923 Lewers was serving as president.
The group gained a good reputation soon after its
formation, and within its first year was already staging
an opera. Thais was performed on February 7, 1916, as a
collaboration between The Footlights and a touring group,
the de Folco Grand Opera Company, which had become
stranded in Honolulu after dismal ticket sales during its
stay on Oahu. In an article in the Sunday Advertiser, the
performance was described as a hit—bringing in more than
1930
hday, DHT!
tion of a Century of Performance
$764.25. Signor de Folco said later that
evening that after paying every member
of the company, he had just $1.50 left,
but that the proceeds had given each
of the performers the ability to return
home.
In the earliest years, most Footlights
programs were a presentation of three
short plays or one large production.
The Footlights
even added
dinner theatre
to its repertoire,
in which it
would put on
a performance
during the
University
Club’s monthly
“dinner dance.” It
continued with
regular meetings
and added classes, such as a diction
class, which would rotate locations
among various members’ homes.
Participants would read a randomly
selected excerpt and receive criticism
and direction from William Lewers on
placement, quality and depth of voice.
Mr. Lewers even taught a class on
makeup!
In 1921, The Footlights discussed
the possibility of combining forces with
the College Club and Outdoor Circle
with the intention of creating a joint
clubhouse with a stage and auditorium.
The group was so successful by this
point that it wanted its own space to
present plays. A committee was formed
to research multiple possibilities,
including partnerships with schools,
the university and the city, but nothing
reached fruition. However, in 1925,
the former home of Robert Louis
Stevenson, a cottage at Sans Souci
Hotel in Waikiki, was donated to
The Footlights to use as a clubhouse.
Although the group continued to
stage productions in various locations,
its clubhouse was used for regular
dramatic readings and workshops.
In 1927, The Footlights presented
a production of Savages as a dinner
theatre in The Royal Hawaiian hotel’s
ballroom, only 11 days after the hotel
officially opened. It was the first large
event at the new hotel. Tickets for the
play, including dinner, were $4 and
more than 400 people attended the
show.
Also in 1927, The Footlights once
again attempted to gain support to
build or find its own “little theatre.”
Members got their wish in October
in the form of Dillingham Hall, on
the Punahou School campus. The
building had been donated to the
school by the Dillingham family, who
had a long history with The Footlights.
The Dillinghams offered the theatre
as a home to the club on a cooperative
basis, an offer immediately and happily
accepted by Footlights members.
The new building had an 800-seat
theatre as well as a mini theatre in
the basement that could be used
for smaller productions or readings.
The first Footlights performance in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
1930
1931
5
1931
1934
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
1935
1935
6
1935
1936
Dillingham Hall was The Last Of Mrs.
Cheyney, held in April of 1929.
In May 1934, the troupe put on
its last production under the name
The Footlights. Dangerous Corner, a
mystery, was directed by Elroy Fulmer,
a graduate of the Royal Academy of
Dramatic Arts in London. At The
Footlights Annual Meeting in June
of that year, a committee was formed
by unanimous vote to reorganize the
group into a true community theatre
with a broader reach. Thus Honolulu
Community Theatre (HCT) was born,
with Maj. Gen. Briant H. Wells as
president.
Wells was known for his interest
and success in promoting theatrical
ventures in his army circles, and he
was the perfect person to lead the new
theatre company. “I believe that people
are happiest when they make their
own diversion,” he said upon taking
his post. “There is a place in Honolulu
for a community theater and I shall be
glad to do what I can in supporting the
movement.”
Honolulu Community Theatre
selected Gilbert and Sullivan’s The
Mikado as its first production. This
also marked the company’s first
opportunity to hold widespread open
auditions, and the call was posted in
local newspapers. The show took place
in March of 1935 in coordination with
the Morning Music Club at McKinley
High School’s auditorium and was
directed by Elroy Fulmer. Musical
direction was provided by Fritz Hart,
conductor of the Honolulu Symphony.
The cast of 60 talented individuals
included a husband-and-wife team in
the lead roles, as well as two soldiers
stationed at Schofield and a number of
other well-known actors and soloists
of the time. They were accompanied by
a 35-member orchestra, all musicians
1939
in the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.
The Consul General of Japan voiced
his objection to the show, stating that
he resented anything that “burlesques
their emperor.” Nevertheless, The
Mikado went on to receive rave reviews
and earn more than $4,000.
After such a successful first
production, Honolulu Community
Theatre hit the ground running,
producing many hit shows in a variety
of locations. The theatre took on
both favorite classics and brand-new
productions, some of which attracted
the notice of producers, directors
and actors known to have played the
original roles in these shows on the
mainland. It became the usual to have
a visiting actor, director or producer
attend an HCT production, such as
actress Claire Trevor, movie producer
S.M. Wurtzell, screen writer Sonia
Levine and actor John Halliday,
who later starred in and directed
productions for HCT and whose own
production, Black Out Review, the
theatre went on to produce.
In May 1936 HCT paired once
again with the Morning Music Club
to produce Madame Butterfly, which
starred Hawaii’s own “prima donna,”
Mrs. Ululani Robertson. Despite
the premier of the production
being delayed one week due to Mrs.
Robertson falling ill, the show was
very well received. In a Honolulu
Star-Bulletin review, it was noted that
“anyone who attended the opening
performance Thursday night and failed
to be thrilled and exhilarated must
be entirely devoid of imagination and
artistic feeling.”
In December 1936, the theatre
company booked a production off
Oahu for the first time when Double
Door headed to Hilo for a performance
at the Elks Club. Nearly 500 people
attended this one-time show.
From 1915 to 1940, The
Footlights/Honolulu Community
Theatre presented almost 180 plays,
musicals and dramatic readings and
performed across Honolulu. The
companies’ successes set the stage for
the next 25 years of our theatre, which
we’ll share with you in the next issue of
Encore.
Murder
in the
House
DHT’s Annual Murder
Mystery Dinners Chilled and
Thrilled Producer Members
A
meeting of magical beings turned
deadly for two nights this past
June when Hansel (of Hansel and
Gretel) revealed that a double murder
had taken place. Who could have
committed this dastardly deed? Surely
not the beloved Fairy Godmother,
sweet Little Red Riding Hood or
everyone’s favorite beanstalk climber,
Jack … .
Luckily we had the help of our
Impresario and Angel Producers at
our annual Murder Mystery Dinners
to solve the mystery. Competition was
fierce as Producers worked furiously to
not only identify the culprit, but also
see who could name the most fairy tale
and film noir references. Elitei Tatafu
Jr., who has directed the Murder
Mystery Dinner theatre for many
years, this year took on the challenge
of writing an original script for the
evening in partnership with Chelsey
Jensen, and the results wowed the
crowd. The creative, interactive story
kept Producers laughing and guessing
to the very end.
The Producers themselves took the
opportunity to get creative as well, with
many arriving at the event in costume.
There were some real standouts,
including Snow White’s lesser-known
dwarfs, a Mad Hatter and even Poison
Ivy. First-timer Nigel Pentland was
impressed, and commented that he
“grossly underestimated this dressingup thing. Next year!”
The mystery-solvers, and thus
grand-prize winners, turned out to be
Christine Camp’s table ( June 16) and
Kelly Sanders’ table ( June 17).
7
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PAID
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Honolulu, HI 96816
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PERMIT NO. 260
8
8
Kids, Theatre and Summer: A Winning Combo
DHT’s 2014 Musical Theatre Experience Summer Camps Yet Another Hit
M
usical Theatre Experience (MTE), Diamond Head
Theatre’s immensely popular summer camp, exploded
onto the scene again this past June. Every nook and cranny
of our theatre was bursting with kids—each busy learning
lines, rehearsing dance steps or just simply giggling with
their friends. Program Director Natalie Uehara, Musical
Director Jenny Shiroma and Acting Instructor Mathias
Maas had their hands full with more than 80 students
enrolled, but it was a labor of love, evident by all the happy
faces at the final performance on July 26.
The final program featured a well-rounded curriculum
with special guest artists stepping in to offer their
professional expertise, including how to build and design
sets, handling make-up and wigs, and perfecting dance
routines. The variety kept the kids engaged, and the summer
flew by.
MTE II, our second camp in early August, was equally
popular. Program Director Elitei Tatafu, Choreographer
Chelsey Jensen and Music Director Phil Foster miraculously
pulled together a complete show in two weeks, and the
students were amazing in the performance on August 16.
Diamond Head Theatre has presented Musical Theatre
Experience for more than 20 years now, and its popularity is
a testament to the program’s depth and breadth. It gives kids
a real stage experience, with theatre veterans, a live orchestra,
lights and sound; plus, the theatre grounds offer fresh air
and exercise between classroom sessions. No wonder MTE
sells out on its first day of enrollment!
In 2015, MTE I will be held June 8 through July 25.
MTE II will be from August 3 through August 15. Online
enrollment will be available beginning Monday, April 6.