Trending
By Jon Woodhouse
For the Maui News
A trio of our most popular comedians, Andy Bumatai, Augie Tulba and Frank De Lima, have teamed for another round of hilarious standup with their "Hawaii Comedy Legends Tour" show at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on July 26.
Lately aiming his astute observations at local news and events on his "Daily Pidgin" podcast with James Mann, Andy Bumatai got his first major break when he replaced Rap Reiplinger in the legendary Booga Booga comedy troupe. The classic funny kid, he was known for his Bill Cosby impressions. "In fifth grade, for show and tell, I remember playing a Bill Cosby album and pantomiming," he recalls. "The teacher and the kids really seemed to like it. So the next week I memorized bits and did them. I am dyslexic, so I had trouble with reading and math and all this kind of stuff. As a mechanism, I created this funny guy comedy thing, like I'm not stupid. I'm just messing around."
Bumatai's debut comedy album, "Hawaii's First Stand-up Comic," won a Hōkū Award for Most Promising Artist. Since his early days, he's starred in the TV specials, "High School Daze" and "All in the Ohana."
A two-time Hōkū winner, Augie Tulba is a staple on the local comedy scene, routinely selling out concerts across the state, including the Blaisdell Arena and the Hawaii Theatre.
"In 9th grade I almost flunked and my English teacher challenged me to do a speech contest," Tulba recalls. "That changed my whole perspective on getting in front of an audience. It was kind of cool."
A radio personality and actor, he was featured in Brian Kohne's movies "Get a Job" and "Kuleana." Since 2021, he has served as an Honolulu City Councilmember.
"Comedy is great, you go on stage and you get a nice high, and at the end of the night the best you get is, 'what you did really helped me because I had a rough week,'" he notes. "That's cool, but what can I do to make a definite impact?"
Performing for over 45 years, Frank DeLima has enjoyed a successful career poking gentle fun at racial differences. Some of his hilarious parade of ethnic characters have included Sumo wrestler Lolo Bono, forklift operator Tita Turner, accountant Glenn Miyashiro, and Portuguese Aunty Mary Tunta.
A 11-time winner of the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award for Best Comedy Album, he says, "I do the local style of humor that has been here from the plantation days. I believe that's how our ancestors got along. They made comments about each other's food and that's how the ethnic humor started in Hawaii."
Known for his parody songs, in recent years he released "Kona Low" based on "Let It Snow! in 2023, and "12 Days of Impeachment" in 2020, based on the Christmas standard, "The 12 Days of Christmas."
One of his funniest releases poked fun at Hawaii's fake missile alert with an interpretation of the Bee Gee's "Staying Alive." "You'll Be Back" from the Broadway musical, "Hamilton," was delivered as a message of encouragement to Hawaii students during the pandemic's distance learning.
Any profits from his downloads benefit his Student Enrichment Program, which supports him touring the state's schools, helping motivate thousands of students annually.
The "Hawaii Comedy Legends Tour" show takes place in the MACC's Castle Theater on July 26 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $28, $38 and $47 (plus applicable fees), available at mauiarts.org.