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Bill Ma­her

*Comedian will return to Maui in January for show at the MACCPhone conversations with Bill Maher are beginning to become an annual tradition for me. Ironically, every year when put on hold waiting for Maher to pick up, I'm treated to the theme from "The Young and the Restless." It instantly makes me laugh, and the laughs never stop when interviewing Maher.Referencing the theme, he shared, "It's because we tape at Television City," the famous CBS studios in Beverly Hills. "The set I work on was once 'The Carol Burnett Show,' and before that it was Jack Benny's."I shared that this story ...

‘Elf’ The Musical

There are very few things I dislike more than a sappy, low-budget, Hallmark Christmas movie, but when sentimental stories work, they work. "A Christmas Story" works, "Miracle on 34th Street" works, everything Frank Capra ever did works, and much to my surprise, Jon Favreau's 2003 film "Elf" worked.The reason "Elf" works is because it's extremely funny and it had an exceptional cast with just a dash of corporate Christmas cynicism, ala "Miracle on 34th Street." Will it work as a musical adaptation? Alexis and Steven Dascoulias traveled to Oahu last Christmas to find out. Alexis, the ...

More teenage drama …

There are two schools of thought in presenting youth theater. The first is choosing familiar material well-suited for a current group of students. The second philosophy is pushing boundaries and taking on more difficult projects. Either way, a sense of accomplishment and confidence, no matter the challenge, prepares high school performing artists for the much greater challenges they are sure to face in college.Seabury Hall chooses to do one musical every two years, but when it does, no detail goes overlooked. "Thoroughly Modern Mille" features seven instructors collaborating on vocals, ...

‘Bandaloop’

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center is throwing itself a party on Saturday to celebrate 20 years of arts, entertainment, culture and community on Maui and it's FREE!TWENTYfest, the 20th anniversary celebration of the MACC in Kahului, will start at 4 p.m. in the A&B Amphitheater, and feature fun for all ages - right through the fireworks finale.The Pavilion stage will host live music by favorite local entertainers and DJs will spin musical highlights of the past 20 years of world-class performances. The attendees will be delighted with food selections at "rolled-back" prices.To kind ...

Drama, drama, drama

A virtual whirlwind of performing arts on Maui is about to commence, with four to five productions running every weekend over the next six weeks. It all begins Friday night as three Maui high schools open their fall shows, followed by Baldwin High School next week.Kamehameha Schools offers the quirky and artistic "Into the Woods," co-created by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, and a timely choice by Kamehameha dramatic instructor Victoria McGee. The much-anticipated multimillion-dollar Disney extravaganza is set to open on Christmas Day and the Hollywood buzz is that it may be an early ...

Events sure to provide a Haunting Halloween

If you can't find anything fun to do around Halloween on Maui, you're either overly picky or incredibly uninformed. Last week, the options ranged from glow-in-the-dark freakish burlesque at Ambrosia and Casanova, the creepy and kitschy "Tim Burton's Graveyard Cabaret" at the Historic Iao Theater, a haunted Haiku night hike, the Maui AIDS Foundation's annual Halloween bash, Montessori's "Ghoulin Rouge" ball, and Longhi's annual Wailea Halloween party. Alas, if you missed them all, there are still many more fangtastic happenings over the next few days.At sundown on Friday and Saturday, you ...