{"id":38492,"date":"2015-09-21T12:33:20","date_gmt":"2015-09-21T22:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=38492"},"modified":"2021-07-23T12:40:41","modified_gmt":"2021-07-23T22:40:41","slug":"paliku-theatres-side-by-side-by-sondheim-honors-memory-of-ron-bright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2015\/09\/21\/paliku-theatres-side-by-side-by-sondheim-honors-memory-of-ron-bright\/","title":{"rendered":"Palik\u016b Theatre\u2019s Side by Side by Sondheim honors memory of Ron Bright"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

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Palikū Theatre<\/a> at Windward Community College<\/a>’s newest production brings back some of the most memorable songs written by American composer Stephen Sondheim. Audiences will be swept into the familiar clever music of America’s finest lyricist in Side by Side by Sondheim<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The production will feature dozens of the most popular Sondheim songs from shows such as West Side Story<\/em>, Gypsy<\/em>, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum<\/em>, A Little Night Music<\/em> and more. Side by Side by Sondheim<\/em> will open on Friday, October 2nd and run for six performances only, closing on Sunday, October 11. Show times are Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n

Honoring Ronald Bright<\/h2>\n

The musical which had been previously scheduled and advertised for this fall, A Grand Night for Singing<\/em>, was cancelled because of the untimely death of beloved director Ronald E. Bright<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Rather than doing a tribute show on such short notice, his family and Palikū Theatre agreed that quickly putting together a smaller show with the same quality as previous productions would be the best way to honor his memory at this time, because Ron Bright would be the first to insist that the “show MUST go on!”<\/p>\n

All-star cast<\/h2>\n

Side by Side by Sondheim<\/em> features an all-star cast of five well-known performers, who have each won Poʻokela<\/span> awards for their roles in major shows. The cast consists of Kip Wilborn, who portrayed Valjean in Palikū Theatre’s hit production of Les Miserables<\/em>; Kim Anderson, who was Cossette in the same Poʻokela<\/span> award-sweeping production; multi-award winning actress and renowned Honolulu chanteuse, Shari Lynn; and Jade Stice, who went straight from Ron Bright’s drama class at Castle High School to the opening Broadway cast of Miss Saigon<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The continuity for this revue, written by Ned Sherrin, who created the pioneering TV comedy news show That Was the Week That Was<\/em>, will be narrated by the manager of Palikū Theatre, Tom Holowach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The original New York production of this show in 1976 was the first Broadway show in history to have every single cast member nominated for a Tony Award. This is the first time that Side by Side by Sondheim<\/em> has been produced in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> since 1986, and Shari Lynn starred in that cast as well.<\/p>\n

Besides the notable professionals onstage in Side by Side by Sondheim<\/em>, the stellar production staff includes Musical Director Emmett Yoshioka, Broadway choreographer Ramon del Barrio and award-winning set, lighting and costume designers such as R. Andrew Doan, Janine Myers, Lloyd “Sandy” Riford II<\/abbr> and Lacy Rohlf.<\/p>\n

If ever there was a group of theatre people who can put together a masterpiece in just five weeks, this is it; every single one of them have won prestigious awards in their respective fields.<\/p>\n

Ticket information<\/h2>\n

Tickets on sale now for this rare and limited, six performance run of Side by Side by Sondheim<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices:<\/p>\n