Ke Alahou, Volume I, Number 10, 1 Kekemapa 1980 — Preview Concert A Vision of Christmas [ARTICLE]

Preview Concert A Vision of Christmas

How ean you transfQrm an empty arena, that seats 8,000 into a wondrous stage reflecting the season of (āiristmas? How. do you manage this feat while utilizing ,30 people, including 4 carpenters 3 a stage that revolves, lights that must constantly lollow the turning stage, 60 performers, a mass of microphones and equipment, and be prepared if something goes wrong? How ean one even thinlc of Christmas in November? These are a few of the miftute thoughts that have occurred to'the-magician, the wizard of this year*s Christmas with the Brothers Cazimero concert, Mountain Apple producer, Jon DeMello. Being one of the lew musical performances done here on a grand scale also provides some problems that as an audience we tend hot to recognize whilebelng awed. Beginning months ago, guided by the experience of previous performances, DeMello and his staff have been dreaming up the show to capture the spirit of ; Ghristtnas, lull of surprises, mounting excitement and the music and dances of the Brothers, and Leina'ala Kalama. Between the role of magician and wizard, DeMeUo envisions the concert (promised to begin on time] with the releases from the Brothers' new recording. Slowly the scenery changes to a Christmas, full of shoppers and dreaiyers of the season. tiis, too, gradually changes to another view of Christinas as the Brothers are joinedby abackground chorus. And who knowsif Paddington bear andSanta Claus may appear again or the dolls from around the world? This is the magic of the producer and production crew trying to make the wishes of Christmas eome true, even for a brief moment. One might even be tempted to ask them to make it snow while they are busily creating. Christmas is one time in the year whe« we ean remove ourselves from reality into a worldof fantasy; and tolhe Brothers Cazimero Heine it is the one time in the year when they ean perform new things without being afraid to be extravagant or inappropriate. It is a season that enables them to make the simple and grand debkes-of all of us into a moment of reality. Their approach is to discover the shared or delighVul thoughts about Christmas from themselves and their friends in hopes of finding the shared wishes of us all. The questions are simple t "What does Christmas mean to you?" And Robert's reply mightbe "How does this sound? M "Sounds p.k. do it," Leina'ala said. To whieh Robert discovers, "What am I going to do? M Putting the replies into a performance has taken them months of ppeparat!on, planning and rehearsa!s, but this does not mean the number will be performed at the concert. It also involves careful choreography. music selection, and costuming. However, the overriding idea is Hawaiian, after all it is the joy of being in Hawaii at Christmas that they want to share with others. In search of achieving this* they have put themselves in the role of the audience — how do they see the performance? In turn, the Brothers and Leina*ala hope that the audience will H put themselves in oufplace — the dancers* plaee" so the excitement of the performance Teads tq a Christmas with them. You will be able to hear their favorite songs from their new recording as well as a coucert that is beautifully vvTapped like a gift — and that gift will be the Brothers* and Leina'ala % s reminder of what Chiistmas means to us in Hawaii. "We got a few more surprises left!" MNC