Honolulu Weekly on the Hawaiian comedy scene

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on September 20th, 2008

The Honolulu Weekly’s cover article is all about the ups and downs of the comedy scene in Honolulu and the neighboring islands. We vacationed recently in Hawaii and The Male Half did a phoner with the author of the piece, Adrienne LaFrance.

Something’s stirring in the local comedy scene. After a decade of dormancy, new clubs and shows are cropping up all over the island, troupes are forming and major headliners are coming back to perform in greater numbers. In a business where success is notoriously elusive for comics and clubs alike, it remains to be seen if any of this will stick. But while we wait to find out, there’s not much to do but sit back and laugh. […]

It wasn’t always like this. In the golden age of stand up, an era when audiences were fresh off seeing Eddie Murphy break profanity records dressed head-to-toe in purple leather, mainland comedian Brian McKim said Honolulu was one of his favorite circuits to play.

“There was this great spot, Honolulu Comedy Club, and we used to do that every couple of months,” he said. “You’d do that club, then two nights on Kaua’i, three on Maui, two on the Big Island, it was great while it lasted, but then business went soft. Almost everyone went down around ’95.”

We did that tour five times between 1989 and 1993, booked by Elaine at the Ice House in Pasadena. The shows were produced by Eddie Sax. We returned in 2000, for a different booker, but the shows weren’t nearly as well produced. The article gives a rundown of the current gigs and has quotes from local comcis and producers.

Our recent trip in July was our first visit to Oahu in eight years. We declined an offer to perform at the Princess Kaiulani, opting to keep our ten days in paradise work-free.

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