MIGHTY UKE: HAWAII PREMIERE

MIGHTY UKE: HAWAII PREMIERE
MIGHTY UKE: HAWAII PREMIERE
March 19, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
Director: Tony Coleman and Margaret Meagher
Canada, 2009, 79 mins.
Speakers: Filmmakers Tony Coleman and Margaret Meagher
See the trailer
Kimo Hussey
Mighty Uke travels the world to discover why so many people of different nations, cultures, ages and musical tastes are turning to the 'ukulele to express themselves, connect with the past, and with each other. The film travels from the gritty streets of New York, to swinging London, Tokyo’s high rise canyons and, of course, Hawaii, where “ukers” tell the story of the people’s instrument: The Mighty Uke.

The film has special resonance here in Hawaii, where the "jumping flea" was adapted and took off. Coleman and Meagher spent time here and captured Jake Shimabukuro, Taimane Gardner, Kimo Hussey (pictured above) and many others. (See the KGMB segment on Tony Coleman and Margaret Meagher when they were in town filming.) They also filmed the Duke of Uke, Bill Tapia, who is from Honolulu and now lives in California, and who turns 102 this year.

Originally brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants, the tiny instrument first captured the musical imaginations of the Hawaiian royal court in the 1880s. With the dawn of the radio broadcasting age, 'ukulele music owned the airwaves. Broadway produced 'ukulele musicals. Hollywood produced 'ukulele movie stars. The little instrument was so inexpensive and easy to play that by the early 1920s the uke was the most popular instrument in the American home and the first musical voice for millions of children. Over the next 30 years the uke was number one, and then, with the rise of rock 'n' roll guitar, faded into nerdy obscurity, until now. In the internet age, the 'ukulele is making a comeback. Clubs and ensembles are sprouting up around the world, and a new generation is pulling their grandparents’ ukes out of the closet. Ukes top the charts in Japan, Swedish punks thrash uke angst, California popsters serve it to ya 'ukulele style, classical composers carefully pluck out music box sonatas, and all of them meet together at 'ukulele festivals held from New York to London to Tokyo.

“A globetrotting travelogue of happy sounds”—Jim Slotek, The Toronto Sun
“Offers key musical discovers every three minutes”—Chronogram.com
“A sweet, fascinating documentary”—Macleans
“This film is a must-see for pretty much every kind of audience. It is entertaining, educational, touching, and I promise you it will leave you with a burning desire to get your own ukulele when you leave”—Kimberly Gehl, PDXPipeline

MIGHTY UKE: HAWAII PREMIERE
Friday, March 19, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Academy of Arts
900 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96814
Phone: (808) 532-3033
E-Mail: gcaruso@honoluluacademy.org