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KGMB9 Evening Team
Waikiki Nei Shutting Down Temporarily Print E-mail
Written by Tina Chau - tchau@kgmb9.com   
October 03, 2008 10:00 PM

 
The Waikiki Nei box office won't be selling any more tickets for the time being.

Organizers of the multi-million dollar production told employees the show was shutting down until the holiday season.

"Is this shocking to you?" KGMB9 asked a Waikiki Nei employee. "Yes and no. No because the economy is so bad right now," he said.

Waikiki Nei sold an average of 300 tickets per show in September, less than half the capacity of the showroom, according to a show organizer.

"I think the dynamics of the marketplace has changed," said Waikiki Nei managing partner Roy Tokujo. "This show was conceived three years ago, and it was made for a market that was coming here at that time. That market has changed and demographics of that market has changed. We're trying to fit that now."

About 90 workers have now been furloughedl; that news coming on the same day as a U.S. Labor report showing job loss nationwide has reached its highest level in five years.

Hawaii's unemployment rate has inched upward since April to 4.2 percent now. Still, that's way below the national average of 6.1 percent.

"Currently we have the 8th lowest unemployment rate in the nation," said Ryan Markham of the Dept. Of Labor and Industrial Relations. "So relatively speaking, it's pretty good. We're just hoping for the best, hoping it'll turn around."

For some, it's hard to be optimistic. Show organizers couldn't guarantee if all the workers will get their jobs back.

They say the show has gotten mixed reviews. They'll take time off to make it better.

"We may be revamping this show tremendously or we may be substituting and doing a lot of wholesale changes."

Show organizers did not give target date as to when the show will reopen.

If you have tickets for a future show, show organizers say call the box office or call the Level 4 nightclub.



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Last Updated ( October 11, 2008 01:25 PM )
 


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