John Rowles, the New Zealander of "Cheryl Moana Marie" fame, now touring Australia, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Hawai'i Theatre. Layton Lillas of Showcase Entertainment Group will collaborate with Tom Moffatt Productions in the long-overdue homecoming gig. Tickets will be available in September, so log the date. ...

CASTINGS: Roles in "West Side Story," in rehearsals for a Sept. 25 bow at Paliku Theatre, have been filled by director Ron Bright and choreographer Marcelo Pacleb. The lineup: Maria, Kim Anderson; Tony, Kyle McGraw; Anita, Tori Anguay; Riff, Chris Villasenor; Bernardo, Zare Anguay; and Anybodys, Ashley Layfield. With a huge turnout, 50 folks had to be turned away. Reservations: 235-7310. ...

TRADE WINDS: When "Julie and Julia" — an appetizing film about parallel stories, Julia Child's and of wannabe chef Julie Powell, who prepares and blogs about every one of the 500-plus recipes in Child's landmark "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook in English — opens Friday, you can go straight from cinema to Chef Mavro's if you drool about Child's celebrated boeuf bourguignon. Anticipating demand, chef George Mavrothalassitis — who hosted a preview screening of the Meryl Streep-Amy Adams flick at the Ward theaters — will offer a three-course "Julie and Julia Movie Menu" deal for $59 on Fridays and Saturdays, beginning Friday. After the screening, so many people were craving boeuf bourguignon that something had to be done, said Mavro. Reservations: 944-4714, or e-mail chef@chefmavro.com. Bon appétit! ...

TUBE TALK: Two TV workaholics, EMME Inc.'s Emme Tomimbang and PBS Hawai'i's veep of creative services Robert Pennybacker, earned a Bronze Telly Award in the TV political-commentary category for "Barack Obama: Hawaii Roots," a 20-minute segment they co-wrote and produced for a broader "With Island Roots" special. "It's exciting to know that a project my team and I produced — the first biographical segment about Sen. Barack Obama and the Island state where he was born, grew up and spent his formative years — would get national acclaim," said Tomimbang. ...

Ciana Pelekai's performance of "At Last" on a recent "America's Got Talent" has generated nearly 300,000 hits on YouTube and also is on the People magazine site. The 8-year-old performed that tune, plus "Over the Rainbow," at Jimmy Buffett's at the Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel, in Al Waterson's once-a-month segment featuring folks from his "Al Waterson and You" contest at Don Ho's Island Grill. ...

ITEMIZATONS: The Mana'o Company now is the Mana'o Trio, featuring Danny Kennedy, Kaulana Pakele and Jack Ofoia; hear them from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday at Kani Ka Pila Grille at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach. Manoa DNA returns to the Grille Aug. 8, following a Japan trek where the father and son trio performed 21 shows in Yokohama, Koshigaya and Shiodome to boost tourism. "We've been traveling with Miss Hawaii USA Aureana Tseu ... and she's become one of the boys," said dad Lloyd Kawakami. And Kupaoa, one of Na Hoku's most promising artists, appears at Kani Ka Pila Aug. 5 and 22. ...

RANDOM NOTES: Society of Seven, classic version, continues its 40th anniversary celebration with a show set for 7:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at Grove of Anaheim next to Angels Stadium. Guest artists will be "American Idol" finalist Jasmine Trias and former SOSer Roberto Nievera. Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com or the Grove of Anaheim box office, 714-712-2700. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Reach Wayne Harada at 266-0926. His Show Biz column appears Sundays in Island Life. Read his blog at http://showandtellhawaii.honadvblogs.com.