SandCastle makes final curtain call this Saturday

SandCastle Saipan entertainers, management, and production crew bid goodbye after almost 16 years of mesmerizing the people of Saipan. (Bea Cabrera)

After almost 16 years of bringing a one-of-a-kind dinner and entertainment showcase in the CNMI, SandCastle Saipan is making its final curtain call this Saturday, March 31.

The cast and crew bid adieu with mixed emotions but as the saying goes, the show must go on.

Leon Etienne, America’s rock illusionist and trained in Las Vegas which is known to be the world’s magic Mecca, said that he has performed in exactly 520 shows from the day he started in April 1, 2017 up to the second show on March 31.

“When we found out… it’s prematurely I think… I couldn’t figure out why because business is good and we attract a lot of customers here for the tour agents and Baldyga Group themselves. We scouted out other resorts but it doesn’t look like there is another facility than can hold the show this big,” he said.

“I have so many good moments on the show such as when you look out there and you see people from all over the world on vacation with their families. You get the youngest and the oldest members of the family then you see them both enjoying what’s going on at the stage same time and same perspective, it is awesome,” he added.

When a door closes, a window opens and this is true for Etienne as he is already committed to pursuing more of his work on a bigger stage.

“After the last show, I am taking a seven-week vacation then I’m going to be headlining on a luxury cruise ship for the summer for 17 weeks, a casino tour around America, and in 2019, there are a couple of TV shows that I am going to be working on, and a couple of other tours that we are putting together,” he said.

“I’ll miss coming in and seeing our local crew every night. Jojo Valencia, our office manager; the people, and especially the tourists of Saipan…I would be interested to come back to Saipan that I treat as my second home. I have met so many lifelong friends and have so many wonderful experiences,” he added.

Couple Chris and Ryan Zubrick were the headliners at the SandCastle Saipan Dinner Theatre from June 2007 until January 2015 and are currently doing the shows in Guam.

“We were not the first illusionists at the SandCastleC Saipan, however, we were the longest running act in the history of the show and in the history of the SandCastle company as a whole including Guam. We performed over 4,000 shows in the SandCastle Saipan Theatre and called it home,” they said.

“Over the course of our 7.5 years there we entertained Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Chinese tourists with our unique blend of magic and illusion…It is very sad to hear about the SandCastle Saipan Theatre closing. As mentioned, it was a place we called home for so many years, spent countless time on that stage rehearsing, working on new material and performing twice nightly,” they said.

The Zubricks are most grateful to have a permanent performance space on SandCastle Saipan.

“…It was nice to settle down in one performance venue and spend the time and energy perfecting our routines, brainstorming new material, and rehearsing new routines…Our background in theatre allowed us to edit the music, program the lighting, build some of the scenic elements, stage the cast and props, and take and idea and turn it into a full production number with the limited resourced available on Saipan. We were very proud of what we accomplished in our time there,” they said.

“We will miss the theatre… It was a very intimate theatre, especially compared to the Guam venue we are in now… We will miss the passionate, talented, local stage crew who worked so hard behind the scenes to make what we did in front of the curtain look flawless. We’ve met so many talented dancers during our time working there, many of them are friendships we still maintain and will enjoy for years to come,” they added.

Chuck McCarroll, director of Entertainment, co-produces the shows with executive producer Mark Baldyga and is responsible for all aspects of all the Baldyga Group shows.

“It has been a great run in Saipan. Of course we are sorry to see it close. The SandCastle Saipan Theatre and all the shows we have produced there are very special to me. I was very closely involved with the design and renovation of the facility and all the subsequent work we have done there…I will certainly miss the space and seeing the connection between performer and audience,” he said.

“The crew over the years has done a fantastic job running the shows, maintaining the theatre and equipment. Although most of the crew did not have theatre backgrounds when they started working with us, they loved the work and worked very hard to always present an outstanding performance. The crew has been extremely dedicated and take big pride in presenting the best show on-island. I owe them all a big thank you!” he added.

And that last piece of the puzzle that made SandCastle Saipan a success is operations manager Jojo Valencia.

“When I learned that we are ending first quarter of this year I was surprised and very sad because I have been with the production since the show came here in 2002. We are slowly sending all our equipment back to Guam and hopefully another show opens soon,” he said.

“Yes we are sending everything back including Nepal the tiger. It’s hard to believe that we are almost done here… it is sad but I am so thankful and proud to be part of the Baldyga and SandCastle Saipan family,” he added.

Valencia admits that he doesn’t know yet the plans on the last show on Saturday. He said that lately, he cannot watch the show in its entirety because it just makes him sad.

“Last week I sat to watch the show but became very emotional because I am so attached to this. Every night since I started working here, I see people come and go with big smiles on their faces and we have never heard anything bad about the show… that will be hard to forget,” he said.

“We are getting a lot of reservations for the last show and most of them from locals. It’s going to be a special night as executives from Guam are coming. It’s going to be emotional at some point but it will definitely be exciting as we are expecting full house 7pm and 8:45pm shows,” he added.

Although the show is ending this weekend, Valencia is fulfilled that the show reached a point that it is part of the community as people depend on them in some aspects of their lives.

“Just few nights ago, a kid celebrated his 10th birthday watching the show. He wanted so much to watch but waited until his birthday and his parents made it special by granting his wish,” he said.

“Knowing the backstory, of course we took care of him and made it a very memorable 10th birthday. A story like this is the one that sticks in your memory and in your heart. The show maybe ending but the magic of moments like those live forever. Thank you very much Saipan!” he added.