What a blissful holiday concert season this has been!

Took in three shows that depict the diversity of offerings; folks at all productions were having a jolly time, with nary a hint of the soft economy.

Of course, laughter is that spoonful of sugar that makes you forget reality. So Frank DeLima's one-night sellout at the Pagoda Hotel's C'est Si Bon was sweet medicine for the soul. It began with him decked out in his blinking Christmas tree costume for "Filipino Christmas," and it was mayhem and mirth to the finish. Familiar, casual, ethnic-tinged stuff he's known for ... and he turns the nonsense into a soothing broth, often with a Scrooge exterior, but with a Santa heart. ...

The Brothers Cazimero certainly win the prize for all-out wow factor. Went to the Saturday night spectacle at the Hawai'i Theatre, and once the curtain was raised, it was super socko stuff, with skillful choreographic entrances and exits by halau dancers, decked in finery you'll not see anywhere else. Robert and Roland Cazimero were the centerpiece, of course, relaying the spirit of the season with messages of hope and the concept of 'ohana, embracing a select few as guest artists, like crooner Afatia Thompson, keiki dancers Leah Santiago and Lyons Wong (dancing with such sparkle, it's likely they'll be the next generation of hula stars or kumu). Leina'ala Heine Kalama, the hula soloist and for years The Caz's good-luck charm, was relegated to guest-star role, initially doing sit-down hula and later rising to show she's still got the goods to charm (she's had health issues since last year's Christmas show).

And anyone who can blend hula with the macarena (Robert can, and did!) deserves hurrahs. You guys rock! ...

And more: "Na Leo's Holiday Music Spectacular," staged Monday and Tuesday nights and repeating tomorrow and Sunday night at the Waikiki nei theater at the Royal Hawaiian Center, corrals a lot of awesome Island talent who get the opportunity to perform in Honolulu's most high-tech space. Na Leo's Nalani Choy, Lehua Heine and Angela Morales are still best at harmonies, with some vocals augmented by hula, including a rousing (and hip-roaring) "Hawaiian War Chant." Keali'i Reichel is making a rare vocal appearance while he's prepping for hula and Merrie Monarch competition, and his smooth, relaxing manner — in Hawaiian and a Christmas vein — speaks to the audience.

Kaumakaiwa Kanaka'ole, fluent in Hawaiian, skilled in hula, savvy in gab, is the show's darling — both wizardly in content and unassumingly comedic in his free-flow style. Then again, consider his lineage of the Kanaka'ole, Kanahele and Keali'ikekuewa roots; Island to the core. Also with deep Hawaiian and hula ties: Hoku Zuttermeister, the reigning Hawaiian music star, whose voice was a little shaky, thanks to the chill of a Japan trip. Both gents should further evolve to bear the torch of Island culture.

Kaukahi, that wonderful vocal foursome composed of Barrett Awai, Kawika Kahiapo, Dean Wilhelm and Walt Keale, shared its award-winning harmonies and musicianship.

One observation: While touted as a Christmas endeavor, the staging lacked the holiday sparkle, with mere visuals suggesting the season on the stage's huge back-of-the-wall screen. It would have been nice, too, if singers occasionally took centerstage, getting up close and personal with the spectators, rather than being restricted to the stage platform. Gotta take advantage of that marvelous space. ...

ITEMIZATIONS: Former San Francisco Ballet member Amanda Schull is home for Ballet Hawaii's "Nutcracker" this weekend at Blaisdell Concert Hall, but she'll be in a seat, not on stage, with her parents, Gunner and Susan Schull, the latter president of the ballet board. Amanda, who recently wrapped the Bruce Beresford-directed "Mao's Last Dancer," will be in CBS' "Cold Case" at 9 p.m. Sunday. As Entertainment Weekly puts it, "the bones of a stewardess who's been MIA since 1960 have just surfaced in an abandoned hotel's incinerator. The suspect list is a who's who of classic TV actors (Adrienne Barbeau, Lee Majors), but the episode gets bonus points for 'Center Stage' diva Amanda Schull's heartbreaking performance as the dead girl." ...

When Ed and Tina Wary, proprietors of Auntie Pasto's, held a 25th anniversary hoopla to benefit Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children last Dec. 7, $2,300 was raised at the original Auntie Pasto's at 1099 S. Beretania St. There were wine corks on each table; if you tossed one into a container on a high shelf, Kapi'olani would have earned extra loot. The toss is possible each time you order wine; "in 25 years, no one has gotten the cork in," said Wary. ...

Touch of Gold will be the opening act when The Bangles ring in the New Year Dec. 31 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 525-8055.