McCollum up for Tony for acclaimed ‘Ragtime’
Kevin McCollum, one of Broadway’s prolific producers, is the lone local up for a Tony Award tonight at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. His critically acclaimed but short-running "Ragtime" is vying for Best Revival of a Musical, a competitive field that includes "Finian’s Rainbow" and two shows still on Broadway, "A Little Night Music" and "La Cage aux Folles." McCollum previously copped Tonys for "Rent," "In the Heights," "The Drowsy Chaperone," "Avenue Q" and "Private Lives." Good luck, brah. …
Former Tony nominee Loretta Ables Sayre provided vocal punch and shared a feel-good message when she sang "The Best Is Yet to Come" at last week’s Theatre World Awards. …
ALOHA, TEXAS STYLE: Willie K and Henry Kapono will sing the national anthem at separate Southern Methodist University football games in September, and each will also perform in House of Blues gigs in Dallas. And June Jones is the reason it’s all happening.
Jones, the SMU coach formerly of the University of Hawaii, tapped Willie to sing at the Sept. 18 game versus Washington State, and Kapono for the Sept. 24 contest versus Texas Christian University.
With the entertainers there, ex-pat Hank McMonigle, media-marketing veep of Next Media Group, got one of his radio stations, KLAK 97.5, to promote the pair of House of Blues shows—Willie on Sept. 18, Kapono on Sept. 25, which coincidentally will open and close the area’s Aloha Week festivities. With a Roy’s in Plano and two L&L Hawaiian Barbecues in North Texas, the aloha spirit thrives. …
TRAVEL LOG: The Brothers Cazimero trekked to San Francisco last week, where Robert and Roland Cazimero were honored Thursday by the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce of Northern California at the black-tie Five-Star Aloha Gala at the Westin St. Francis Hotel. "Great excuse to visit the city after a long 18 months since our last pass," said Mountain Apple Co. President Leah Bernstein. And nope, The Caz weren’t in formal attire, said manager Jon deMello. …
…Jeff Peterson, Hoku Award-winning guitarist promoting island tourism last week in Shanghai with Chino Montero and Tihati Productions entertainers, is retracing his ohana’s steps. His great-great-great-grandfather William Boone, helped found St. John’s University and the American settlement in Shanghai in 1879, where Western medicine had its roots, so he performed there. His grandfather Edward Boone, born there, later practiced medicine on Oahu. Peterson flies to Okinawa to join Amy Hanaiali’i for shows, then heads to Maui for George Kahumoku’s slack-key camp June 21 to 26. …
ABOUT PEOPLE: Sherry Shaoling performed with Don Tiki last Sunday at the new Infinity pool at the Sheraton Waikiki, joining dancer Kamakoa Page and musicians Kit Ebersbach and Rocky Holmes. Shaoling plays the Waxing Lady in a DVD now out called "The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It." Yep, a ribald comedy. …
And that’s "Show Biz." …