Kevin McCollum, formerly of Hawaii, is one of the producers of "Motown: The Musical," the current tunefest of hits and hitmakers from Motor City based on Berry Gordy‘s memoir. Over the past few decades, McCollum has been an eminent Broadway producer, with Tony Award-winning hits such as "Rent," "In the Heights,""Avenue Q" and "The Drowsy Chaperone," along with revivals of "West Side Story," "Ragtime,""Damn Yankees" and "La Boheme."And at Christmastime, "Irving Berlin’s White Christmas" is yet another one of his hits.
A New Yorker since the mid-1980s, McCollum owes his spirit of ohana and community, and core values, to his early life in Honolulu. Many knew his mom, the late Sue McCollum. …
Speaking of New York: Turns out that Ruthie Ann Miles, mentioned here portrayingImelda Marcos in "Here Lies Love," the unconventional off-Broadway Marcos musical at the Public Theater in the East Village, is a Kaimuki grad who graced the stage at the Kaimuki Performing Arts Center and Ohana o Mele. She appeared in the April issue of Vogue and was interviewed by New York magazine. Could this be a breakout role? Herisle director,Peggy Anne Siegmund, sees this as "a huge break." The show’s extended to June 2. …
HAPA DAYS ARE HERE:Hapa is in the midst of a 22-city tour, the 20th straight season of on-the-road shows for the Maui-based duo comprising Barry Flanagan and Ron Kuala‘au, the latter Flanagan’s third partner since the group’s inception.
"I love it so and want to do this forever," said Flanagan. "For myself the third and final ‘Trilogy of Hapa’ is sounding better than ever. The vocal harmonies are amazing, and we are ready to unveil this," he said in reference to Kuala‘au, an Oahuan who relocated to the Valley Isle where he eventually joined Hapa.
"It’s like Luke (Skywalker) returning to Obi-Wan and Yoda — me returning to the guy who taught me how to sing Hawaiian pop my first year in Hawaii," said Flanagan,whose roots are in New Jersey.
After gigs in the Pacific Northwest, Hapa will return to Maui and a Mother’s Day show May 12 at Casanova, with additional shows at Stella Blues Cafe, followed by a rare two-performance gig May 25 at Surfer, the Bar, at the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu, with some proceeds supporting NALU Studies. …
PERSONALITIES: Jimmy Borges will receive the National Society of Arts and Letters’ Medallion of Excellence laurel at 6 p.m. May 13 at a dinner at the Pacific Club. The Hawaii chapter has assembled a slate of isle troupers to entertain: Matt Catingub, Robert Cazimero, Amy Hanaiali‘i and Henry Kapono. Tickets: $100 for NSAL members, $150 for the public. Call 373-2980. …
The masterful Borges offered two musical parodies, "Patricia" (sung to "Maria" from "West Side Story") and "The Lady Is a Champ," for Halekulani Corp. Vice President Patricia Tam at a University of Hawaii School of Travel Industry Management event Tuesday night at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, where she was honored with the 2013 Legacy in Tourism Award. TIM Hall of Honors inductees were Kevin Iwamoto and David Kong. …
HITHER ‘N’ YON: Kit Samson‘s gig today at Hickam’s Officers Club will be his final one there, due to sequestration cuts. …
Maui’s Bonnie Friedman via her Grapevine Productions is marking her25th anniversary as a publicist, foodie, food-tour operator, freelance writer and media maven. Congrats. …
B.K. Cannon guested as Fern on Friday’s "Vegas" on CBS. …
And that’s "Show Biz." …
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist; reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com; read his Show and Tell Hawaii blog at www.staradvertiser.com.
