Fourth of a series
NEW YORK – Kevin McCollum, the prolific producer of Broadway shows, has two hits on the board currently. And planning two more productions.
“The Notebook” at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre is McCollum’s newest. It’s attracting sold-out crowds, and I enjoyed the show, based on the rom-com novel. Its production values are stunning: handsome sets with multi-levels, creating elements of a home, a hospital and a river. And this is one of two shows with pouring rain in Act 2. Impressive!
Several years ago, McCollum launched “Six,” at the Lena Horne Theatre. Finally caught up with this one on my current trip. Its six-member, all-women cast boasts powerful voices, delivering a myriad of material but focusing on thumping and danceable disco vibes.
But McCollum has a pair of new productions, details of which have not been announced:
“The Devil Wears Prada” and “Night at the Museum,” based on hit movies. Presume these will be musicals, since that’s been his gold mine, if his past triumphs are a barometer. He earned Tonys for “Rent,” “Avenue Q” and “In the Heights.”
His other credits are “The Drowsy Chaperone,” “Something Rotten,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” and “Motown: The Musical.” Off-Broadway, he also produced “The Play That Goes Wrong,” which won an Olivier award.
Pretty darn good, for our local boy…
Local lads
Couldn’t set up an interview with Ezekiel Kekuna, the Kaneohe lad doing the Young Simba role in Disney’s “The Lion King” at the Minskoff Theatre, and since a conversation was not possible, didn’t secure tickets to see the show…
And pardon moi: Forgot that Zare Anguay, another Kaneohe dude, is a swing performer in the ensemble of Disney’s “Aladdin,” still running at the New Amsterdam Theatre.
Both Kekuna and Anguay had much of their theatrical training as members of The I’m a Bright Kids Foundation…
And a contingent of the Bright family – Ronald Bright’s widow, Mo Bright, and daughter Jodi and the Lee Stein ohana– are back home in Kaneohe, following a Broadway show visit. Of course, they took in the two aforementioned shows to reconnect with the actors, including Zeke’s mom, Sarahlea Gamiao Kekuna, who has been a Broadway mom, meeting constant islanders who’ve come to New York, in support of Zeke, who will part of the Pridelands, till August. Way to go! …
Plane coincidence
When boarding our Hawaiian Air flight in Honolulu, heading to the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, we ran into sometimes island resident/visitor Mary Gutzi, who also was heading to The Big Apple.
Most recently, she has been starring in an Asian Korea tour of “Sister Act” in South Korea. Next destination: Japan.
We tried to set up a meeting in New York but couldn’t find a mutually convenient time. Guess a reunion might happen in Honolulu…
And that’s Show Biz…