Gridiron 2005: Return of the Gridi

Photos by Bruce Asato

Empire Struck-ED Back

Photos by Bruce Asato

Getting kinda Rusti

THE CAST*

From Hawaii’s broadcast and print media:

Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Downtown Planet, MidWeek, Pacific Business News, PMP Publishing, KGMB-9, KHNL-8, KHON-2, KITV-4, KQMQ-FM, KPOI-FM, KRTR-FM and Hawaii Public Radio

• Cari Cast
• Dan Cooke
• Cathy S. Cruz
• Justin Cruz
• Howard Dicus
• Robbie Dingeman
• Paul Drewes
• Denby Fawcett
• Colette Fox
• Cathy Foy
• Kyle Funasaki
• Anna Gomes
• Kristie Guillotte
• Ben. Gutierrez
• John Heckathorn
• Bob Jones
• Erin Ostrem Kau
• Keoki Kerr
• Lisa Kubota
• Jodi Leong

By Craig T. Kojima

By Craig T. Kojima

• Louise Kim McCoy
• Prabha Natarajan
• Gordon Y.K. Pang
• B.J. Reyes
• Bill Sage IV
• Billy Sage V
• Christine Strobel
• Minna Sugimoto
• Michael Titterton
• Catherine Toth
• Emily Viglielmo
• Vicki Viotti

Hana hou

Left behind

Musical Director: Corin Overland

Director: Randl Ask

Choreographers: Anna Gomes, Erin Ostrem Kau and John Rampage

Technical Director: Theresa Riedman

Artistic Director: Keoki Kerr

• Scheduled to appear

By Craig T. Kojima

How do Mufi and Ben. stack up?

Capitol-izing

Take your cans and ...

Here the production team put together by Artistic Director Keoki Kerr:

• Award-winning actor, singer, comic and acting teacher RANDL ASK will direct the show. He will stage the skits and many musical numbers, other than the big production numbers.  Randl brings years of experience as a performer on Broadway (understudied Matthew Broderick in How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying), off-Broadway (Original cast of Pageant), touring companies (Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Tech. Dreamcoat and in network television (Mad About You and Apollo Comedy Hour).  Locally, he appeared as King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar and as Moonface Martin in Anything Goes, both at Diamond Head Theatre.  He has also taught acting and is directing Manoa Valley Theatre’s production of Pageant next summer. We're thankful that he's passing up other professional opportunities to help us. 

• ROBBIE DINGEMAN is doing so much this year it’s impossible to give her one title. So we won’t. She’s the voice of reason, emcee and writing coordinator, Gridiron morale officer, diplomatic officer and chief brownie baker. We're thrilled that she's back to coordinate writing of songs, skits and emcee scripts, recruit and organize emcees and do many things that make her integral to putting on the Gridiron.  Robbie has been deeply involved in the show, starting as an audience member in 1999. She joined us as a writer and emcee in 2000, and then she became an emcee coordinator in 2002 and contributed in many other ways to the show over the years. As city government reporter for the Honolulu Advertiser, she often searches for Gridiron topics that turn into great stories. Her previous work as a TV reporter and city sewage spokeswoman make her uniquely qualified for Gridiron management.

Filled with gas ... er, diesel

Going into override

• NORMA HIROTA will once again serve as costume coordinator.  Norma will find special costumes for us and also serves as head dresser, coordinating quick costume changes off stage. She is masterful at begging, borrowing and stealing costumes from all over town.  She is Diamond Head Theatre’s resident dresser, and has done costumes and makeup for Punahou School productions and others. She’s been the Gridiron’s costume coordinator since 2001. By day, she's a state librarian who handles Arts, Music and Recreation.
• Our microphone coordinator is PAULA JORGENSEN. Paula is responsible for keeping track of the dozen-plus wireless microphones we will use in the production. She has worked on the Gridiron since its rebirth in 1998 in a number of capacities. And she is ably assisted by BOB MADISON, another long-time Gridiron volunteer. If you forget to return a microphone, don’t be surprised if Bob or Paula shows up in your dressing room. Their important work is integral to our show, since if people can’t hear the lyrics and the lines, all our hard work is lost!

• KEOKI KERR serves as artistic director, coach, talent scout and scary moral compass of the Gridiron show. Officially, he oversees all artistic aspects of the show. Unofficially, that means he scours the community to find talented people who are already way too busy and then cajoles them into volunteering with the Gridiron show, challenging them to do things they’d never planned to, especially not in public. He performed in the first year of the Gridiron’s revival in 1998, and then became the show’s producer from 1999 to 2003. Keoki’s longtime involvement as a performer in local theater and opera productions combined with his daunting skills as a news reporter provide him with a background uniquely suited to parody. Gridiron also keeps him out of an obsessive-compulsive support group. By day, Keoki is an investigative reporter at KITV 4 News, where he occasionally gets on the air, if there’s not a meaningless brush fire somewhere.

• Our assistant stage manager is KALE OKAZAKI. Kale has been an enormous help to getting the show on its feet, taking staging notes, organizing scripts and music and keeping track of props and people at stage left. She’s been Gridiron’s ASM since 2002. Kale has been an assistant stage manager for numerous Hawaii Opera Theatre productions at the Blaisdell Center, as well as shows in other venues around town. A classically-trained singer, she sang professionally in Europe in operas and recitals for years before returning home to Hawaii. So it’s nice to see her cheerfully singing along with us, especially when we need help memorizing the words!

Getting that clammy feeling

Akaka Bill Shaka

• JOHN RAMPAGE has once again agreed to choreograph our biggest production numbers.  We're so happy he's agreed to help those of us with two left feet look like we know what we're doing!  John is artistic director at Diamond Head Theatre, as well as a dance teacher, director and dancer. He has directed and choreographed numerous musicals in Hawaii and has performed professionally as a ballet dancer, singer, dancer and actor on the mainland and across Hawaii. He has been with the Gridiron since we first arrived on the Diamond Head stage in 2000. John survived having Keoki Kerr as a dance student eleven years ago, but denies that fact to anyone who asks about it.

By Craig T. Kojima

• THERESA RIEDMAN is the Technical Director and Production Stage Manager.  She will oversee all aspects of the show, making sure the staging, lights, sound, props and costumes come together seamlessly. She has experience stage managing everything from the Nutcracker Ballet to Superbrawl to big musicals to concerts. Gridiron vets have enjoyed her guidance and support for the last four years.  She specializes in fixing problems before they appear. She joined the Gridiron in 2001 as a stage manager and overall troubleshooter. Theresa’s assistant for the show will be U’ILANI KUPUAAKUNI, an experienced singer, dancer and stage crew member. U’i most recently appeared in Miss Saigon at Army Community Theatre.

The Doomed from Watada

Future Kamehameha Schools graduation?

• JANELLE SANEISHI returns as Props Mistress (aka prop tart!) and general doer of many things Gridiron.  She has served this show since its rebirth in 1998 in many capacities: buying, creating and finding props while also writing songs and skits. She has always wowed us with her ability to create great-looking props with next to no money in the props budget!  We truly could not do the show without her, and we're happy to have her back. By day, she’s the spokeswoman for the state agriculture department, where she deals with coqui frogs, illegal snakes and other Gridiron topics on a daily basis.

• Our new stage manager this year is KAREN WRIGHT, a back stage veteran of many opera, dance and community theater productions.  After years of stage managing musicals with large casts of small children she has the experience the Gridiron show was seeking for this year’s production.  In her other life she is married to attorney James Wright.  They share a home with three Airedale terriers whom, like our performers, are all exceedingly cute, clever and well-groomed.  Karen is looking forward to training the performers to sit, stay and heel but has given up all hope of getting them to roll-over.

Hawaii SPJ