Wichita’s Gridiron continues its wicked ways, now with a matinee added
Whenever anything absurd goes on in local, statewide or national politics any time of year, the writer-performers of the annual Gridiron show know they expect text messages from their fellow cast members.
“Any time something happens, all someone has to say is, ‘Wow, Gridiron material just writes itself,’” said Suzanne Perez from KMUW.
Gridiron, which for 49 years has put local media on stage in a “Saturday Night Live”-type musical sketch show to raise money for the Kansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for its journalism scholarship fund, returns to Roxy’s Downtown for the fifth year with an additional performance this year, a Saturday matinee.
“We came awfully close to selling out every night last year, so Rick Bumgardner suggested we try a matinee,” Jessica DeVader, former KSN reporter currently with Visit Wichita, said of Roxy’s artistic director and Gridiron director. “We’ll see how tired we are come Saturday afternoon.”
“Wickedly Funny” is the theme of this year’s Gridiron, with last year’s movie musical hit represented in the opening number and a spoof on its song “Loathing.”
Writing officially begins at the start of the year, although brainstorming goes on during the other months.
“The news process seems to go at the speed of light anymore, so it’s not like we have to sit around and make up stuff,” said Ted Woodward, morning show host at KNSS.
“Things are so odd, it seems like, that you don’t have to stretch too far to write a comedy sketch,” he added. “There’s so much that’s so absurd in reality that we don’t have to tweak it that much to make it absurd for comedy. It plays itself out and writes itself out sometimes.”
Woodward said he especially enjoys the local targets, which this year will include downtown parking, water restrictions and “there might be a family you see in local advertisements you see all the time.”
“We get the national stuff all day long on cable and ‘Saturday Night Live,’ but the local stuff is what really jazzes me,” he said. “That’s what people (whine) about and complain about every day, the stuff in their hometown. That makes it funny and why the audiences connect with it every year.”
Perez said the performing veterans have developed a close bond through the years.
“When we start writing our scripts at the beginning of the year it’s fun to just get together and brainstorm,” she said. “It’s such a fun time to get together with these guys and put on a show. It’s a laugh a minute, really.”
Eagle columnist Bonnie Bing – who wants it known for the record that she’s the second-oldest performer on Gridiron behind Bucky Walters – returns with her Fairy Tale Princess, a mainstay.
“They all throw a big fit” if she’s not in the show, Bing said. “I don’t know if it’s to make me feel good or what.”
The Fairy Tale Princess – “She’s so old she should be a queen by now,” she quipped. “That dress is about to fall apart” – will tell about a playdate between two little boys, one named Donald and the other known as “Z.”
Bing recalls the first Gridiron performance at Wichita Community Theatre in 1976, and how it deliciously skewers local celebs.
“If you’re in the spotlight, you’re going to get noticed,” she said.
GRIDIRON
When: 7 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, March 21-23
Where: Roxy’s Downtown, 412 ½ E. Douglas
Tickets: $45 for show only, $63.99 with dinner, from wichitagridiron.com, roxysdowntown.com or 316-265-4400