'Grease' opens at ACT

JOHN BERGER / JBERGER@STARBULLETIN.COM
"Grease" cast members Al Waterson, seated above left, Pedro Haro and Lanai Tabura chilled on the set last Thursday after the opening-night performance of "Grease" at Army Community Theatre. Tabura, who is better known as Lanai of Island Rhythms 98.5 and is a 20-year veteran of local radio, joked that friends are telling him he's been typecast in the role of smarmy deejay Vince Fontaine in the show's big "high school hop" scene. Haro rocks the hop as teen heartthrob Johnny Casino, and Waterson appears later as Teen Angel. "Grease" continues Fridays and Saturdays through May 26. Call 438-4480. CLICK FOR LARGE

JOHN BERGER / JBERGER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Emilio Maldonado, his daughter Emily, Aubrey Glover, Jade Glover and Emilio's wife, singer/actress Alison Maldonado, compared their impressions of the show during intermission. They were there to cheer on Alison's daughter, Heather Ensley (Marty), who has several memorable moments in the show. Alison and her family made the night extra-special for the cast by sending a big tub of candy backstage to commemorate the opening. CLICK FOR LARGE

JOHN BERGER / JBERGER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Musical director Daren Kimura, seated center, chowed down with "Grease" orchestra members Mea Moon, seated left, Kyle Oyasato, Mike Sakamoto, Pat Hawes and Heejin Kang before the show. Kimura has made a tradition of having an opening-night pre-show dinner party with his musicians whenever he is the musical director of an ACT show. CLICK FOR LARGE

JOHN BERGER / JBERGER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Vida Mae Fernandez (Rizzo), left, and Sean Jones (Kenickie) enjoyed the cast party with James Kimo Kaona (Roger) and Pomai Lopez (Jan). Jones has one of the big numbers in the show, Kaona and Lopez share another and Fernandez has two more. They're all standouts in ACT's latest revival of the show. CLICK FOR LARGE

JOHN BERGER / JBERGER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Richard Bragdon, right, who plays Eugene, the hapless No. 1 nerd in "Grease," was almost unrecognizable when he came out in contemporary attire and joined Chris Villasenor (Sonny) and Shawna Masuda (Sandy) at the opening-night party. CLICK FOR LARGE