Gridiron president Kim Mizar-Stem portrays Governor Mary Fallin in 2012 production

Before Tuesday’s dress rehearsal for a production entitled “Washington is Cooking our Goose! Or How Many Nuts are in a Occu-Pie,” Kim Mizar-Stem, president of the Oklahoma City Gridiron Club, explained the 2012 theme in a video interview with CapitolBeatOK:

“This year, we have a ‘Hee Haw’ theme, which is very fitting for Oklahoma, I think. It’s full of all the songs that you’d recognize from ‘Hee Haw,’ with our own little political twist.”

She continued, “We make fun of people in the state and federal government. They come to the show. Most of our state officials come to the show. They get a kick out of watching us making fun of them. They’re pretty good sports.”

Mizar-Stem disclosed, “I am Governor Mary Fallin this year.” The Sooner State’s chief executive plans to attend the Wednesday, February 22 performance. Which she did while sitting upfront, centerstage, and smiling most of the time.

Asked if she had “any other good parts,” Mizar-Stem laughed and said, “Let’s just say, she makes an entrance. That will leave a little something for you guys to have to come see for yourselves.”

Mizar-Stem, president of the organization for this show cycle, said, “The Gridiron Club is a non-profit organization. It was founded in 1928. We provide scholarships for journalism students.

“Most of those in the cast are journalists or former Journalists. We have provided over $400,000 in scholarships since our inception. This is our way of giving students in Oklahoma the chance to stay and go to school here, and hopefully become reporters here.” 

A plethora of active or retired journalists and their associates are in the cast, including Mizar-Stem, the Eggman, Jackie Short, Cindy Reich, Bart Vleugels, Cynthia Rozmaryn, Andrew Harris, Michael Cross, Jim Palmer, Billie Rodely, John Greiner, Jon Denton, Erin Boeckman, Bob Hale, Sue Hale, Darrell Morrow, Joe Mays, Judy Murphy, Dana Meister, Sue Perry, Bill Perry, Ellie Sutter, Barry Jon, Robert Burch, Carol Cole-Frowe and this writer.
 
Larry Pierce returns as director of the renowned Gridiron Band.

The sometimes edgy humor of Gridiron emerges from the tradition of vigorous and fearless news reporting in America, affirmed in this reflection by the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson: “Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it.”

Elsewhere in his voluminous writings, the third president of the United States expressed himself this way: “The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure.”

Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. on the evenings of Wednesday, February 22, Friday, February 24 and Saturday, February 25 at the Lyric Theatre at the Plaza, 1727 NW 16 in MidTown Oklahoma City.

For seats (all with good viewing lines, and priced $30 plus a service charge), visit TicketStorm.com to purchase online NOW. Gridiron officials said sales for both Wednesday and Friday have been brisk, with many good seats available for Saturday’s performance. Each night, some seats might be available for “walk-in” purchase, as well.