Fewer honorees named for each Po'okela award

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

•	Names of theater organizations are abbreviated: ACT: Army Community Theatre DHT: Diamond Head Theatre HPU: Hawaiëi Pacific University MVT: Manoa Valley Theatre TAG: The Actors Group UH: Kennedy Theatre at the University of Hawai'i

When the Hawai'i State Theatre Council handed out the 2001 Po'okela Awards Monday night at the Ko'olau Golf Club Ballroom, Manoa Valley Theatre garnered eight, with its "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" receiving four.

But there were only two ties — in one acting category and the best play categories — in what appears to be a move toward naming a single honoree for most categories. In the past, two or three winners were named for each category.

George and Linda Hearn were given the Pierre Bowman Award for lifetime dedication to theater.

Diamond Head Theatre and Kennedy Theatre at the University of Hawai'i earned four trophies apiece, with The Actors Group and Hawai'i Pacific University collecting three each. Army Community Theatre earned one.

Hawai'i State Theatre Council's 2001 Po'okela Award winners:

• Best Musical: "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," MVT
• Best Play: "Grace and Glorie," MVT, and "Oleanna," TAG
• Musical Director: Lina Jeong Doo, "Evita," ACT
• Director of a Musical: Linda Johnson, "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," MVT
• Director of a Play: Phyllis S.K. Luke, "Sisters Matsumoto," MVT
• Ensemble: "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," MVT
• Leading Actress in a Musical: Cathy Foy, "Kiss Me Kate," DHT
• Leading Actor in a Musical: Guy Merola, "Chess," DHT, and Steve Wagenseller, "Kiss Me Kate," HPU
• Featured Actress in a Musical: Stefanie Sanchez, "No One Will Marry a Princess With a Tree Growing Out of Her Head," UH
• Leading Actress in a Play: Jo Pruden, "Grace and Glorie," MVT, and Dorothy Stamp, "Oleanna," TAG
• Leading Actor in a Play: Eric Nemoto, "Oleanna," TAG
• Featured Actor in a Musical: Brad Powell, "Kiss Me Kate," HPU
• Featured Actor in a Play: Russell Motter, "The Last Night of Ballyhoo," MVT
• Featured Actress in a Play: Julia Ogilvie, "The Best Christmas Ever," DHT
• Non-Resident Guest Artist: Joseph Ricci, "Carousel," DHT
• Set Design: Kimo Moore, "No One Will Marry a Princess With a Tree Growing Out of Her Head," UH
• Sound Design: Jason Taglianetti, "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," MVT
• Costume Design: Sandra Finney, "No One Will Marry a Princess With a Tree Growing Out of Her Head," UH
• Choreography: John Rampage, "Victor/Victoria," DHT
• Lighting Design: Stephen Crowell, "No One Will Marry a Princess With a Tree Growing Out of Her Head," UH