Second Annual Youth Singing Competiton

Once again it wasn't all show tunes, but it WAS exceptional entertainment Friday night in The Bon Ton Room at Matt Davis's All Play and No Work. Eighteen outstanding Jackson teens, tweens, and littles sang their hearts out to a sold out audience!

Last year's winner, TR Krupa sang Radames' Letter from Aida to kick off the second half of the evening.

1. Madelyn Bellew - Almost Lover (A Fine Frenzy)
2. Elizabeth Lincoln - On the Brightside (NeverShoutNever)
3. Evan Denney - Consider Yourself (Oliver!)
4. Julianna Berkemeier - Can't Take My Eyes Off of You (Jersey Boys) - HONORABLE MENTION
5 . Kaci Sweezey -Free to Be Me
6. Carly Jacobs - Mama Who Bore Me (Spring Awakening)
7. Charity Roberts - Beauty and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
8. Anna Blissick - Love Story (Taylor Swift)
9. Carly Brake - Just One Step (Songs for a New World) - FIRST PLACE
10. Christina McKim - Only Hope (Mandy Moore) - THIRD PLACE
11. Nicole Black & Zac Lowden - Almost Paradise (Footloose)
12. Maegan Budd - Part of Your World (Little Mermaid)
13. Jacob Moody - The Climb (Miley Cyrus)
14. Lindsey Cole - The New Girl in Town (Hairspray) - HONORABLE MENTION
15. Trinity Roberts -Born to Entertain (Ruthless) - HONORABLE MENTION
16. Allison Walsh - On My Own (Les Miserables)
17. Alaina Kerr - You Are the Music in Me (High School Musical)
18. Kelsey Cummings - Every Story is a Love Story (Aida) - SECOND PLACE

Hosting the event for the second year was Stephanie Pierce, a student at Jackson High School, who was co-creator of the event with Ann Holt.

Judges for the event were Lisa Ykimoff, Matt Davis, and Lenny LaFleur.

Our photographer for the evening was lidija Fremeau of LAF Lines

Auditions for the Michigan Shakespeare Festival

Robert Duha, Managing Director of the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, tells me they will be holding auditions for a touring version of "Romeo and Juliet" on February 20 & 21 at the JSO from 1-5 on both days. A total of 6 or 7 daytime performances will be scheduled at area high schools between April 19 and 30. Actors will be paid a small stipend. If you are interested, call the MSF office at (517) 998-3673.

Auditions for the regular season are tentatively scheduled for the month of April. Watch the MSF website for more information.

Croswell Opera House presents. . .

February 4 - 6 at 8 pm and Feb 7 at 3 pm, Croswell Opera House will present an All -Area High School production of Fame: The Musical. Call 517 - 264- SHOW or order on their website at http://www.croswell.org/. If you call and purchase 10 Fame tickets, you'll receive the 11th ticket for FREE!

Comic Opera Guild Looking for Male Singers

The Comic Opera Guild in Ann Arbor is looking for three lead male singers and about three male chorus singers for a restored production of SALLY. SALLY was originally produced by Florenz Ziegfeld at New York's Amsterdam Theatre, opening there on December 21, 1920, and running for over 500 performances. It has not been performed for many decades. Kern's famous song Look for the Silver Lining comes from this show.

Prospective candidates should contact Tom Petiet, Managing Director, at constu@comcast.com or by telephone at 734-973-3264 for an audition and for more information.

Rehearsals will be in Ann Arbor and the production will be at the modern Village Theater in Canton on April 8 through 11, 2010. The lead singers need to be able to dance. A small stipend will be paid to cover the cost of travel from Jackson. The production will be recorded on CD for sale nationally, so singers will receive some national exposure. We believe that this recording will be the first ever full length recording of SALLY.

See www.comicoperaguild.org for more information. The Guild researches forgotten historical American Broadway shows of the 1890-1925 period and restores the music for piano, orchestra, and vocal production. This is a chance for singers to help with worthy restoration efforts of American musical history. Our recordings are in many archives, including the Library of Congress, and in the collections of American musical theater historians. Google "Jerome Kern Sally" for more information on this wonderful show.

People You Should Know - Donald Calamia

Donald Calamia is the co-owner of and editorial director for EncoreMichigan.com, "a new, Web-based publication focused on Michigan's professional theater industry. It is the state's premier source for free up-to-the-minute news and information about this often-ignored segment of the arts community."

You can find listings of shows, reviews, podcasts, blogs, audition information, theatre related links, articles dealing with professional theater at the site and much more.