Story
by Linda East Brady
, Standard-Examiner staff
- Jun 25 2012 - 5:41pm
The Broadway babies came to Layton for this year's season-opening talent contest presented by the Davis Arts Council.
"Show Layton Your Talent IV: The Broadway Edition" featured 15 acts singing their hearts out on Friday, June 22. The talent was deep, but in the end three took home top honors -- as decided by the audience. First-, second- and third-place winners took home $1,000, $500, and $250, respectively.
* Brooklyn Pulver-Kohler, first place
Pulver-Kohler sang "Don't Rain on My Parade" from "Funny Girl." The Salt Lake City-based singer originally planned to perform "I Can Cook, Too" from "On the Town."
"I was kind of rethinking my choice and wanted ... something that people would recognize -- and who does not recognize Barbra Streisand?" she said.
Pulver-Kohler had never performed the song before, but thinks the wordiness and the intricate phrasing make it a tough choice. As for how she approached the performance, she says she wanted to recognize some of Streisand's nuances, yet also make it her own.
"There were areas where I definitely put my own stamp on it," she said.
Pulver-Kohler says "Don't Rain on My Parade" is her favorite kind of song to perform -- an upbeat character piece.
"I can sing ballads all the time by myself, but upbeat songs are more interesting and fun," she said.
Next up? Pulver-Kohler will perform in the musical "9 to 5" in August at the Hale Centre Theatre.
* Michael Cram, second place
Cram captured runner-up with "I Am Aldolpho" from "The Drowsy Chaperone."
Cram said that the comic piece was his first and only choice for the contest.
"I love this song and this character," the Clearfield man said. "You search for an audition piece to make you stand out, and my vocal coach helped me pick this one out, telling me to perform it everywhere."
Cram appeared in the recent CenterPoint Legacy Theatre production of "The Drowsy Chaperone," although not in the part of Aldolpho.
"I didn't even get a chance to audition for it there, so I kind of wanted to use this song also to show them I that could do this role," he said.
Cram said he feels at home in the Kenley Centennial Amphitheater. When it opened in 1996, he starred in the title role in a summer theater production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." He's also appeared there in "Damn Yankees," and has also sung scores of musicals and operas in the area.
Cram said he liked that this year Kenley had the audience decide the winners.
"Of course, all the contestants try and bring their own fans to vote, but there are the season ticket holders, too. You have to win them over, and they don't have anything at stake."
* Amy Geddes, third place
Geddes performed "I Cain't Say No" from "Oklahoma!"
The Layton woman said she wanted to pick something fun and playful for the show, and worked to get the character's appearance -- as well as the song -- right.
"I got my hair big as I possibly could," she said. "I started at 4 p.m. that afternoon -- ratted and ratted and curled and sprayed, and then put on a hot-pink dress."
Though it was time-consuming to get the song and the look right, and she was fighting a massive headache performance day, she is pleased with her performance. Geddes also appeared in "Show Layton Your Talent" last year, 6 1/2 months pregnant.
"I've done a few other contests, too, and something that I've learned from doing contests like this is that once you are in it, you can't control what the audience will do," she said. "You just try and get as many people there as you can.
"But really, the real success is coming prepared, doing your very best, and having a good time. After you do that, in the end, whatever it is, it is."