Lakeport >> The who’s who of Lake County danced their way across the Soper Reese Theatre stage in elaborate costumes, heavy make up and colorful wigs for the sixth annual celebrity lip sync. The performances — three in total — featured a number of well-known artists, from Elton John to Shirley Temple to Paula Abdul … at least on discs. The Who’s Who Star Revue Celebrity Lip Sync, presented by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, was more about local talent.
The show began with a rousing performance of “Eye of the Tiger” by a skin-barring Tom Lincoln, who elicited shouts and laughter throughout the crowded room. Lincoln was joined by Jennifer Strong and the two acted as co-Masters of Ceremonies, engaging in banter and exchanging pointed jabs. At the start of the show, Lincoln asked Strong if she found her platinum blonde wig in the dumpster.
Arguably the most adorable performance of the night featured Jeff Craig in a curly blonde wig and white frilly dress, tapping his feet along to “Animal Crackers in My Soup” — well, not arguably. Craig won the audience votes for best act. He was joined by Kaitrine Tinsley, sporting an identical wig and dressed in overalls. While Craig lacked a resemblance to Shirley Temple beyond the hair, young Tinsley certainly fit the bill. Craig, a five-year veteran of the show, said he felt neither ridiculous nor embarrassed in his role. “It’s just fun,” he said. It also helped that he had appeared in The Rocky Horror Picture Show during his college years.
A group of women acted as members of PETA, picketing outside the Soper Reese as the audience strolled in. Before intermission they unexpectedly burst into the room to perform an “unscripted” dance to “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” and worked to save the show’s many “animals.”
Inspector Jacques Clouseau, played by Bert Hutt, spent the evening being taunted by the Pink Panther and searching for a missing diamond, the Eye of Konocti. Much to everyone’s surprise, MC Jennifer Strong was revealed as the thief.
The entire thing was campy and absurd, which was the whole point of the event. It was readily apparent that everyone was having a blast, performers and audience alike.
The lip sync is volunteer-based, so the large number of participants were more than happy to be up on stage, acting silly and eliciting laughter all afternoon and evening.
“Six years later, here I am still making a fool of myself,” laughed Robert Boccabella, who performed Wooly Bully in purple makeup and a heavily sequined vest.
The crowd keeps Boccabella coming back year after year. “It’s quite a camaraderie of people,” he said. “It’s fun. It’s like a right of passage to be with all these people.”
Sandy Robertson, who lip synced “Love is Like a Butterfly” by Dolly Parton, agreed that her fellow performers help to make the show special. They also step in when others need a hand. “Everybody encourages everybody,” she said.
The majority of participants are local business owners with minimal experience is theater, but that never gets in the way of some stellar performances. “There are some seriously good dancers … Then they have to put up with the rest of us,” laughed Richard Neils, who performed “Stray Cat Strut” in a sky-high wig.
Preparation for the weekend began months ago, at the beginning of January. Co-Directors Diana Schmidt and Sarah Dutra came up with the theme and the songs. They then took the cast to practice in the aerobic room at Sutter Lakeside, where they worked with the performers on their dance numbers.
“These guys make things really work for us. They just really make it a lot of fun,” said Gregg Scott, the performer of a lively “What’s new Pussycat?”
This was only the second year for Scott, who was thrilled to perform his song. “Diane asked to be Tom Jones this year,” he said. “That she thought of me, I felt honored.”
Without the hard work of the co-directors, producer Melissa Fulton, the choreographers and the crew, the Lip Sync couldn’t have happened. “They just really put it together for us,” Scott said. “They certainly do a lot for us … The back stage crew … they didn’t miss a beat.”
Organizing the event is an involved process for cast and crew alike. “We all have to do our own costumes,” said Robertson. “That’s a lot of preparation. We don’t just show up and do it.”
All of the hard word pays off when the shows roll around and the community packs the theater for the event, which raises funds for a good cause. “It’s a fundraiser for the Chamber of Commerce so we can do good for Lake County,” said Neils, who acts as an Ambassador for the Chamber. “Lake County is up and coming and this is only part of it.”
Boccabella, who spent a few years performing in a lip sync competition in Petaluma, agreed that Lake County has a lot to offer. “This show is so far advanced in terms of theatrics compared to that show,” he said. “There’s really a lot of talent [here].”
After each show, attendees voted for their favorites. At the end of Sunday’s show, the votes were counted and one performer was awarded the People’s Choice Award. This year the aforementioned Craig took home the trophy for their performance of that Shirley Temple classic.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
Jeff Craig and Kaitrine Tinsley perform Shirley Temples’ “Animal Crackers in My Soup”, much to the delight of the audience. The act took top prize.
The animal-themed night wouldn’t have been complete without Ed Borg’s performance of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by Robert John.
