ROCKWALL (January 28, 2014) Rockwall Community Playhouse’s annual variety show Rockwall’s Got Talent opened to a full house January 24th at Utley Middle School. Miss Dallas Laryssa Bonacquisti, Regent Cornell, Pam McClain Holcomb, and Rockwall Mayor David Sweet were ready to view the qualifying contestants who waited nervously behind the curtains for their turn on the stage.
Eighteen acts advanced from the semi-finals which were held January 17th. Each contestant or group had to perform a different song or routine than had been seen the previous week. Vocal soloists Jessica Brunson, Jon Whittle, Jacob Turner, Nick Carew, Jen Brown, Clay Mobley and Rebecca Allen blew the crowd away with their talent. Taylor Hernandez sang while her brother accompanied her on guitar. Siblings Tatiana Valentine and her brother Aiden competed against each other by singing My Heart Will Go On and Michael Jackson’s Who’s Loving You, respectively. Fourteen-year-old Kayla White and Hannah Spaulding performed an energetic hip-hop routine, while the group John Doe & the UFOs performed the song Home.
While the judges’ scores were tallied, Laryssa Bonacquisiti, who won Rockwall’s Got Talent in 2010, entertained the audience with her ventriloquism talents.
Jade Keath, in third place, received a check for $250 courtesy of Westchester Homes. During the semi-finals, Keath accompanied herself on acoustic guitar while singing a song in Spanish. In the finals, the versatile performer played the piano while singing in English.
Tap dancer Alexi Grant set the stage on fire with her flying feet and captured second place, winning the $500 prize donated by Texas Heath Presbyterian Hospital of Rockwall.
Top honors went to baton-twirling Erica Kuntz who dazzled the judges with her skills. Rockwall Community Playhouse board member Darlene Singleton presented the $1000 check from Community Bank to the excited contestant.
The proceeds from Rockwall’s Got Talent will go toward RCP’s capital campaign for their new theatre which will be located on Airport Freeway. Currently, the intimate 84-seat facility is located at 609 E. Rusk, just 2 blocks off downtown Rockwall.
Coming attractions include: The Foreigner, Steel Magnolias, and Forever Plaid. The playhouse also offers children’s after school programs and summer camps, teen musicals, and a 2-week acting workshop for teens and adults with Down syndrome and autism.
For more information, visit rockwallcommunityplayhouse.org or call 972-722-3399.
Story and photo submitted by Mary Thacker.
To share your good news and events, email editor@BlueRibbonNews.com.
Please click here to LIKE our Facebook page, so we can reach more people with good news like this!
Rockwall’s Got Talent winner takes home $1,000 added by Editor on
View all posts by Editor →