AUDITION WINTERS TO APPEAR AT
 SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO MARCH 28 AT B-CC

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.  – The line wrapped around the outside of the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center yesterday as the auditions for Showtime at Apollo on February 11 drew close to 200 acts (more than 300 performers).  The 15 audition winners will appear at the Showtime at the Apollo, America’s original talent competition, at 7:00 p.m. Sunday, March 28 at the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center, 698 West International Speedway Blvd. (corner of International Speedway Blvd. & Lincoln St.). During the 2003-04 Season, the star-making talent showcase will also celebrate 70 Years of Apollo Amateur Night in cities across the country.

The lucky winner of the Daytona Beach competition will receive a $1,000 cash prize and two round-trip airline tickets to New York.  In addition, the winner is invited to perform at the world famous Apollo Theater and has the chance to win a spot on the nationally televised Showtime at the Apollo.  Last season, the Showtime at the Apollo “Top Dog” champion was the national tour competition winner from Newark, NJ.

The winners are:

Moneik Albright, 22 (Daytona Beach); Natisha Alexander, 26 (Temple Terrace);
Danielle Camporeale, 10 (Deltona); Toscha Comeaux, 32 (Sanford)
Da’ Assassins (Holly Hill); Raymond H. Dunlap Jr., 45 (Deland);
Randal Green, 19  (Daytona Beach); Sandrel Irvin, 20 (Daytona Beach);
Eadina C. Jackson, (25, Holly Hill); Kristen Johnson, 11 Port Orange);
Duchess McKnight 26, (Winter Springs); Samuel O’Banner 22, (New Smyrna Beach);
Ronnie Orion, 33 (Osteen); Daniel “Tim” Sapp Jr., 25 (Daytona Beach);
Zach Smith 17, (Port Orange).

Apollo Amateur Night – “where stars are born and legends are made"– has launched the careers of so many superstars that it has a legitimate claim to being the most successful star search vehicle in show biz history.  Perhaps the edgiest and most famous amateur artist showcase in the world, Apollo Amateur Night began in 1934, and is celebrated for discovering and launching the careers of legends in the entertainment field, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, James Brown, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, Luther Van Dross, D'Angelo, Lauryn Hill and Sisquo. The Apollo Theater is also "home" to thousands of other major performance artists, fans and patrons of the arts from around the world.

Showtime at the Apollo on Tour incorporates many of the features that TV fans nationwide have come to know and love.  In addition to the amateur segment, the tour will include a separate segment of young “stars of tomorrow,” the world-class Apollo house band “Ray Chew and the Crew,” an Apollo comedian host to keep the show moving with a lot of laughter, and of course, the formidable Executioner to do the infamous audience’s bidding!

Not known as a shy crowd, Showtime audiences are as legendary as the stars they have created over the years as they bluntly vocalize their pleasure – or their displeasure – with unseasoned or poorly developed acts. Performing before a Showtime crowd can be daunting for the less than determined. Many acts are known to lose their nerve mid-performance.

Showtime at the Apollo raises the performance bar for up-and-coming talent.  Its goal is to test the metal and skills of a diverse line-up of amateur talent as they compete against one another to win the approval and support of the traditionally star-making, but discriminating, audience.  Is there an Apollo legend in Daytona Beach?  You decide!  Be there on March 28!

Tickets to the show are $39, $29, and $19 and are available at the Ocean Center Box Office,   B-CC Cashier’s Office and through Ticketmaster. All tickets are subject to applicable service charges at point of purchase.)

For more details visit http://www.apollotheater.com/about.shtm

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Bethune-Cookman is a comprehensive college, which offers degrees in liberal arts as well as professional fields, such as business, education and nursing. A United Methodist Church-affiliated school, the College has a diverse and international student population of more than 2,700 and a solid reputation for academic excellence and community service. As evidence of its outstanding program, the College has been listed in the Templeton Honor Roll of Character Building Colleges and Universities, and it was ranked by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the “Top 50” schools in the nation for black students.  B-CC is one of 10 charter member colleges of Project Pericles, a program to create civic leadership and involvement on its member campuses.  The College will celebrate its 100^th year of founding on October 4, 2004.

For more information, contact our website www.bethune.cookman.edu. 

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