A variety of talent will help benefit the Warsaw Community High School boys basketball team.
Tiger Basketball will present "Warsaw's Got Talent" Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 each, and are available from WCHS boys basketball players or at the PAC box office, or by calling 574-371-5040. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. No refunds or exchanges.
Producers and directors for the evening of music are WCHS Assistant Principal Jennifer Shepherd, boys basketball coach Doug Ogle and Gordy Clemens. Ogle said Warsaw's Got Talent is not a competition.
"We put together an exciting line-up of exceptional musical talent," said Ogle.
Headliners will perform several numbers each, and other performers will play one long number or two shorter numbers each.
Headliners include Clemens as Elvis Presley, Russ Weed as Frank Sinatra, Chris Dillon as Patsy Cline and Lonnie Witham as Roy Orbinson.
Clemens said he will perform several songs, including "Viva Las Vegas" and "Suspicious Minds."
"I think there are some really good performers," Clemens said of the lineup.
When Warsaw Community Schools was first building the PAC, Clemens told Ogle he'd love to sing in the PAC some day. Clemens said he volunteered his talents to Ogle for a fundraiser for boys basketball if the chance ever came up.
Also performing will be Rosalie Kauffman, Justin Cordero, Tim Clothier, Abe Hepler, Sweet Mountain Dan Kuhn, the WCHS Hip-Hop Dance Team, Bryce Lippe, Optimist Singers, Lucas Grose, Brock Davis, Thomas Hall, Jamison Westerbreck, Bryce Scott and the WCHS cheerleaders.
"Rosalie Kauffman is just a really talented singer," said Clemens.
Witham, Clemens and Weed all will be dressed up as Elvis, Sinatra and Robinson respectively, Clemens said.
Ogle said Cordero will perform rifle twirling, while Kuhn will singe "Desperado" and "The Dinosaur Dance". Kuhn plays the guitar and harmonica.
Lippe is blind, but will sing a Tim McGraw song, Ogle said. Grose and Davis are both boys basketball players. While Grose will play the piano, Davis will perform in a shortened version of a one-act play. Scott is a statistician for the basketball team, and he also will play piano.
"I think people will enjoy seeing and hearing a different side to our players with Lucas Grose and Brock Davis and Bryce Scott as our statistician," Ogle said.
The varsity cheerleaders will perform a combination dance/stunt number.
The talent show will open with the Optimist Singers, led by Martin Becker. One of the numbers they will sing will be the "Star-Spangled Banner".
Emcee for the night will be Patrick Brown.Another way the basketball team is planning to raise money is by selling previous boys basketball game jerseys at the talent show. Ogle said anyone who comes to the talent show will have the opportunity to purchase old jerseys that have been worn but still in good condition. Some of the jerseys date back to the 1960s. They will range in price for $15 to $25, and can be bought before or after the talent show. Only those who buy a ticket to the talent show may purchase a jersey.
"It's remarkable how well they've held up in storage," said Ogle of the jerseys.
All proceeds will benefit boys Tiger basketball. Refreshments also will be sold.
Ogle said, "We have assembled a talent-laden cast. It is definitely not amateur hour."
