Director and performer Jayme Littlejohn presented the community with her second Bravo! Theatre Extravaganza variety show July 21-23.
Community acts were interspersed with marvelous professional performances that just blew the audience away. Hosted by Kathleen Morris, the newest local standup comedian, and Amaranta Santos, they introduced the acts and kept the show rolling.
Receiving a standing ovation were Mariacelli Navarro Salerno and Timothy Welch. These two pros have been competing worldwide with their piano and piccolo duets. The piccolo is rarely seen as a solo instrument with piano accompaniment and it was a treat for the audience to hear their newest competition pieces.
The freshest community act was the ukulele group headed up by Sheila Ruof. They had been entertaining at nursing homes and practicing diligently for their presentation at Extravaganza. The audience got into the act, singing along with them.
Val Jones teaches tap in Ajijic and her tappers were out in full force. From the age of 8 to 80 they tapped their hearts out. Fun to watch and even more fun to do. One of her more experienced students, Alan Marsh, did a solo tap number too. It just shows that anyone at any age can do it. You just need a fabulous teacher like Jones, and of course tap shoes. If anyone wants to tap, contact Val at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Singers Littlejohn, Santos and Wanda White entertained us with wonderful renditions of songs and with accompaniment from Welch. Santos opened the show with her fabulous rendition of “Besame Mucho” and Littlejohn made us laugh hysterically with her rendition of “Vodka.” White made us remember what it is like to fall in love again, singing “I Got Love” from the musical “Purlie.”
Retired professional entertainer Peggy Lord Chilton wowed the audience with two of her acts from her days playing hotels and theaters. They both were songs with spoonerisms. A spoonerism is an error in speech where the beginnings of words are switched and confused, such as “cattleships and bruisers” for “battleships and cruisers.” There were also malapropisms used by Littlejohn, who called Tim Welch a “penis” rather than a “pianist” in her rendition of “Vodka.” These kept the audience roaring with laughter. Continuing in their theme of fun playing with language, Jacinta Stringer did a Shakespearean version of “The Three Little Pigs” to rounds of applause and tears of laughter.
Barbara Pruitt joined the group to do a crazy, funny, Chinese improv with Littlejohn. The sixties song “Proud Mary,” sung by the two of them along with Santos, closed out the show to loud applause.
So get prepared for next year. The Bravo Theatre will be looking for more local talent for their July variety show. Who said there aren’t fun things going on in the off season? Those days are over.