Students get into the act at Kiwanis’ Stars of Tomorrow show

Loveland, Colorado, Reporter Herald
http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?id=22305

For sisters Summer and Faith Cushman, getting into a fight is just natural.

So, getting into one on stage while singing “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better” seemed like such a perfect fit, they just had to do it.

The Cushmans joined 21 other performers on stage at Thompson Valley High School on Saturday night in the Stars of Tomorrow show, put on by the Kiwanis Club of Loveland.

Acts from three divisions — elementary, middle school and high school — took to the stage before an audience at the Roberta L. Price Auditorium, entertaining the crowd with vocal and piano solos and duets, ballet and even a clogging solo.

Summer and Faith, both in the elementary division, not only sang but got to fight with each other; something their mom said wasn’t hard for them to do.

“The song fit really well; there was not a lot of acting,” Bonnie Cushman said with a laugh. “They saw it in a dinner theater sung by some older girls, and it just fit so well.”

The pair — like many in the talent show — had performed in it previously and had participated in local theater and musical events.

“They really like acting and singing together,” Bonnie said.

Wythe Hull, chairman of the event, said he’s always impressed at how the young amateur performers wow the crowd.

“The kids they have up at the Lincoln Center (in Fort Collins), they’re getting paid,” Hull said. “These kids are better.”

This year’s show, the 48th annual, drew nearly 50 applications for the first round before judges from the Kiwanis Club picked out the best for Saturday’s performance.

And despite having performed many times before — and having rehearsed their number in front of Mom until Mom could hardly take any more — the Cushman duo still was a little nervous.

“All my friends (were) here,” Summer, the older sister, said during afternoon rehearsal. “But we’ve practiced a lot.”

Except of course, the fighting. That — Mom strongly insists — has never been acting for her daughters.