American Idol fever hits the Catskills

By TOM KANE

CALLICOON, NY — Joana Dutcher of Mountaindale and Alice Cook of Grahamsville want to be professional singers.

That’s why, when they heard that some local impresarios were producing the Catskills version of American Idol at the Villa Roma Resort Hotel, they singed up right away—they and about 80 other Catskill residents, at last count.

Dutcher, 29, a blues singer who has entertained at the Bradstan Country Hotel in White Lake, and Cook, 18, a senior at Tri-Valley High School with little public exposure beyond a school production, are among the 20 finalists who will appear at the final gala competition with 18 other finalists on Sunday, April 10 at the Villa Roma’s Forum Theatre.

“I forgot what I just sang. I’m so excited,” Cook said after winning a place as a finalist.

Cook, who wants to be an opera singer, started her audition with a popular gospel song called “A City Called Home,” but when the panel found out that she sang opera, they asked her to sing an aria. She did, and she wowed them (two of the judges are Italian).

“I love it. You’re a finalist,” said Tony Darrow, who appears on the HBO hit series “The Sopranos” and is the principal producer of the event. Besides his appearance on “The Sopranos,” Darrow often entertains at the Villa Roma.

For two Sundays in March, singers ranging in age from 14 to 50 stood before a panel of four judges and sang from a list of suggested songs.

On Sunday, March 13, over 50 contestants jammed the West Room of the Villa Roma, waiting nervously for their turn to face the judges. As a contestant who won a place as a finalist returned to the room, everybody cheered.

Inside the room across the hall, the judges sat behind a table as each contestant entered the room, stood at a distance and sang. The judges included Darrow, Paul Carlucci, general manager of the Villa Roma, Ed Washington of Sullivan County Community College and Nick Posterini, an entertainer at the Villa. “We’re not going to be hard on you,” Darrow said to all the contestants before the audition began, “so relax and try to enjoy it.”

“The contest isn’t over yet,” said Christine Darrow, wife of Tony Darrow, on March 13. “We have two more Sundays, March 20 and April 3. More singers will appear at an audition held at the Villa Roma on those dates,” she said.

Contestants pay a $25 fee and fans will pay $25 at the final gala on April 3. Cash awards will go to the top three contestants: first prize is $1,000, second is $500 and third is $300. The contest also has the financial support of several local businesses in Sullivan County.

“The proceeds go to the Saint Peter’s Regional Catholic School in Liberty, NY,” said Christine Darrow, who teaches at the Chase School in Wurtsboro, NY. St. Peters is the only Catholic school in Sullivan County, she said.

“We want to give young talents who live in the area a chance to get a start in the music field and at the same time help a wonderful school,” Christine Darrow said.

“We though this was a good way for her to begin a musical career,” said Susan Cook, Alice’s mother. “It will be a good experience whether she wins or loses.”

Cook hopes to study opera and voice at Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY this fall. “I have an audition at the college next week. I hope they like me as much as these people did,” she said.