Thursday, March 30, 2006
What about Alden Wynn?
From singing, to comedy, and back to singing
The "American Idol" finalist from Roanoke joins Mill Mountain Theatre favorite Doug Patterson and the Roanoke College Choir for a Broadway show at Jefferson Center this weekend. Wynn will perform "Love to Me," a long number from the current Broadway production "Light in the Piazza."
"Broadway Buzz"
What: The music and dance of the Great White Way, including songs from "Phantom of the Opera," "Urinetown," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Les Miserables." Musical direction and choreography by Kevin Jones.
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Jefferson Center's Shaftman Performance Hall
Tickets: $10 and $15. VIP tickets are $25, and include prime orchestra seating and a chance to win four tickets to any shows on Broadway.
Call: 345-2550, (866) 345-2550
Net: www.jeffcenter.org
FLASHBACK
From the Jan. 18, 2005, Roanoke Times report:
[Justin Alden] Wynn had been 25 for just a little more than a month when he drove to Nashville, Tenn., to audition for "American Idol" in the fall of 2002. The show's rules said contestants had to be between the ages of 16 and 24. Deciding the rule was "bullcrap," Wynn subtracted a year from his age.
Fibbing paid off. Wynn was selected as one of the Top 48 contestants, and though he received the boot before facing down the likes of Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard in the finals, he scored lots of airtime for antics that included getting drunk, chatting up ladies and riding a mechanical bull.
"If you can't be famous, be infamous," he said.
He got his second chance at pop-star fame after the producers of "American Idol" upped the age limit to 28 for the fourth installment of the show.
Wynn auditioned in Cleveland in August, the first city where tryouts would be held. It turned out to be his town.
Not only did he get selected to compete in Hollywood, he also received praise from LL Cool J; Wynn said the rapper-actor told him he "had a lot of soul for a white guy."
