MAMA'S NEXT BIG ACT Announces Final 5 Contestants

After another night jam-packed with daring artistry and scintillating talent, "Mama's Next BIG Act!" the genre-bending talent contest, is slimming down dramatically today.

Don't Tell Mama, the contest's producer, is announcing that AMORIKA AMOROSO, JERRY PHELPS, WENDY RUSSELL, SAVANNAH & CHASE, and LISA YAEGER are the contest's Fantastic 5.

The 12-week audience and jury-voted competition's two permanent judges are the singer-entertainer Tanya Moberly, and the singer and Cabaret Scenes Magazine editor-in-chief Frank Dain.

"The field we chose from last night was impossibly close," says Dain. "The differences between those who made it and those who had to bow out were fractional. We needed a super computer to figure it out!"

Presented by the legendary Theatre District hotspot Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, "Mama's Next BIG Act!" now in its first year, continues for the next three Tuesdays, August 11, 18 and 25, all at 7:30pm.

The contest's co-producers are Don't Tell Mama's general manager Limor Shekhter, and cabaret giant Lennie Watts, who serves as the contest's lovably acerbic host and talent wrangler.

"I hated to see those incredible talents go," says Watts, "but only one act can win our life-changing prize package. That's just the hard reality of contests."

Don't Tell Mama's eye-popping prize package includes a fully-produced, four-show run of a new show (complete with publicity support and graphic design by Hector Coris); an appearance on Seth Rudetsky's nationally-aired Sirius/XM Radio show; a feature story in Cabaret Scenes, AND a Black & Decker toaster oven! The winner's show poster will be permanently enshrined on Mama's Legacy Wall, which is festooned with original posters of some of the club's legendary acts. The winner will also have an original song written for them by the much admired tunesmith and director Barry Kleinbort, and they will be coached in acceptance speech techniques by Mama's revered booking manager Sidney Myer, a fixture on the cabaret circuit since before the phonograph was invented.

Backing this delicious assortment of talent week after week is the contest's shockingly ambidextrous music director Steven Ray Watkins.

Now that the once-crowded field of just under 50 diverse performers has been whittled down to 5 contestants MAMA'S SO EXCITED SHE JUST MIGHT EXPLODE!

There is a $12 cover, plus a two-drink minimum. Mama's is cash-only baby, so stop your crying. For reservations 212/757-0788 (after 4pm) or to reserve online go to www.donttellmamanyc.com # # #

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