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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The first act of the Purple Cat Talent Show on July 15 sang "Shut Up and Dance" for the talent show at the Youngstown Playhouse.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.One of the Purple Cat clients played the drums to the song "Amazing Grace" for the audience at the talent show on July 15.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.One of the talent show acts dressed up and danced to "24k Magic" by Bruno Mars for the Purple Cat Talent Show at the Youngstown Playhouse.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The Amazing Radar told the guests the exact day of the week they were born on before the Purple Cat Talent Show started.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The Purple Cat talent acts sat behind stage as they prepared for the talent show on July 15 at the Youngstown Playhouse.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.A Purple Cat client took the audience back in time to Woodstock as he played the congos on July 15 at the Youngstown Playhouse for the talent show.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
Purple Cat Productions hosted their first ever talent show on July 14 and 15 at the Youngstown Playhouse.
The talent show provided an opportunity for the clients involved with Purple Cat to showcase their talents to the community. Prior to the talent show Purple Cat Productions, which is based at the Morley Theater building, would host a play that they put their own twist on. In past years Purple Cat has put on “Beauty and the Beast,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Wizard of Oz” and more.
“They’re just up there doing their thing, it’s a chance for them to showcase what they love to do,” said Purple Cat and Golden String event coordinator Amy Rigby.
The clients participating in the talent show have been practicing for weeks at the Purple Cat locations and the Youngstown Playhouse. There are more than 20 acts from singing to dancing to live art. There will be entertainment before and after the show in the lobby provided by the clients.
As soon as the doors open, guests will be entertained by music provided by the clients.
“It blows me away to see how far they’ve come,” said Rigby.
Jude Mikulich and Jason Murphy work at the Purple Cat and are also helping out as two directors of the talent show. Mikuluch, a theater major, is working with the clients with the stage production and Murphy is working with the music. This allows the clients to be the main stage hands and put on the production themselves. There are several volunteers who are helping work the door, take tickets and much more.
Jimmy Sutman, the owner and operator of ISLE, is serving as the emcee for the event. ISLE is Iron and String Life Enhancement which is the main corporation of what Purple Cat is. ISLE’s mission is to sustain the well being of the clients by promoting fulfillment in a pleasing and caring environment.
This is something that Purple Cat Production hopes to continue for years to come. The clients are able to come up with something to do on their own and show everyone their talents and abilities.
“My whole heart and soul goes into this program,” said Rigby. “It was easy to do because I know that the clients themselves were the stars, I just had to put it together.”
More information about Purple Cat and the events can be found on the Purple Cat Productions Facebook page or BigPurpleCat.com.