CAMERON -- From Ethel Merman to Rihanna, Janis Joplin to Hannah Montana, stars from yesterday and today will make an appearance Oct. 24-25 in Cameron as the Calhoun Players presents "An Evening with the Stars" at Cameron Auditorium.

"We haven't done a show like this before," said Calhoun Players' President Ben Davis, who will portray Frank Sinatra in next week's show.

"I like the old-school crooners," he said of why he choose to try his hand at being Sinatra. "We didn't want this show to be just country, just one genre. ... We've got a wide variety of different types of voices."

Davis, who has been acting in local theater productions since he was a child, said the Calhoun Players used to hold talent shows each spring. But this year, the group wanted to do something a little more "professional," which lead its members to produce "An Evening with the Stars."

Performers auditioned to appear in the production, which will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. To keep with an atmosphere of glamour, the "stars" will arrive by limousine and enter the auditorium via a red carpet, with the audience greeting them outside and "paparazzi" at the ready to capture the stars' grand entrances.

"We've got folks looking as much like their singers as they can," Davis said, adding that each performer was given a biography of their chosen star in an effort to make their act as authentic as possible. "I think it will go off pretty good." Photos of the stars will be for sale at the event.

"Evening" director Tim Miller, who will portray Randy Travis, said he has traveled and performed on the local karaoke circuit for years. He said the idea for "An Evening with the Stars" was born from a similar event he and an area karaoke DJ executed not too long ago.

"I know there are a bunch, and I mean a bunch, of talented singers in this area," he said. "They (the Calhoun Players) were all for it."

Miller said show patrons will hear Peggy Hirth as Ethel Merman, singing "There's No Business Like Show Business;" Donna Waltz as Loretta Lynn, "Coal Miner's Daughter;" Damien Jones as Billy Gilman, "Oklahoma;" Loretta Mitchum as Janis Joplin, "Me and Bobby McGee" a capella; Kaitlyn Williams as Hannah Montana, "Who Said;" Todd Coleman as Kenny Chesney, "Back Where I Come From;" Robert "Teddy" Bair as Elvis Presley, "American Trilogy;" Davis as Frank Sinatra, "New York, New York;" Victoria Mack as Rihanna, "Take a Bow;" John Thomas Hair as Chris Brown, "Forever;" Elly Haigler performing a dance routine to a Shirley Temple musical collage; and Miller as Randy Travis, "Three Wooden Crosses." The show will conclude with Hirth as Merman singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and the cast doing a rendition of the closing song from "The Carol Burnett Show."

Emcee for the evening will be Dode Pricket, who will perform with Hirth on "There's No Business Like Show Business."

"The backdrop and stage will be red and gold," Miller said. "It's going to be a pretty good show. I hope we get some good ticket sales out of it."

Drinks and candy will be available for purchase during the show's 15-minute intermission. Proceeds will go to support scholarships for local students and offset the costs of future productions, Miller said.

Todd Coleman, who will portray Kenny Chesney, is a St. Matthews native living in Columbia. The 26-year-old member of the S.C. Air National Guard said it is his dream to sing professionally.

"I try to sing every opportunity I get. I'm in constant search for the right band, the right connections, to make it work," he said.

Singing "Back Where I Come From" is special because Coleman said it reminds him of growing up in Calhoun County. He is a 2000 graduate of Calhoun Academy.

"A lot of things in that song remind me of growing up -- a lot of similarities in that song to my younger days," Coleman said, adding that he hopes people will attend the show and join in the fun with the performers. "We're definitely having a blast doing it. ... We promise to make it a treat for you."

Elvis impersonator Robert "Teddy" Bair of Myrtle Beach has been performing as "The King" for years. The Midway native got his start at a steak house in Santee and said that although he has had chances to turn impersonating into a huge career, he wasn't comfortable doing so. Bair currently spends much of his time performing fund-raisers for people and causes, including Myrtle Beach's Step Up! program.

"I really like to entertain, and I want to make a difference," he said. "I feel like the good Lord gave me the voice I've got because of that -- to use my talent to help someone else.

"If I could use my talent to help other people, I'm just thankful."

A special reception for Friends of the Calhoun Players will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24.

Tickets to "An Evening with the Stars" are $10 for adults and $8 for seniors 55 years of age and older and children under 17. The event is sponsored in part by the Calhoun County Museum and Cultural Center and the S.C. Arts Commission, which receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

"The Calhoun Players will roll out the red carpet in Cameron for 'An Evening with the Stars,'" Davis said. "The show has the lights, glamour and action of a true Hollywood bash. Experience big names of today and yesterday all on the same stage, brought to you through the voices of our very own local talent."

For more information or tickets, call Frances Felkel at 803-823-2948.

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