Yakima's Got Talent -- City gets its acts together

Who wins between jazz pianists and a standup comedian? How about between break dancers and soul singers?

Yakima's Got Talent, the annual fundraiser at The Seasons Performance Hall this weekend, is designed to answer those questions. It's like the battle royale of disparate talents, and it's designed to let the audience have some say in the outcome alongside a three-judge panel.

"The audience acts as a fourth judge," Seasons spokeswoman Ellie Strosahl says. "We want everybody to bring their people to come see them."

Fifty-four acts auditioned last week, and 20 of them advanced to tonight's semifinals. Only 10 will be invited back for Saturday's finals. The semifinalists include a break dance crew, a jazz singer, a classical violinist, a singer-songwriter and a harpist.

"It's actually really remarkable how much talent there is. And how much variety," says Melissa Labberton, a director at the Warehouse Theatre and one of the judges, along with restaurateur John Gasperetti and former radio host Reesha Cosby.

That talent includes comedian Bahiyyih Mudd, who at age 35 just started doing standup in October. Mudd, who has performed at Carmen's Comedy Club in Selah, says she's had 30 different day jobs -- "I do a great interview; I just don't have the longevity" -- and is ready to make comedy her career.

"I thought about doing it for a few years," Mudd says. "But the thing that scared me is it's a really personal thing. Finally I decided, 'They can just know (about me).'"

Her personal style of comedy, in which self-deprecation is prevalent, allows people to relate. It's what set her apart from the other two comedians who auditioned, neither of whom advanced beyond last weekend.

"I'm pretty cynical about comedy," Labberton says. "But she made me laugh. To me, if you're going to do a talent show, that's the hardest thing."

Labberton also raved about the jazz piano team of Ben Barg and Ethan Maier. Barg, a 17-year-old student at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, and Maier, a student at Whitman College, wore contrasting black-and-white outfits and put a bit of flair into their audition performance of Duke Ellington's "Satin Doll."

"For the semifinals, we're going to do something different," Berg says. "Ethan's an accordion player, so we're going to do a piano and accordion thing. ... People can expect some high-energy improvisation. I always love playing with Ethan because he's such a joyful musician."

BreAnna Jones is trying something different as well. A dancer at heart, she made the semifinals as a soul-R&B singer, doing a Chris Brown song. For the next performance, she's considering tunes by India.Arie and Rihanna.

"I thought I would do something I hadn't done publicly before and just try it out," Jones says of her singing. "And I really enjoyed it more than I expected. It was something I had done mostly in the shower or to my iPod."

That's the thing about this event, Strosahl said; it brings out talent that even the participants themselves don't always know they have.

"The whole thing is a really positive experience," she says. "Nobody leaves discouraged."

* Pat Muir can be reached at 509-577-7693 or pmuir@yakimaherald.com.

If you go

WHAT: Yakima's Got Talent.

WHERE: The Seasons Performance Hall, 101 N. Naches Ave.

WHEN: Semifinals today at 6:30 p.m., finals Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

TICKETS: $10 to $35 for each session, available at www.theseasonsyakima.com or 509-453-1888.