Would-be Jewish American Idols compete for stardom

Jewish stars are coming to the To Life! Street Festival and they won't just be on display at jewelry and crafts stands.

The second annual Jewish American Idol Singing Competition should be even hotter than last year, with an expected 45 contestants performing on stage.

Hopeful stars will sing with or without musical accompaniment, and be critiqued live by a panel of judges. The competition runs from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the children's stage, with finals at 3:30 p.m. on the main stage.

All the singers will get something from the $1,000 in cash and prizes, but the winner is invited to perform in the National Jewish Theatre Festival's Chanukah show "MeshugaNutcracker!" It plays in December at Paramount's Great America Showtime Theatre in Santa Clara.

The contest was dreamed up by Scott Guggenheim, co-founder of the Fremont-based National Jewish Theatre Festival, and his wife, Shannon, who will emcee this year's Jewish American Idol competition.

She performed in similar competitions as a child, and loves the idea of a forum for kids to perform in a safe environment. "It just feels so, kind of, American," she said.

And it's Jewish too. "The arts are just overwhelmed with contributions by Jews," she added.

"We want to be sure we're giving kids the training ground and opportunities to perform, so when they get older they can continue to make contributions as Jews in the arts."

All contestants are required to perform songs made popular by a Jewish composer, lyricist or artist, and will sing on stage. This shouldn't be a problem because pretty much every Disney movie was scored by a Jewish composer, Shannon said.

Since last year's inaugural competition was even more successful than the couple had planned, they expanded the contest this year to three divisions instead of two.

The three divisions are grouped by age: youth (6 to 9), junior (10 to 12) and senior (13 to 17). Each of the three division finalists will then compete for the overall Jewish American Idol.

Performers will be critiqued by three judges: Karen Gould, entertainer and founder/performer of The Schlepperellas (a local comedy act), Congregation Beth Am's Cantor Kay Greenwald and Temple Beth Jacob's Cantor Stephen Guggenheim, (the latter two are also professional opera singers).

Shannon Guggenheim promised that the critique will not be as harsh as Simon's on TV's American Idol, but will be an entertaining part of a fun show.

And the young talent won't stop with Jewish American Idol.

Elsewhere at the street festival, shorts and excerpts from plays will be performed by several Jewish performance groups, including students from Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School in Foster City, Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills and the Palo Alto JCC summer camp.