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The Characters of
Pete Peterkin
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Pete's Work
Hear Pete's Radio Parodies
Hear Pete's Original Songs
Biography
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One-man all-star show
A versatile mimic delivers
a musical tour de force at the Princess Kaiulani
By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com
| The hardest-working man in Waikiki
Show business these days, in terms of both sheer energy and talent, is
Pete Peterkin, performing at the Sheraton Princess Kaulani's Ainahau
Ballroom.
Peterkin delivers 90 minutes of
almost nonstop, high-energy entertainment. He gets solid support from
his three musicians, but beyond that, this is an intense one-man workout
by a multitalented entertainer. The sweat that soaks through his shirt
seems to inspire him to boost the intensity even further. A show of this
length is a challenging undertaking, and Peterkin is up, and then some,
for the task.
He is, by trade, a musical impressionist. He covers
a surprisingly broad spectrum of American singer-celebrities. Many are to be
expected -- Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Johnny Mathis, Ray Charles,
Sammy Davis Jr. -- and he does all of them well. Others are such an obvious
stretch that he does them as a list of the most unlikely and offbeat people
he might be asked to do, like Garth Brooks, both Neil Diamond and Barbara
Streisand singing "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," Kyu Sakamoto, Cher and
Luciano Pavarotti. It's enough of a comic premise to make the whole thing
work. |
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A salute to Motown gives three members
of the audience a chance to become part of Peterkin's "Motown All-Stars."
This is one Waikiki showroom audience participation number that doesn't make
fools out of the participants.
Several of his character sketches are
longer in length. But none of them drag, and the Stevie Wonder and jimi
Hendrix segments establish Peterkin's credentials as a musician. Peterkin
re-creates Wonder's early day when "Little Stevie Wonder" would display his
virtuosity on the harmonica, drums and bass. This leads into a quick salute
to George Benson, and then a powerful re-creation of Hendrix playing "Purple
Haze."
Little Richard gets his due in a
segment that has the Georgia Peach showing the audience all the tricks he
claims to have taught Jackie Wilson, Chuck Berry and James Brown. Peterkin
does a fine job with the latter three before he wraps it up as Little
Richard wailing "Good Golly Miss Molly." Peterkin gets a surprisingly full
sound from backup musicians Delores Chambers (keyboards), Gerard Lawson
(bass, sax) and DiDi McFadden (drums). Each gets a spot or two with the
headliner during the show. Peterkin closes the show as himself, singing "I
Believe I Can Fly." By the show's finale, he's been constantly on stage,
with only enough time off to make minimal costume changes. But by that time,
he's already earned our respect as an engaging entertainer and, yes, the
hardest-working man in Waikiki today.
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A truly gifted entertainer! Every
time I see him he
grows in leaps and bounds!" - Ben Vereen
"The guy's incredible! He really
blew me away with those impressions!" - David Hasselhoff
"Brilliantly
funny." - Ed McMahon
"I heard Pete do Ray Charles on his
L.A. Radio Show and actually thought it was Ray" - Quincy Jones
THE
CORPORATE WORLD IS SAYING!!!!
"Pete Peterkin is truly a great
entertainer with a powerhouse voice!" - Suze Orman
Best Selling Author
Emmy Award Winning Financial Advisor
"Pete performed at our 2004
N.S.A. Western Workshop and was terrific. The audience really loved his
show!"
Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE National Speakers Association
"As a professional in the meetings industry, I've literally
seen hundreds of entertainers. But never before have I seen one with the
cobination of talen, charisma and professionalism as with Pete Peterkin.
He totally mesmerized our audience of 500 tired conventioneers and several
times brought them to their feet with amazing music, awesome impersonations,
and hilarious antics. Peterkin is absolutely brilliant!" -
Eric Chester, CPS, CPAE Chair for the 2004 NSA Western Workshop
"Pete has the ability to
structure his act to fit the mood of the occasion, and then take it to a
level other entertainers only dream about achieving!" - Craig
Wilberheim, CEO The Clear Channel
"His show drew several standing
ovations from our mostly Japanese audience. Mr. Peterkin undeniably has
universal appeal!" - David Matsumoto, President of Os Internet
"I was amazed at his versatility.
It's hard to believe one man can do so many things and do them well!" -
V. Dionne Williams, Senior Consultant KPMG Consulting
"He should be mentioned alongside
the all-time greats!" - S. Bohl, President of PCI
International
"We try to use Pete as often as
possible. I don't think there's a single star out there today who can match
his ability!" - Pat Wood, Creative Endeavors International Meeting
Planners
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