Jimmy Fallon, eat your heart out! You may have made lip syncing cool, but last Friday night the Irish Immigration Center of Philadelphia filled the ballroom of the Paxon Hollow Golf Club in Broomall with its Lip Sync Challenge. Over 300 people turned out to cheer on the ten acts who performed like the entertainers they were channeling.
And the theme of the night was FUN.
One of the most important missions of the Immigration Center is its work with the seniors in the community, including a monthly lunch at the Irish Center in Mt. Airy, so it was only fitting that two of the acts, The Jailbirds and Seniors in Sync, were composed of seniors. Proving age has no season, they brought the house down with their performances, including interpretations of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.”
But everybody brought the house down (and Brendan “Bob” O’Boyle tried to do so literally with his version of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball”). Other acts included: Jarlath Mc Aleese jiving to “Mambo No. 5,” Heather Crossan proving that “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” Niall McDonald showing that he’s “Like a Virgin,” Pat Bourke & Carmel Donaghy having fun with “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” P.J. Fay working “9 to 5” (in full Dolly Parton mode!), Gearoid Canavan rocking Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out” and Colleen Rooney belting out “Lose My Mind.”
Organized by Katrina Stafford, Maura McGee, Beth Malone, Annie Bradly & Kate Keith as a fundraiser for the Immigration Center, the response was phenomenal. John and Una McDaid lent their talents for the evening as the emcees; Paul McDaid was the night’s DJ; Noeline Reardon, Angela DiPrinzio and Ed Wallace carried out the judging in the roles of Paula, Simon & Randy of the lip sync world and the Immigration Center’s Leslie Alcock kept everything running both behind the scenes and in front of the curtain.
The winners of the evening:
Individual Most Sponsored: Brian “Bob” O’Boyle
Group Most Sponsored: The Jailbirds
Best Costume: Seniors In Sync
Fan Favorite: PJ Fay
If you missed it, you won’t want to make the same mistake next year. But fortunately, we have some videos for you ~ because these performances are meant to be watched more than once. We also have photos.
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