Diamond Bar resident gets a shot at fame while imitating "Babs''
By Lafayette C. Hight Jr.
Staff Writer

Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - Sharon Owens looks the part.

See for yourself: on Tuesday, Owens will compete for a $200,000 prize as the 36-year-old Barbra Streisand impersonator appears on the Fox show "Performing As...''

Earlier this month, Owens proved to a panel of Fox judges that she could sing and act the part. For a performance that was complete with lights, cameras, a screaming audience and a premium sound system, she won $20,000.

"Literally, I was a superstar,'' Owens said of the experience. "Twenty thousand dollars, wow. That's pretty good for one gig. It definitely made all the hard work worth it.''

Her phone rang nonstop for two days as she heard from friends and famiy.

Students in the Walnut Valley Unified School District, which serves schools in Walnut and Diamond Bar, know her. For the last 10 years, Owens, a vocal music teacher, has taught at the high school and middle school level in the district. Currently, she is a part-time elementary school instructor with her eyes set on fame.

"Performing As...'' premiered on Aug. 26 and is hosted by Todd Newton. For each show, five impersonators go through make-up and wardrobe transformations into their persona and "perform as.'' For the first five weeks, a winner from each episode was selected and awarded $20,000. On the final episode, all of the winners will return and compete against each other for the $200,000 prize.

Owens, who in June went through three or four auditions, and then four to five interviews as part of the screening process, had the opportunity to work with the show's vocal coach, Gary Catona, known as the "vocal coach to the stars,'' after being accepted by the show.

"He definitely knows his stuff and that was truly amazing to learn the things he taught me,'' she said.

Though she has immersed herself in Streisand, Owens said that she is not obsessed with the singer and star of "Funny Girl,'' "Hello Dolly,'' and "Yentl.'' They have never met.

"It would be wonderful to meet her, but I don't have to meet her,'' she said. "It's not this golden dream of mine.''

Her interest in "Babs'' and her music came at a young age. She remembers listening to "Evergreen'' from the movie "A Star is Born'' in the 1970s, and said that later, she would always get "the Barbra part'' in musicals, theater productions, cabaret groups and other venues.

''When I was very young, I kind of had the seed planted that my actions, my voice and my mannerisms were a lot like Barbra Streisand's,'' she said. "In the very beginning a lot of things did come naturally.''

In college, when she worked in community and equity theater, critics were wowed.

"They compared me to Fanny Brice, who Barbra impersonated in 'Funny Girl,''' she said.

After a friend suggested that she put on a Barbra-style wig and try her luck on stage, she began "dabbling'' as Barbra, appearing for the first time as Streisand in 2001 at Tibbie's Music Hall, a dinner theater in Santa Ana.

In May 2002, she performed for the South Pointe Middle School talent show and last summer in Las Vegas, she partnered with a Neil Diamond impersonator to do shows at the Riviera Hotel.

She did all of this while teaching and taking care of her two sons.

"I think they're the only 8- and 4-year-olds in the entire world who know who Barbra Streisand is,'' Owens said.

She's performed privately for corporate events and said the hardest part is always coming down the elevator and being the subject of double-takes and furtive glances.

"People usually don't say one word to you,'' she said. "They're afraid. They just kind of step back and don't say anything.''

Her husband of 12 years, Evan (who doesn't impersonate James Brolin), said his wife has worked hard to get to this point, and though he admitted that he is not the biggest Streisand fan, he is entirely supportive of his wife.

"She's always striving and working hard to better herself and her singing,'' he said. "It's been exciting. If you haven't heard her, when you do you'll understand how good she is.''

Over the last month Owens has been interviewed on "Extra,'' "Entertainment Tonight,'' and in magazines and newspapers from all over the country.

"It is so exciting,'' she said. "It's like a dream. It's a chance at something I always dreamed of.''

She also knows what she wants.

"My dream, my want (is) I want a recording contract,'' said Owens. "I want to bring back Barbra's style of music.''

While visiting South Pointe Middle School, where she taught for six years, she was featured on the school wide newscast and treated like a diva by members of the faculty, staff and student body who saw her first TV performance on Sept. 2.

"I think the whole school watched it,'' Owens said. "It was like I was some kind of star celebrity ... like I was Britney Spears.''

Nancy Stingley, principal of Walnut Elementary School in Walnut, said that she hopes that Owens wins, however there is a small part of her that hopes she doesn't.

"If she wins, she leaves us,'' she said. "We have mixed emotions, but we are very excited about it for her.''

Owens has acknowledged that such a scenario is possible.

"I'm still trying to keep my hands in teaching, but I am now really concentrating on my career as a Barbra Streisand impersonator as well as being Sharon Owens, too,'' she said. "I know that this is a window of opportunity in my life that may not happen again, so I'm getting ready.''

More about Owens can be found at her Web site, www.tributetobarbra.com Lafayette C. Hight Jr. can be reached at (626) 962-8811, ext. 2764, or by e-mail at lafayette.hight@sgvn.com BOX

Sharon Owens as "Babs''

Dinner theater show, Saturday and Sunday

WestEnd Dinner Theater in Los Alamitos

(562) 596-6892.

'Performing As...''

Final competition

8 p.m. Tuesday

Fox Channel 11