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Show Ten Miss SUSC pageant finalists confidently showed off their bathing suits in that phase of the competition not normally presented for an audience . Karen Smith crowned Homecoming Queen by Jay Hill Cheryl Cluff, Ada Denise Green, Jennifer Lund and Karen Smith. Anticipating silence filled the Auditorium for a short time, then Miss Utah Nancy Ayers announced: And the 1984-8- 5 Homecoming Queen is Karen Smith. A very shocked Karen Smith began shaking her head, covered her face with her hands and started crying. She was still crying when Stacey Smith, first runner up in last years pageant, placed the crown on her head, giving her the title of Miss SUSC. Is this really I just cant believe it, said Smith. happening to me? It happened, but not without a lot of work involved. Contestants began rehearsing a week prior to the competition. The preliminaries began at 2 p.m. on Monday. All 20 contestants, women from Utah, Nevada, California, and Texas, were judged on talent, swimsuits, evening gown, and a personal interview. The pageant began with a vocal number, Lionel Richies All Night Long, performed by Paul Gates and the contestants. The 20 competitors were then narrowed to 10: Stephanie Webster, Jerilyn Leavitt, Loreen Finlinson, Jill Hafen, Corinne Hardman, Deborah Nuetzman, Gymnasts, vocal ensembles, clarinets, dancing with leaps from one end of the stage to the other, a humorous interpretation of Farley Family Reunion, and a dramatic interpretation of Joan of Arcs Prayer, were all presented in the talent competition. The Homecoming theme song, Aura of Enchantment, provided a easy listening contemporary sound. Many began to sit back in their seats, forgetting the competitive side of the pageant, when Gates began to play the piano. The tempo increased in the preliminaries when the swimsuits were displayed. Ayers asked prior to entry that all catcalls, whistles and comments be kept inside, but they werent. The ladies were good to keep their composure. Following the last competition, Smith sang a song entitled Nothing, Gates and the 10 sang Stuck on You, and a tribute to last years Miss SUSC, Natalie Frehner, was presented. Frehner was unable to attend as she is serving an LDS mission in Taiwan. Ayers then took the microphone and named the semi-finali- j , st winners of the preliminaries. Denise Green won the talent and evening gown contest. Second in the talent competition was Loreen Finlinsons vocal jazz and clarinet ensamble. Third was Jerilyn Leavitts vocal jazz selection, and fourth was Stephanie Webster and her modern dance routine. ' In other events, the preliminary talent competition was taken by Jennifer Lund, preliminary swimsuit by Shannon Lee Swiff, and Jennifer Rothey was named Miss Photogenic. Stephanie Webster was named Miss Congeniality. The royalty was then announed. Smiles were present on all the faces on stage, but one could not help but notice a bit of anticipation and nervousness behind those smiles. Fourth runner tip to the queen is Stephanie Webster; third, Jerilyn Leavitt; second, Loreen Finlinson; first, Denise Green; and the 1984-8- 5 Miss SUSC, is Karen Smith. Following the pageant, Loreen Finlinson said, Chad Hulet (pageant coordinator) did an excellent job again and we really appreciate him. Finlinson added that pageants include more than just the girls who smile. Theres usually very special people behind all of us. All of us here tonight are winners. Franken and Davis performance outrageous by Ralph Schriock Franken and Tom Davis provided more than just comedy. They were educational: If youre drunk and absolutely must drive, instructed Davis, first off, drive a big, American car. They were musical, putting as much energy into their Rolling Stones send-u- p as Mick Jagger and Keith Richard have left in their aging bodies. They were even open about their lives and careers. One audience member asked Davis how he felt about fellow Saturday Night Live star John Belushi and what it was like working with him. , A1 Sparing no emotion, Davis concluded: I think hes dead, and it was great working with him. Most of all, however, Franken and Davis provided enough outrage, raunch and true wit to keep a teceptive but at times puritanical SUSC audience on edge, not quite sure of what would come next. The comedy team, best known for its work as writers and performers on the old Saturday Night show, arrived in Cedar City early enough to gather a little local material for the act. They got plenty. Franken, as Meryl Watkins, was the male prostitute who gay area of Parowan. Davis became Pierre le Frank, a.k.a. Jeff Corbett, who opened the Eiffel Tower restaurant when only a few years ago Cedar City was considered a gastronomical wasteland. Even Pres'dent Reagan on a phone-i- n apologized for his meager background, e confessing, I didnt go to a institution 'ike SUSC. All of which was tame and perhaps lame. But whei: a few routines bordered on the risque, Special Events Coordinator Dutch Workman asked the pair at intermission to tone it down a bit. had to work the big-tim- Davis tried to ease the audience but d would not alter the routine, one for an audience at any college short of, say, BYU or Baylor. Or, well, maybe SUSC, judging from the audience reaction to one skit which had dozens of offended females seeking the protection of their boyfriends from the big, bad, naughty humor. That was their problem. Most fortunately, the Friday night crowd, which filled most of the Auditorium, was loose and jazzed for some humor. Maybe Steve Martin said it best: well-suite- (continued on page 12) |