Singer vies for hometown votes on NBC talent show

Fans of 12-year-old Sarasota singer Chris Eisenberg can tune into NBC Tuesday night to catch the youngest member of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT) performing live in Hollywood on “America’s Got Talent.”

Eisenberg, a Brookside Middle School student, advanced to the finals earlier this month after auditioning before the show’s three judges –– Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel –– in Las Vegas.

Of the 70,000 competitors to try out for the reality talent show, only 48 moved on to the next round.

Eisenberg, whose stage name on the show is “Lil Chris,” got his start two seasons ago when he performed as a young Michael Jackson in WBTT’s “The Crooners.”

The shy singer nailed Jackson’s sugary-sweet vocals and signature moves. The performance was so well received that troupe founder and Artistic Director Nate Jacobs decided to open his 10th anniversary season with another sold-out Motown show –– “Motown ’60s Revue,” which will kick off the troupe’s summer series July 22, at its new Orange Avenue theater.

According to WBTT insiders, Eisenberg will miss some of his “Motown” dates due to “America’s Got Talent."
Let’s make his absence worthwhile. Tune into NBC at 9 p.m. Tuesday and vote for “Lil Chris.”

To see Eisenberg’s televised Las Vegas audition, click here.

Eisenberg will be back in Sarasota next weekend to perform July 24 and July 25 with WBTT in "Motown '60s Revue." For tickets, call 366-1505 or visit www.wbttroupe.org.

The Broadway Bar will host an "America's Got Talent" viewing party at 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 20.

Contact Heidi Kurpiela at [email protected].