Would-be stars strive for a Fenway debut
Dozens try out 'Idol'-style for anthem gig
BEVERLY -- For Jillian Hutchinson a 23-year-old from Hampstead, N.H., yesterday was a very good day.
Hutchinson has been chasing her dream of singing professionally for 12 years, and yesterday, her persistence paid off.
She was one of seven people chosen to compete for the chance to sing the National
''I'm delighted," said a giddy Hutchinson, after receiving the news at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, where she was among the 48 people who auditioned for three singing spots yesterday.
The contest is sponsored by K4 Productions, in association with Virgin Megastore and Boston.com.
The sponsors will hold several more auditions in the coming weeks. Eventually, about 30 semifinalists -- including Hutchinson -- will compete for the ultimate prize: singing at a Red Sox, Bruins, or New England Revolutions game.
Event founder Kathryn Shehade, of K4 Productions, said she launched the contest four years ago, after watching her first episode of ''American Idol," a wildly popular reality television show that lets unsung crooners try to sing their way to success.
''I said, 'I've got to do this in Boston,' " she said. ''There are some really talented people here."
Beth Ann Homoleski, 27, of Ipswich, also got a callback yesterday.
''It's really exciting," said Homoleski, who was encouraged to try out by a co-worker at the North Shore Music Theatre, where she works in the box office. ''He told me to punch out and try out," she said.
Not everyone left the North Shore Music Center with a second invitation. Peabody's Yvonne Tobey-Fernandes, 47, delighted judges with her rendition of ''Lady," a '70s hit by the band Styx.
But judge John LaRock, an associate producer at the North Shore Music Theatre, said she wasn't quite ready for Fenway.
''You've got a great voice, but it needs to be harnessed," he told her in his best imitation of Simon Cowell, the brutally frank ''American Idol" judge.
Outside the audition hall, Tobey-Fernandes said she was undaunted by the rejection. ''It's just an audition," she said.
Hutchinson departed with a different outlook. ''It's wonderful," she said of her shot at the bright lights. ''I've got relatives and friends in the military, and it would be such an honor to sing the National Anthem, especially at Fenway Park."
Christine McConville can be reached at cmcconville@globe.com. 
