A turtle singing the Bee Gees, a country singer yodeling, and a
human puppet forced to mimic Cher – Terry Fator managed to cram
these and other shenanigans all in one 90-minute performance
Sunday.

People packed a sold-out, 500-seat Bromeley Family Theater to
see the famous ventriloquist’s cast of characters and kick-off the
Bradford Creative and Performing Arts Center’s 25th season at the
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

Fator won the television reality show “America’s Got Talent” in
2007, claiming a ,1 million prize along with it.

But that is pocket change compared to the ,100 million he will
receive after signing a five-year contract with The Mirage Casino
and Resort in Las Vegas, where he will start performing in February
2009.

Fator’s television exposure apparently did him wonders, as an
enthusiastic crowd turned out to see him in Bradford.

Fator’s impersonations consistently drew laughs from the crowd,
as well as the back-and-forth banter with his “guests.” His act
often involved breaking the proverbial fourth wall as he poked fun
at his own profession.

“You see, Walter, I’m a ventriloquist,” he told his
country-singing dummy during a disagreement.

“Get out of here!” Walter “replied” with mouth agape.

“Let me get this straight: You’re arguing with yourself … and
you’re calling me a dummy?”

Fator also set the puppets aside from time to time, using his
diverse talents to sing snippets of popular songs.

“After being on TV, most people don’t even realize I can sing,”
he said after impersonating James Blunt and his hit song, “You’re
Beautiful.”

But nothing else Sunday was quite like Fator’s recreation of
Michael Jackson, which began with a costume and hairstyle change,
“Thriller” background music, and some moonwalking. The crowd
erupted with laughter when Fator finally spoke in the beleaguered
singer’s infamous wispy, feminine tone.

The ventriloquist helped an audience member from Ohio sitting in
the front row also get in touch with his womanly side, bringing the
unsuspecting man up on stage to play “Cher” to Fator’s “Sonny”
during a duet performance of “I Got You Babe.”

Little did the volunteer know, Fator was about to put a
ventriloquism mask on him so he could “control” the man’s voice by
pulling on a string, making the mask’s mouth open and close. Fator
also made his guest put on a wig and a sparkling, purple dress,
popping jokes by using his new found “puppet.”

Fator’s talent display didn’t stop at stealing others’; he
performed a song he wrote about a child’s friendship with another
boy who was terminally ill. Fator plans to release the song to
radio stations, with all sales proceeds to benefit research for
childhood diseases.

Fator’s book, “Who’s the Dummy Now?,” is also coming out Oct. 27
and can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com. Fator noted that he alone, and
no ghost writers, wrote the book, which details his sudden rise
from obscurity to stardom.