POP/ROCK - July 17, 1987

Who said you can’t get discovered in Hollywood anymore? It happened to 19-year-old Deitra Hicks, star of the smash gospel musical “Mama I Want To Sing”--currently at the Beverly Theatre in Beverly Hills. She not only walked away with thunderous applause from an opening night, sold-out audience Wednesday evening, she also strolled off with a Manhattan Records recording contract. Hicks plays Doris Winter in the production based on the life of pop-soul singer and fellow cast member Doris Troy, who recorded the 1963 hit “Just One Look.” The show is set to run for two weeks.