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[History Buff]

What do you like?

Do you recommend any shows in particular?

Any disappointments?

[History Buff]

All the shows seem to adopt the same formula:

Start with a howdy.  Sing some twangy country.  Introduce the comedian.  Sing some current country.  Comedian re-enters.

Choice:  some shows do a tribute to music through the decades; others attempt to imitate all the best known singers through the ages.

Then, just before intermission, and the fiddle player plays The Orange Blossum Special, and the spokesman for the group does a sales pitch for their CDs and photos.

Then they all return to the same road, singing a few "gospel" songs.  This time, when the comedian comes out, we get to hear that he can actually sing better than most of the other performers.  Finally, they finish it off with a patriotic tribute and military salute.

Goodbye.  Thanks for comin' to the show.

[Copper]

It's sad, but that describes 99% of the Branson shows. I liked the Cirque show that was at the Remington, but the Grand Palace people ran them off. Speaking of the Palace I enjoyed Brass Theater back in 97 and 98, indoor marching band doing the Wizard of Oz and West Side Story. I even like when theatres bring big named entertainers to Branson. 

[Joy]

My favorites are Jim Stafford and the Hughes Brothers (whose career I've been following since I first saw them at SDC in '95).

~ "Becky" Joy ~

[Swoosh]

Jim Stafford is a must.
Souji Tabuchi is a good show.
Pam Tillis is an EXCELLENT show.

[Copper]

Ok, I do music sales and promotions at one of the theaters in Branson as a side job and most everyone knows theatre tickets are down while Branson tourism 04', 05' 06', 07' tourism is up. What do you think the theatres in town could do to attract you to a show or two in town? I do think if at least forty bad shows would close it would help out, but I don't think you can force shows to close.

[History Buff]

Do you think ticket prices are too high?

It may seem to some people that they are having to pay to see an amateur show at a pro price.

The thing is, I like think the Echo Hollow show is just as good, and I don't have to pay extra to see it.

[Copper]

Yes, I think people are reacting to paying $30 and up for an armature show. Vegas and Broadway shows run from $50 to $150 and even higher on occasion. If you want quality entertainment you have to pay for it, but I see what you are saying about Echo Hollow. Why pay $30 for a show that is equal or less to a show that is free. I think many Branson theatres don't know anything about running a business.

There are some shows in Branson that are higher budget and are not armature. Shoji Tabuchi has high end costuming and celebrity choreographers. Andy Williams has a large orchestra an amazing light show and a beautiful theatre. Do these things attract people?

Say one of the nicer 2,000 seat theatres would open Wicked, Beauty and the Beast or Moving out, would you go see it? Prices would probably be tiered and run around $30 to $55, but the show would be far from armature.

What entertainers would you pay to see? What type of shows?

[sdcforever]

I really like the shows that feature comedians.  I agree with the earlier posts in this thread:  Jim Stafford is really good and a must.  In the non-comedian category Shoji Tabuchi is good, and I enjoyed Moe Bandy.

In the throwback, old shows that aren't around anymore, I enjoyed Ray Stevens, Mel Tillis, and Bobby Vinton (Mel Tillis and Bobby Vinton come to Branson annually with limited engagements but no longer have their own theaters).

[Swoosh]

The Lawrence Welk Show was always good (my parents watched it on PBS, that's how I knew about it).  The Osmonds, Tony Orlando and Charlie Pride were all really good (but now gone).  Looking forward to the Oak Ridge Boys Theatre.

I did enjoy Yakov the one time I went to see him.  Don't really do the shows much anymore though.

[sdcforever]

I don't do the shows much anymore either, but I forgot about Yakov.  I did see him once and he was a lot of fun!  Charlie Pride was good too; he was nice after the show.  He signed autographs and chatted with us for a few minutes.

[History Buff]

We would definately be interested in a theater that rotated Broadway casts as you mentioned, Copper, but we can always see these in Tulsa, Springfield, or Kansas City, too.

How about the new Noah show?  It looks heavy on special effects.  I wonder if it will be of any real quality.

[sdcforever]

A theater that rotated Broadway casts would be pretty popular, I think.  A couple years ago I saw the Broadway! The Star Spangled Celebration at the Branson Variety Theater and it was good.

As for Noah, it's defnitely an ambitious project.  Hopefully the huge sets and special effects don't overwhelm the story.  We'll have to see what people think after it opens on May 24.

[sdcforever]

Just thinking about Bible-themed shows, The Promise has had a long run and has good reviews.  I almost saw it once.  It's success probably means that Noah will at least have a profitable early run.  Has anyone seen The Promise?  Is it as good as advertised?

[Coaster]

^I have never seen The Promise. That new Noah show looks awesome though!! Where is that going to be located anyways? I haven't heard...or maybe I just didn't look close enough at the display at SDC.