I'm not a critic, just a fan.

Sadly, summer is gone now. The hustle and bustle of families here in town is pretty much non-existent and it’s time for the tour busses to get here. It’s my first fall as a “bransonite” and I can say that the tourist season change was a little unsettling at first. For instance, yesterday roommate B and I tried to see a “late night movie” at 11:15 thinking surely there would be an 11:30 or 12 showing on a Saturday night. Drove by both movie theatres and no such luck, a few weeks ago that would have been a given but things are starting to die down and the crowd is changing.

It has been a VERY busy summer so I’m looking forward to it quieting down a bit and a beautiful Ozark autumn. The past month or so I have been lucky to see some very incredible shows. Branson is celebrating 50 years of live music shows this year and you can definitely tell that there is a high standard that (for the most part) the shows here meet and exceed.
Here are some of the shows I’ve seen recently: The Duttons, Moscow Circus, Noah- The Musical, Bucket’s N Boards, The Rankin Brothers Classic Music Review, JEERK and GAC Country Nights. I also visited the Titanic Museum and saw my first Springfield Cardinals game. It’s been a busy month as you can tell. I really enjoyed all these shows in different ways.

The Duttons are tremendous musicians and all play several instruments, they also have a great sense of humor and show a blooper reel in every show and a video about their upbringing. It really made it a personal experience. Their children came on stage for a Wizard of Oz song that was too cute for words. It was a very nice show and they seem to be a wonderful family.

The Moscow Circus I was a little skeptical about. I thought it might be childish; however it was a great love story with all kinds of acts in between. This show did an exceptional job of warming the crowd up with a volleyball game. They perform in Yakov’s theatre and he narrates the entire show, so you know it is at least a little funny.

Noah- The Musical was simply incredible. I really can’t compare it to anything in Branson because there is no other production of its caliber here. Not only is it an incredibly touching Biblical story it is also a beautiful theatre and a larger than life set. I was blown away by this production and now understand why it is a must see. Take your families and loved ones to see Noah, it is a one of a kind experience.

Bucket’s N Boards is a very new show that I believe is currently finding a more permanent home. Not sure where they are playing right now, but I will definitely keep this blog updated whenever I find out. I was honestly not expecting to be so entertained. Every person in the theatre, young and old was laughing and clapping along. Between their comedy and their amazing rhythm I was certainly surprised. I had seen them performing at The Landing, but their show really stepped it up several notches.

The Rankin Brothers Classic Music Review was voted best new show in 2008 by bransoncritic.com. Knowing this I expected a lot and they truly delivered. I think Mark Rankin’s impersonation of Elvis was better than other full time impersonators I’ve seen and their variety really kept me interested. Meeting them after the show was great, you can tell they are very down to Earth and appreciative guys. Great show!

GAC Country Nights was the Echo Hollow show at Silver Dollar City this summer. I think all the performers and musicians were very talented, the scripting was a bit off for my taste but it was still a fun show. It can’t be easy to perform out in the heat and still look and sound great, so big props to that cast- they did a great job.

The last show I will mention is JEERK. Funny name… I know. I laughed about it when I first heard it but when I first started my job I went to a commercial shoot at SDC and one of the spots was the JEERK show. I quickly realized how talented they were. I really can’t describe the show other than amazing. They sing, they dance, they hit things- it’s all just great. Seems they are coming back to the US soon- they are one to see if they come to your area. Check em’ out. www.jeerk.com

Well, it is always a great time to come to Branson to visit (me) lol or just to relax. Hope to have some more visitors soon but until then I have made a promise to myself to organize a few boxes I just threw stuff into when we moved. I am also promising myself to go the gym for a CLASS at least twice a week and I’m always staying busy with work and my new promotion. Things are going great here, enjoying the town, the job and the people I’m surrounded by every day very much. Can’t ask for much more

Loyally,
Kristin