![]() The ones who do that will keep getting audiences.”Įach winter, Branson residents, as well as hotel and restaurant owners, wonder how many entertainers will return the next spring, how many motels, restaurants or discount stores will keep their doors closed, even as new, bigger ones are built along the now-sprawling Country 76 Highway. “Just to have a name here is not enough,” he said. But it stands empty this winter.īobby Vinton, who opened his theater in Branson last year, said it takes more than a marquee in Branson to survive as an entertainer. He promised to perform there about 20 weeks a year and fill it with other entertainers the remaining 32 weeks. Wayne Newton built an enormous theater atop a hill along xTC Shepherd of the Hills Expressway, decorating the entrance with two statues of white stallions. There are others who likely won’t return for another season. But a few weeks ago, he announced that he was not going to perform in Branson because he was tired of seeing 300 fans in a theater built for 3,000. Johnny Cash performed in the Wayne Newton Theater in 19. But other development-scarred bluffs are home to empty theaters and secondary businesses. Many entertainers are building their own theaters, with seating capacities ranging from 250 to 4,000.īluffs in these Ozark Mountains are bulldozed to make room for new freeways and secondary roads that make it easier to get to bigger resorts and entertainment centers. They include the Osmond Brothers, John Davidson, Tony Orlando, the Welk Family, Bobby Vinton and many more. Since then, a string of variety entertainers has found their way to Branson. In 1992, a new path of entertainment was forged when Andy Williams opened the 2,000-seat Andy Williams Moon River Theatre. Along with them came a construction boom - large and small music theaters, motels, restaurants and tourist-trap businesses that stretched westward along Missouri Highway 76.ĭuring that period, Branson entertainers included Ray Price, Shoji Tabuchi, Freddy Fender, Cristy Lane, Mel Tillis, Mickey Gilley, Ray Stevens, Moe Bandy, Jim Stafford, Willie Nelson, the Gatlin Brothers and many more. In 1987, Box Car Willie, the “hobo” performer and member of the Grand Ole Opry, became the first celebrity entertainer to buy a theater in Branson and perform on a permanent basis.įrom 1987 to 1992, the number of performers in Branson mushroomed. Clark’s move paved the way for many more stars to take up residence there. Last year, for example, an estimated 5.7 million people came to Branson to see the steady march of stars who have called the town home since Roy Clark became the first celebrity entertainer to move there in 1983.įor about 20 years before that, Branson was a minor-league country destination, featuring country and bluegrass music from mostly regional acts. Most shows are preceded or followed by hand-shaking, autograph-signing and picture-taking sessions with stars.īranson relies heavily on bus-tour traffic that brings millions of tourists to town every year. They can choose from among three dozen acts every day, from country to gospel, from the Lennon Sisters to Japanese violinist Shoji Tabuchi and his singing family. People come by the bus-load to sample the shows. ![]() Vinton said while resting in his dressing room/studio near the stage. “It’s the way America used to be in the ’60s,” Mr. Some of them quit touring or performing years ago, only to find new life in Branson. Many entertainers find Branson a refreshing change from earlier careers of months-long tours of one-night stands. Edward Gibbon, an 18th century British historian and the author of “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” said, “I know no way of judging of the future but by the past.Baltimore Sun eNewspaper Home Page Close Menu The question for Branson, as is the case with a lot of small tourist towns and cities, is how far away from their past should they move as they reach for the future. ![]() “Branson” “Branson” is a visitor expectation for entertainment that is fulfilled, not a city. The city of Branson, Missouri is not “Branson.” It is a city that wasn’t even in existence when tourists first came to the Ozarks to go to Marvel Cave or to walk in the footsteps of Harold Bell Wright’s “ Shepherd of the Hills.” To this very day its primary attractions, Silver Dollar City, is located miles away from the city of Branson in another County. An editorial entitled “ Branson, the expectation and the ‘Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire‘” written by the Ole Seagull and appearing in the Branson Courier and in the Branson Daily Independent on December 5, 2004, discussed the relationship of the future of Branson, Missouri to its past. ![]()
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