Movies and Videos Do Not Measure Up to Live Theater

Annie Gill, a young opera artist we met at Opera in the Ozarks near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, posted on Facebook: “Movies and DVDs are great, but, People, get out into the theaters and hear live performances! I was energized and inspired by all of the performing artists.” Annie referred to her own performance in “Opera Night at Sotto Sopra,” and her attendance at “Les Miserable” and the “Lyric Opera of Baltimore Gala,” all in Baltimore, Maryland.

Although miles separate us, I echo Annie’s sentiment. Although we go other places to see plays or musicals, our favorite live shows are in the theaters at Branson, Missouri.

Recently, we made a four-day trip to America’s Live Music Show Capital and took in four stage shows. The Haygoods, playing in the RFD-TV Theatre in Branson, kept a fast pace for their two hour show. I have been following and writing about the Haygood family, seven boys and one girl, since they started their Branson careers at Silver Dollar City in 1993. Today, they have grown up and now produce their own show along the entertainment city’s main thoroughfare. Recently, the group returned to Silver Dollar City to sing the National Anthem at the opening of the City’s newest roller coaster, Outlaw Run.

Today’s show on their own theatre stage features five of the brothers: Timothy, Patrick, Dominique, Michael, and Matthew, and their sister Catherine. The family sets the mood for fun when the audience warms up tossing bags of balloons from front to back in relay fashion. The brothers and Catherine storm the stage in foot-stomping style while Michael literally sweeps onto the stage in a flyover. In life off the stage, Timothy and Michael actually fly airplanes.

Each sibling plays multiple instruments; however, Catherine plays the highest number, including fiddle, harp, saxophone, and drums. Patrick primarily plays keyboards, while Timothy adds a bit of comedy to the show playing his off-key (according to Dominique) banjo. Matthew masters the five-string bass; Michael plays classical guitar, and all the brothers are proficient on fiddle—the instrument that started them on the path to performing. Their vocal harmonies touch the audience’s heart and their rhythmic tap dancing—akin to the musical “Stomp”—energizes the whole theater.

Branson’s shows are diverse, meeting the tastes of different audiences. Three Redneck Tenors, appearing in patched overalls and denim cut-offs that might embarrass the most committed hillbilly, juxtapose their trained opera voices against the characters of Billy Bob, Billy Joe, and Billy Billee. Their show, based on adventures of the three rednecks is narrated by a city slicker agent they call the “Colonel.” In real life, Dinny McGuire is a former Ring Master of both Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circuses. The new adventures of these three singers, lacking in manners and stage savvy, follows a circuitous musical path from a broken-down Texas trailer park to New York’s Carnegie Hall. Along the way, their voices—nothing hillbilly in their sound—belt out theme songs from television series ranging from "Bonanza" and "Beverly Hillbillies" to "Green Acres," "Rawhide," and "The Jeffersons."

In the second half of their show, the three tenors appear as the experienced opera and Broadway stars that they are: Blake Davidson, Alex Bumpas, and Matthew Lord, clad in a more expected operatic style of tuxes and tails. Their magnificent voices—in solos and harmonies—swell over the audience at the New Americana Theatre in arias, Broadway tunes, and gospel melodies.

Cassandré Haygood and Friends, also at the New Americana Theatre, entertained us in a morning show. Vocally trained at the University of Nebraska, Cassandré has performed in Branson for the past 13 years, nine of those years in productions at Silver Dollar City. The last four years, she has headlined her own show on Branson’s famed “Strip.” Her passion for performing comes across in her singing, dancing, and acting, as well as her interaction with audiences.

Accompanied by a nine member orchestra, Cassandré’s theme for the show centers on a celebration of music from the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. She shines equally in classical works and “oldies” tunes. In duets, she sings with Jeremy Rabe, challenging their voices in such songs as “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better.” Cassandré radiates joy in her stage act and in her life as the wife of performer, Timothy Haygood, and the mother of their baby girl. Her performance is enhanced by numerous changes into sequined and glamorous gowns.

Cassandré also loves the comedic side of performing, as we had previously witnessed in her performance in “A Dickens Christmas Carol” at Silver Dollar City. For her own show, she developed the character, Aunt Erma, and writes the comedy skits for the matronly woman with a “hitch” in her hips as she dances. Aunt Erma comes to Branson from Lake Wannaputasockinit where she is the five-time defending champion of the “Put A Sock In It” Karaoke Contest. Costumed in a frumpy house dress and a Dolly Parton wig, Aunt Erma wows the audience with both country and popular vocals. Her quick-step dancing comes as an entertaining surprise.

On our last evening of this trip to Branson, we went to “It,” produced by the Hughes Family. Started by the five Hughes brothers: Marty, Jason, Andy, Ryan, and Adam, the brothers explained the renaming of their show, saying “You must see ‘It!’” They related that many entertainers and advertisers refer to “it,” and surely, they must mean the Hughes Family Show, “It.”

The show claims they are “The World’s Largest Performing Family.” With a 55-member cast, no doubt, they are. The five brothers’ wives perform with them, (the brothers say they audition their wives!) as well as 34 (and counting) children ranging in age from babes in arms to young adults. As brother Jason says, “The kids have been onstage since conception, so they come into this family with stage presence.” Indeed, that is proven in act after act: five sons imitating their dads in western outfits at the beginning of their careers; 19-year-old Kristina performing on the violin and joined by six cousins on violins; six sons of the brothers in overalls singing and dancing to songs from “Big River,” “Oklahoma,” and “Paint Your Wagon,” and the smaller kids in a musical act all their own. In all their years of performances, the family has always produced a baby for the nativity scene in their Christmas productions.

The show is a blend of music from country and classics to Broadway and gospel. The brothers—the dads—suit up for a rendition of “My Girl.” Their wives, Cindy, Mara, Carina, Becky, and Vikki, parade on stage with bright colored dresses and umbrellas, singing and dancing to “I’m Walking on Sunshine.” The show’s pace is fast; the choreography, spirited. One minute the audience is laughing; the next, wiping a tear in response to heart-strumming harmonies. The entire show is uplifting and inspirational. The Hughes present an entertaining family that exhibits their love for each other, for God, and for country.

Marty Hughes, the oldest brother, sums up their obvious connection with audiences: "There is nothing better than being able to do the thing you love, and having your audiences love the thing you do."

As Annie Gill says, “There is no substitute for live theater.” Get to Branson and find your seat. Maybe Lee and I will sit next to you!