Branson: Let the Shows Begin!

Monday as soon as we were checked in, we made reservations for our first day's shows.  Since we were new to this town, we immediately took our map in hand and headed to the God and Country theater for the afternoon show that would start at two.  Right now, there are not many of the "big name" stars in town, but there are more than enough shows to keep us entertained for the few days we will be here and to give us a good taste of what Branson is all about.


We enjoy live music.  In fact, we can enjoy most types of music to one degree or another, but there are some things we enjoy more than others.  Since we both came of age during the fifties, our first choice was Rock, Roll, and Reminisce  which was put on by seven performers with basically two lead male singers and a girl singer for some numbers.  The theater was relatively small with comfortable seats and adequate leg room.  We enjoyed such numbers as Chantilly Lace, Johnny Be Good, Wake Up Little Susie and a whole lot of other good songs that represented the era well.  During intermission, we enjoyed chatting with the singers.


At five, we were in the smallest theater in Branson, The Little Opry Theater located in the Imex Complex where we enjoyed the George Strait Tribute show   George Strait has had a top ten song for 33 years in a row, so there was plenty of material for the show.  James Garret was the lead singer accompanied by Randy Plummer and Sean Pittman who plays fiddle for Rob Clark.  We especially enjoyed the songs Sean played on the hammered dulcimer which is the ancestor of the piano.  Again, the show was good entertainment.


At eight we headed out to the Shepherd In the Hills Site for the evening performance of the drama which has been occurring now for over fifty years.  There are other things that you can do at the site, but we did not want anything but the play.  This is the only place where we really felt the impact of the crowd that is here.  Actually, the crowd wasn't as large as it could have been.  There were vacant seats.  This is quite a production.  Trams pick attendees up at the parking lot and transport them to the ticket area.  Then, after being photographed, we ( and about thirty others were taken in a tram down a steep, winding path to the amphitheater where we climbed down about thirty steps to our seats which were not too far from the fence separating the seats from the performance area.  At 8:30 in the growing dusk, the action began with mounted flag bearers galloping into the ring for the patriotic opening.  The historic drama continued for another couple of hours until all the bad guys were dead and some of the good guys and true love was found and recognized.  I am glad we went because it was quite a production, but I was also glad to head back to the hotel.  By midnight we were settled into our room and making plans for the next day.