Branson Visit, continued

Day 5 in Branson - November 8:

We enjoyed seeing three shows on Day 5.  

The morning show at 10:00 a.m. was "George Dyer."   

"Broadway to Buble' starring George Dyer
I took this picture as he was standing right by me
when he came down by the audience.
He has a beautiful voice, and he has a very good show
even though it is just he and his wife
and no live band.



Of course, I liked it!
Here he is the "Phantom of the Opera" with his half mask
and his beautiful tenor voice.
I first saw "Phantom of the Opera" in San Francisco years ago
when I was working with AYUSA.
George Dyer's voice was not disappointing.

 Singing with his wife,

who also had a beautiful voice.

The Andy Williams Ozark Mountain Christmas Show

This was our afternoon show and was in the 

Andy Williams Moon River Theatre.

 Of course, Andy Williams was not there as he died in 2012,

but we had been to this theater before when he was the star on stage.

The theater still uses his name, and his pictures and memorabilia are 

displayed throughout the building.

Starring David Osmond and the Lennon Sisters.

David is the son of Alan Osmond, 

the founder of the original singing group, "The Osmond Brothers."

He had a beautiful voice and nice personality.

It was surprising to have him say he has Multiple Sclerosis,

which his dad also has.

There was no evidence of this during his performance, however;

and he came out to our bus to greet us before and after the show.

I read online that he and his dad both take all-natural homeopathic remedies,

and David takes up to 50 all-natural supplements a day.

Our Brian Judd Tour guide is friends with David.

 

The two older Lennon Sisters on stage were part of the

original Lennon Sisters who sang on the

Andy Williams show as well as with the Lawrence Welk show.

The younger one on the right has now joined them.

The singing, music, dancing, costumes, and musicians

were all very professional and provided a great show.

"The Magic of Rick Thomas"

was included in the Christmas show at the Moon River Theatre.

He is the illusionist we saw with our family at our family reunion in 2011.

 

"Magically," the lady turned into these two huge white dogs.

And amazingly, the helicopter appeared.

 She appeared to be floating inside the cube

and then rose up above, and the illusionist

moved a hoop around her to show she was suspended in air.

And now the dog is back instead of the lady!

 Another act as part of the show,

which was kind of unique with each costume appearing 

to complete the other half of the dancer's apparel beside them.

After dinner at the Grand Country Buffet,

our evening show was at 7:30 p.m.

the Miracle of Christmas

at the Sight & Sound Theater.

The huge Christmas tree before entering the theater.

(Narene and Sam)

Inside the lobby of the theater.

Photos of the show were not permitted,
so I took this picture of a picture hanging upstairs. 

From the upstairs balcony I took this picture 

of the audience during the intermission.

Our seats were on the aisle about the 7th row from the front.

A view of the stage and seating
(photo from the Internet).
The theater cost more than $60 million
and seats up to 2,000 people.
The first show in this theater in Branson was in 2008.
We saw the "Moses" show in 2016 with the Smiths.

A view of the exterior of the theater.

(photo from the Internet)

Day 6 - Saturday - November 9

Silver Dollar City

Of the eight times we have been in Branson,

four of those have been in November or December

when we saw the Christmas shows.

Other years we have been fortunate to enjoy more

vivid autumn colors, but there was still some

reds, yellows, and orange foliage this time.

A Dickens' Christmas Carol

We enjoyed seeing this production in a theater in the park.

There was a fairly long wait to get into the theaters,

so we opted to spend time in the theme park

rather than walking across the park to the second production,

which was It's a Wonderful World.

Tiny Tim joined the singers at the finale.

One of the shows we stopped to enjoy as we

walked through the theme park.

They had good harmony.

We also enjoyed the live Nativity pageant.

In this scene, the shepherds have come to adore Him.

The wise men have come with their gifts.

We stopped for a photo by some Christmas trees.

Another Nativity scene.

The theme park was impressive after dark

with its 6.5 million lights throughout the park.

The 8-story lighted tree that has its own

light displays while playing Christmas music

every half hour.

The tree is fully animated and each individual light is

capable of millions of different hues.

The tree became part of Branson's 

"An Old Time Christmas" celebration this year. 

There are 1,000 decorated Christmas trees,

600 wreaths, more than three miles of garland, and 15,000 yards of ribbons

according to the information provided.

It's like walking in a Winter Wonderland.

(Narene)

There were lots of people.

Later, we were told they had a special price for the tickets

on this Saturday.  Instead of $75 for the day, it was $40.

At 7:00 p.m. the Christmas Light Parade began.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer led the parade as the grand marshal.  

The musical procession of nine lighted floats and 45 costumed characters 

paraded through Silver Dollar City,

illuminated by 200,000 ultra-bright LED lights.

Sunday - November 10 - Day 7

We left on the tour bus from our hotel at 8:00 a.m.
Our first stop was in Springfield where we spent some time in the Bass Pro Shop.

Known as the "Grandaddy" of all outdoor stores,
"the store attracts four million families, 
sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts every year."

Over 500,000 square-feet, the store has one of the largest
assortments of outdoor gear, apparel, and gifts under one roof. 

Statue of "Uncle Buck,"
whose nephew is Johnny Morris,
the founder of Bass Pro Shops.
"Uncle Buck was an avid fisherman, family man,
and outdoorsman; and he passed that passion on to his nephew."

Our bus took us to the airport in Kansas City,
where we boarded the Southwest flight for Dallas to Salt Lake City;
and we got home about 10:00 that evening.


We have enjoyed all eight of our visits to Branson.  There has been only one disappointment in the choice of shows we have gone to, and that was in 2009 when I had saved my previously favorite show to the last.  On those earlier visits to Branson, "Dino" had been my favorite show.  His was a "multi-million-dollar Christmas production" with beautiful scenery, talented singers and dancers, and, of course, his wonderful music.  I loved hearing him play, and his piano was a "one-million-dollar Austrian crystal piano."  So, in 2009, I saved his show for the last one for our group to enjoy.  I was so disappointed when it was not the extravaganza I had expected, but just Dino with his wife and a young teenage protege providing the music and no elaborate decorations.  It was my expectations that caused the disappointment.  At that show, he did have for sale his "24 Karrot Cake;" and he currently has Dino's 24 Karrot Cake & Coffee Co. in Branson, which I see has very positive reviews.  Dino has returned to Branson for this current Christmas season for a limited engagement to celebrate 30 years of entertaining in Branson.  
His show was at the Shepherd of the Hills Playhouse.  
I wish that had been on our list of shows this time with Brian Judd Tours, but it wasn't.  
I do have several of Dino's CDs and can still enjoy his music.