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CATHY RIGBY AS PETER PAN FLIES ONTO THE MANSION THEATRE STAGE
Fairy Dust and Toys for Tots in Branson’s Forecast
October 28, 2009 -
Branson, Mo.: Back by popular demand, Cathy Rigby is flying back to the Mansion Theatre with the Lost Boys, Captain Hook and his mates, and of course, Tinkerbell. In addition to encouraging show patrons to “think happy thoughts,” Peter Pan is also supporting the local Toys for Tots drive. As the official drop off location for Toys for Tots, The Mansion Theatre will take $10 off the admission to the Broadway production of Peter Pan until December 12th. The goal is to fill Captain Hook’s pirate ship in the lobby with unwrapped toys. The Marine Corp will pick the toys up at the end of the season to distribute to need children for the holiday season.
Cathy Rigby is on her way to get her hair cut -- no doubt a “pixie cut” as she readies to reprise her role as the famous boy who wouldn’t grow up, but instead enchanted the hearts of those who dared to think lovely thoughts. Before she reaches the hair stylist, she takes a moment to reflect on what it means to be Peter Pan. “I get to be a kid for two hours every performance, eight performances a week,” she says. “What’s not to like about that?”
Like the character she has become so identified with over the last 20 years, the work never grows old for Rigby. With some 3,000 performances under her wings, the show is just as new and fresh and magical as the first time she made her entrance as Peter, flying in through the window of the Victorian home of the Darling family to look for his shadow. “Having done it so many times, I have to say Peter is much wiser than he used to be, but that doesn’t take away his innocence.”
Opening a six week run at The Mansion Theatre on November 1st, “Peter Pan” once again brings a new level of Broadway-style production to Branson, something Cathy Rigby is especially happy about. “It’s fun to be part of the first of anything, and bringing this kind of show to Branson may pave the way for more, high-concept musical theater.” She sees her show and The Mansion as perfectly suited for each other. The theater’s technical capabilities with rear-screen projection and rain curtains advance even further the spectacle that is Peter Pan. And, with the stage being as large as it is means this Peter may be flying higher, faster and farther than he ever has before.
It is that ability of Peter and the children (after they think lovely thoughts and get a sprinkling of fairy dust) to fly that audiences find most magical and memorable. The down side to soaring above the stage and audience are the occupational hazards, however rare.
The show’s potential for daring is exceeded only by the athleticism of its star. Rigby, the former Olympic gymnast, is hailed by critics for having made the role of Peter her own and infusing the entire performance with a level of energy rarely found in any big stage production. Every element of the show, from the scenery to the choreography to the soaring acrobatics, has been tailored either by or for Rigby to capitalize on her strength and physicality. “This is really a blessing,” she says. “Every time I catapult through that window in the opening act, it’s like a ride at the fair. I can hear the kids in the audience gasp; I can feel their excitement. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to have a real job!”
The Mansion production of Peter Pan features a cast of more than 30 people, many from Branson and the surrounding area.
Cathy Rigby gives Peter a vitality unparalleled in big stage performances. “People always tell me about their first experience seeing the show, who was in it and how it brightened their lives. Now they bring their children and grandchildren to see it, and in the process they experience its charms all over again for themselves.”
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THEY'RE BAAAAAACK! 3 REDNECK TENORS
HIT SHOW
HEADS TO BRANSON, MO
December 1, 2009
The Oak Ridge Boys Theatre presents a special limited engagement next season of the hilarious, hit musical comedy 3 Redneck Tenors – a New Musical Adventure.
Join Billy Bob, Billy Joe, and Billy Billee as they mix NASCAR with Beethoven, lite beer with Puccini and even kick up a little dust with Ave Maria Dixie! You'll travel with our 3 singing cousins from their modest beginnings in Paris, Texas, where they discover that belting out a high C causes pigs to move faster and bar brawlers to scatter; all the way to their triumphant debut at New York's famous Carnegie Hall. It’s down home laughs with big city music and great entertainment for the entire family.
The Branson shows will kick-off the national tour of 3 Redneck Tenors that will include three weeks of shows in Branson (the live entertainment capital of the world!). The national tour will cover the four corners of the country with over 80 shows over the next four months.
Written and directed by opera-veteran Matthew Lord with music arranged by award-winning composer (and Phoenix resident) Craig Bohmler, 3 Redneck Tenors features a cast of veteran Broadway and opera stars including Lord, Blake Davidson, Alex Bumpas and Dinny McGuire is the Colonel.
For more information, go to www.3rednecktenors.com or www.oakridgeboystheatre.com
See the 3 Redneck Tenor Video (“The Untold Story”): www.3rednecktenors.com/video.htm
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Liverpool Legends Perpetuate Personality, Songs,
and Saga of Beatles Sweeping Impact on Contemporary Culture
The British are coming!
When the Liverpool Legends hit the massive stage of Branson’s Mansion Theatre and Entertainment Center in 2010, they’re likely not only to advance the storied “British Invasion” of the early 1960s, but also to spark vivid memories among Boomers in the audience and ignite a new Beatles fan base for the generations that have followed.
The likenesses are uncanny, and if first impressions are visual, audiences might think they’re seeing the impossible – that illusive Beatles reunion that never materialized.
But there’s more than meets the eye.
Performing live and without any added background tracks, Liverpool Legends faithfully revives the music of the Beatles exactly as it was originally heard, “even down to a few subtle errors heard in their recordings,” according to Marty Scott who is the group’s incarnation of George Harrison. “Only the most trained musical ear can detect the mistakes, but they’re there just as they were in the Beatles studio sessions.”
The senses stir further. Added to what the eyes and ears take in during a Legends performance is a common emotional response that manager Louise Harrison describes as a kind of “vibration.” Harrison is the real-life sister of the famous Beatle George Harrison, and she offers not just a biological connection with the original group, but also a spiritual one. “Louise is the heart and soul of our group,” says Scott. “She helps us maintain the authenticity of the Beatles style and a focus on the purposes of the music.”
“I’ve always been supportive of those who want to perform Beatles music,” says Louise Harrison. “But in the Liverpool Legends we have the best assembly of performers and musicians anywhere.”
In addition to Scott’s portrayal of George, Kevin Mantegna becomes John Lennon, Bob Beahon turns into Paul McCartney, and Greg George is Ringo Starr, almost for real.
So what about this emotional “vibration” that Harrison speaks of in describing the Beatles experience and the homage to them by the Liverpool Legends? “It creates a response in all of the positive thinking people of the world,” she says. Harrison speaks of how people, even driving in the car, might hear a Beatles tune on the radio and want to turn it up and sing along with it. “People love the lyrics; they want to sing along. But the underlying message is that we are all part of the human family; we all need to love and be loved, to care for others and ...” she pauses for a lyrical thought, “... come together!”
Call it a perfect coming together of time, place and social influences, and one starts to understand the impact on America of the so-called “British Invasion.” Of the bands with roots across the pond, and whose distinctive musical styles would energize – even revolutionize – the popular culture in the United States, the Beatles were the kingpins. From their first appearances on the TV’s Ed Sullivan Show and at New York’s Shea Stadium, and through their ground-breaking stylistic periods including Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road, the lads used their music to catalyze a global movement based on what might have seemed a disarming notion of mutual caring and compassion.
“Our show captures all of that,” says Scott, allowing that audiences find a lot more in the Legends performance than a concert of Beatles music. “We intersperse the history of the group. We morph through their periods. People who were around then remember where they were and what they were doing.” In what Scott calls and interactive show, where people invariably stand up and wave their illuminated cells phones, younger audiences take part in a form of time travel, theatrically speaking.
“That’s because the Beatles experience is so transcendent,” Harrison says. “It breaks through barriers of age, nationality, race, culture and religion. It did then, and still does today!”
As the British Invasion of the 60s became an emblem for a cultural shift a generation ago, today’s generation has found new ways to tap into that experience, to learn, to remember, to revisit the phenomena that encompassed the Beatles and all they stood for. The Liverpool Legends are an integral part of that. Also, there is hardly a popular publication that hasn’t carried anniversary stories about the Beatles and their historic arrival in the States. Then there are the remastered album releases, a syndicated Beatles radio show, and Rock Band, a video gaming sensation that allows players to participate in the performances of their favorite groups. Not surprisingly, the Beatles version of the game has enjoyed spectacular sales. “It’s taken over the world,” says Marty Scott. But then, as the culture looks at it, so did the Beatles.
Speaking for the Liverpool Legends, Scott is excited about bringing the show to Branson’s The Mansion. “It’ll open up for us a whole new level of performance capability.” By planning sophisticated scenery changes and lighting designs for the technologically advanced performance space, the saga of the Fab Four will come to life in a way never before achieved by any tribute band. “We’re building elements of Broadway into our show,” Scott says. The Liverpool Legends will appear at The Mansion for two weeks in March [fact check] and then throughout the summer and fall of next year.
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LARRY GATLIN & THE GATLIN BROTHERS' NEW ALBUM PILGRIMAGE
IS AN INSIDER’S NOSTALGIC JOURNEY OF COUNTRY MUSIC’S PAST
Critics Exclaim Album 17 Years in the Making “Way Overdue”
(Nashville, TN) -In 1992, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers released their final country album, appropriately named Adios and stepped out of the spotlight following a successful farewell tour. It was the end of an era for the countrypolitan sound that landed the group at the top of the charts in two different decades with songs such as “Broken Lady,” “I Just Wish You Were Someone I Loved,” “Houston (Means I’m One Day Closer to You),” and “All the Gold in California.” The GRAMMY award-winning group decided to leave as champions, considering their journey over as a new sound took hold. However, after a 17 year hiatus, the group has released their first major-label album, Pilgrimage on CURB Records. The album is receiving critical acclaim:
- “An ambitious, conceptual story album from the Texas siblings... the boys re-emerge with plenty of heart” - Mario Tarradell, The Dallas Morning News (The Dallas Morning News rated Pilgrimage at #7 on their list of Top 10 Albums of 2009 – all genres)
- “One of the year’s best country albums. It’s a heartfelt, warm, endearing project filled with timeless songs and winning harmonies.” - Howard Cohen, The Miami Herald
- “Larry is in exceptionally strong voice, the brothers’ harmonies remain warm and distinctive, and producer John Carter Cash wisely keeps the sound uncluttered. Pilgrimage is a history lesson with a heart.” – Chris Neal, Country Weekly
- “...extremely listenable” - Robert K. Oermann, Music Row Magazine
- “Pilgrimage shares a very intimate insight as to how the passing and loss of Johnny Cash affected those closest to him as well as giving a back door glimpse of songwriting and storytelling at its finest.” – Jan Duke, About.com
- “All the songs are top-notch. Pilgrimage offers excellent music and interesting conversation from one of country’s finest.” - Frank Roberts, The Virginian-Pilot
- “This album is their most genuine, and possibly, the best thing they’ve done since they were a trio of Texas boys with stars in their eyes.” - Rick Allen, Vintage Guitar Magazine
The album is a retrospective of Gatlin’s pilgrimage through a three-decade-long career in the music business and a look back at his relationships with many of country’s legendary icons including Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller as well as today’s hit tunesmiths Leslie Satcher and Jon Randall. Produced by John Carter Cash, the album is dotted with narrative storytelling segments by Gatlin who explains the story behind the songs.
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ABC's JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! WELCOMES LARRY GATLIN &
THE GATLIN BROTHERS BACK TO LATE NIGHT TV THIS WEEK!
(Nashville, TN) – It’s been at least two decades since country music’s harmonic sibling trio Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers have appeared on the late night television front. With the GRAMMY Award winning brothers reunited after a 17-year absence from the entertainment scene, late night talk show guru Jimmy Kimmel welcomes the boys to his set this Wednesday night, January 13, 2010, for a performance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The Gatlin Brothers made their triumphant return to the country music scene in 2009 with the release of Pilgrimage (CURB Records). Pilgrimage is the critically acclaimed "storyteller’s album" that gives listeners an inside look at country music’s yesteryears with heartfelt songs and stories from one of the late Johnny Cash’s very close friends, Larry Gatlin.
Larry, Steve and Rudy will take the Kimmel set with a rip-roaring rendition of their new single, “Johnny Cash Is Dead And His House Burned Down” and will close out the show with their patriotic “Americans, That’s Who.”
Larry Gatlin, a big fan of Kimmel and his show, is ecstatic about the Wednesday night appearance. "Jimmy Kimmel looks at the world sideways... me too!" notes Gatlin. "We could be dangerous together... and I hear he plays a mean bass clarinet."
During the 1970s and 1980s, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers became one of country music’s most popular acts, introducing a new ‘countrypolitan’ sound to the genre. Larry Gatlin has a total of 33 Top 40 singles under his belt, including both his solo recordings and those with his brothers. The band’s biggest hits include, “Broken Lady,” “All the Gold In California,” “Houston (Means I’m One Day Closer to You),” “She Used to Be Somebody’s Baby,” and “Talkin’ to the Moon.”
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For further information, please call The Mansion Theatre.
866-707-4100 (toll free)
417-239-1333 (local) |
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