"Broadway" and "Pierce Arrow"

It is getting very hard to describe these shows we are seeing this week. Words like "good" and "bad" are inadequate. A few days ago, we wrote that "The Shoji Tabuchi Show" was "spectacular", and it was. Then we wrote that "Six" may be the "highlight" of the week, and maybe it was. Now we will tell you about a comedic and musical experience named "Pierce Arrow" which maybe impossible to describe; it left us wordless.

Friday morning was "down time" for us. We slept late, ate breakfast late, and hung loose. We kept one eye on TV news and hurricane "Ike" which is coming here sometime this weekend. We expect heavy rain and perhaps some wind. We have extended our stay here one day and to let the storm pass before heading to Nashville, TN. Janice made and received several phone calls to make dinner reservations for the group Friday evening, but mostly we did nothing substantive.

Don and Diane picked us up around 2:00 PM to go to a 3:00 PM performance of "Broadway!". Linda and Judy met us at the theater. Jim sacrificed and gave his ticket to Judy so he could take a nap. This show features music of current and past Broadway shows. The cast of dancers and singers was excellent in presenting selections from familiar titles like Phantom of the Opera, Chorus Line, Chicago, Cats, etc. The male and female leads were very good. This was an very enjoyable afternoon show.

Dinner was at the Plaza View Restaurant located in the Grand Plaza Hotel. Flo recommended this restaurant on the hotel's ninth floor, and she and Mason were there when we arrived. Our group had grown: Flo and Mason brought two friends from their neighborhood, Mason and Judy are now part of the group, and they brought their daughter and her two children. In all, we had nineteen for dinner. Three things were special about this dinner, other than the number of folks: the food and service were excellent, the entertainment was excellent, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Pierce Arrow is the name of a car that was made in America 1901 - 1938. It was an expensive luxury automobile. We are not clear how or why this group of entertainers adopted this name. However, the group has its own theater and a terrific show. The music is a combination of traditional and contemporary, gospel and patriotic.

Pierce Arrow is a group of five very talented vocalists who keep up a rapid high energy pace. The back up band and entire production are very high quality. Jerrett Dougherty must the best comedian in Branson. He is the best we have ever seen in person. He opened the show with a "Floyd the Plummer" routine that had us gasping for breath from laughing so hard. His appearances throughout the show were equally hysterical, and evoked side-splitting laughter. Additional vocals were provided by two very competent female singers: Desta and Kim Boyce. The entire show was great, but the comedy is what we will remember most.

Two more shows are scheduled for Saturday: Yakov Smirnoff and Mickey Gilley. We'll tell you about it later.