By Dave Woods
New media and marketing manager
BRANSON Mo. —
By Dave Woods
dwoods@joplinglobe.com
BRANSON, Mo. — Rylie Hagston has a big imagination.
“It would be cool to fly,” the 4-year-old Branson girl said as she waited for the curtain to rise on a recent performance of the musical “Peter Pan.” Rylie, who also loves pixie dust, was excited about seeing Tinkerbell and Captain Hook on stage. “Captain Hook is scary, because he can hook everybody,” she said.
Rylie knows Peter Pan flies with the help of “strings,” but that didn’t bother her.
“She’s at an age where she’s very imaginative,” her dad, Charles, said. “She still believes in all this stuff.”
Rylie’s mom, Stacy, remembers having the same reaction to the tale of the boy who refuses to grow up when she was a child.
“I remember wanting to fly, too,” she said. “Rylie wants to fly so bad. She even has the wings at home.”
A few rows back in the theater, Brenda Goodman said she has also fantasized about taking to the sky. “I want to try that flying,” the 57-year-old Canadian said. “They would have to get a bigger rope for me,” she laughed.
Goodman said her memories of seeing Disney’s 1953 animated version of “Peter Pan” made her want to take in the musical production on her trip to Branson.
“I remember that Captain Hook scared me,” she said. “I love this kind of entertainment. I wish there was more like this in Branson.”
Eight shows a week
Kids of all ages have the opportunity to see the long-loved tale of Peter Pan through Dec. 12 at The Mansion Theatre in Branson. The production stars Tony Award nominee and Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby in the title role.
“It’s great fun,” Rigby, now in her mid-50s, said of the part she’s played off and on since 1984. “I always laugh and say, ‘They pay me to do this eight times a week.’ It’s really one of the most fun things anyone could do, go back and be a kid eight shows a week.”
With more than 3,000 performances under her belt, Rigby said she never tires of the role.
“When I think that I should hang up my tunic of leaves, there’s something that just draws me back, “ she said. “But, once I’m in the boots and the costume and the kids are out there on stage, I’m just thankful I can keep doing it.”
Rigby and her cast of pirates, Indians, fairies and Lost Boys are nearing the end of their second Branson engagement.
“I had heard about Branson, but only knew it as a place with great concerts and people from the music industry,” she said. “I never had any idea the kind of facilities they have for theater. I toured for years in many theaters and (Branson) has some of the best lights and sound I’ve seen. The quality of what’s available here is just amazing.”
A good fit
Gene Bicknell, owner of The Mansion and The Oak Ridge Boys Theatre in Branson, said he was glad Rigby keeps bringing her production of “Peter Pan” back to Branson.
“It’s a marvelous show,” Bicknell said. “Cathy Rigby is a wonderful woman and a great entertainer. A lot of people think ‘Peter Pan’ might be a kids show, but it’s really not just for kids.”
Bicknell said the Rigby production will also play on Broadway next year, in addition to its Branson engagement.
A Picher native who grew up in Southeast Kansas, Bicknell said Broadway shows are a good fit for Branson.
Several theaters are banking on the success of Broadway-style productions. Sight & Sound Theatre’s productions of “Noah” and “The Miracle of Christmas,” and Silver Dollar City’s “A Dickens’ Christmas Carol” offer all of the spectacle that Broadway fans expect.
“Our challenge is to bring in the best entertainment we can,” Bicknell said. “We want to give people the chance to see things they would see on Broadway, or that they would have to go to a bigger city to see.”
