• 

  Local voter turnouts for nonbinding primary lighter than predictions

  The fact that Missouri’s presidential preference primary would not count for much was not lost on local voters, at least judging from voter turnouts reported Tuesday by election officials in the region.

Enjoy

Search Results

Close Previous Now showing: of Next

Previous Next Close

Related Photos

• 

• 

Related Links

• Listen to Cathy Rigby talk about the role of Peter Pan, what it’s like to fly and the relationship she has with the productions young cast members.
• Listen to Gene Bicknell, owner of The mansion Theatre, talk about bringing Broadway’s Peter Pan to Branson and future plans for his theatres and the future of Branson.
• Check out Peter Pan show dates and times.

Discussion

November 19, 2009

<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/extra.gif" border=0> Branson producers think Broadway's Peter Pan is good fit <font color="#ff0000">w/ Peter Pan video & Cathy Rigby interview audio</font>

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Thu Nov 19, 2009, 08:19 PM CST

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.”

Text Only

Enjoy

• Love of big band era leads to creation of musical revue

  Cecie Fritz doesn’t just listen to swing music. She feels it. The sound of the big band era resonates with her. It triggers cherished memories and pleasant thoughts. It sounds, just, happy.

  February 3, 2012 1 Photo

• Pittsburg troupe presents ‘The Glass Menagerie’

  It’s performed by one of the smallest casts in recent Pittsburg Community Theatre history, but “The Glass Menagerie” will be no less impactful, says Director Linden Little.

  February 3, 2012

• Concept for new studio forged by fire

  Heather Grills was tired of having to drive all the way to Nixa to pick up her favorite clay sculpture supplies. She had even tried to form a communal studio in Joplin with other artists.

  February 3, 2012 1 Photo

• Comedy offers killer antics

  “Tomb with a View” delves into the antics of the Tomb family, first explored in “Tiptoe through the Tombstones” a couple of years ago at the theater. This time, we see the family of assassins during their younger days, as they meet for a reading of the will of an elder.

  February 3, 2012

• Joe Hadsall: Cheapskate pwned by inner geek

  My geekitude is constantly at war with another major part of my personality: The cheapskate. As much as I love gadgets and tech, I can’t bring myself to spend major money on them until after a couple of years.

  February 3, 2012 1 Photo

• Jeremiah Tucker: SOPA raises real question of what music should be worth

  I agree it was deeply flawed legislation, but it was one of the first steps toward figuring out how copyright will work in the Internet age -- something I think needs to be addressed if we want a future where artists get paid for their recorded output.

  February 3, 2012 1 Photo

• Benji Tunnell: ‘The Artist’ a charming tribute to Hollywood’s start

  There was a time when people liked to be challenged by their entertainment. Television used to be more than bland cookie-cutter sitcoms or police procedurals. Books that challenged the mind would be embraced, films that didn’t fit into the traditional structure would become cultural touchstones. Those days, it seems, are behind us.

  February 3, 2012 1 Photo

• Dave Woods: Winter rehearsals lead to traditional preview

  It was 18 years ago that a group of Branson show producers and performers came together to put on a show. Not just any show ... a Big Show.

  February 3, 2012 1 Photo

• Benji Tunnell: Soderbergh's latest goes 'Haywire'

  I’ve said in the past that the age of the modern action star is dying, if not completely gone.

  January 27, 2012 1 Photo

• Joe Hadsall: 'Alcatraz' puts us back on the island

  The power of “Lost” fans continues to amaze me.

  January 27, 2012 1 Photo

• More Enjoy Headlines

© 2012 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. · CNHI Classified Advertising Network · CNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2012. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope. Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
Privacy Policy | AP News Registry privacy policy
Advertiser Index

Events by eviesays.com

The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO 117 E. Fourth Street Joplin, Missouri 64801