In the swing of things -Cabaret show adds to variety in Branson

BRANSON, Mo. -- In the old Showtown Theatre where the Platters used to perform, Angelia King snaps her fingers and rocks her body. At director Claude McNeal's cue, her rich alto voice picks up in the middle of "Six Lessons from Madame LaZonga."

Four young dancers spin, step and swoop to the beat as they rehearse for "Swing, Swing, Swing," a revue-style cabaret show that opened March 18 in Branson.

It's one of several new Branson shows that bring neither country nor marquee headliners to stage.

Instead, McNeal's award-winning show brings the history of swing to life in a big-band blend of story, song and dance with a small ensemble cast.

Producers say ticket sales in Branson are going well, particularly among out-of-towners who already know about McNeal and the show he wrote and premiered at his American Cabaret Theatre in Indianapolis. The critically acclaimed show, often sold out, was likewise successful in Florida.

"'Swing' was all the rage in Tampa, Florida," said producer Rob Skaff. "It broke all the records."

They had audience members dancing in aisles by show's end, he said.

Florida audience members familiar with Branson suggested "Swing" would be a hit in the Missouri lake resort town.

After studying the market, producers agreed.

"The level of energy when you watch this show is so high. It's a show you'll enjoy whether you're an avid theatergoer, or whether this is your very first production," Skaff said.

Revue-style shows have long been popular in Branson. "Swing" also includes a story line -- a hallmark of McNeal's American Cabaret Theatre.

"It's what I call a book-driven revue," McNeal said. "It's a whole different kind of theater."

Statistics show that as older generations travel less, Branson must draw more families. The average age visitor is currently 57. The city is targeting those ages 35 to 54.

Many Branson performers have retired, like Mel Tillis, or play limited performance seasons, like Andy Williams. While headliners are still Branson's bread and butter, a greater variety of shows are turning up.

"I hope this is a new trend," said "Swing" choreographer Tonya Cocker, who has designed dance numbers for Branson shows during the past 10 years. "I hope it's going to be a big turnaround in Branson."

Markets change, said Sean Murray, general manager and creative producer at Mansion America Theater.

"The big icon market is not what it used to be," he said. "If we're savvy, and we're really thinking, we try to check the pulse of the market."

Variety is key to returning audiences, said Mark Bryson, marketing director for Branson Variety Theater.

"Everybody has different tastes," he said, "and I think that's why you're seeing a different shift in shows."

Last year, Variety Theater opened the new "Broadway! The Star-Spangled Celebration." It fulfills a segment that was missing in Branson, Bryson says of the show that returns March 24.

The theater opens a new tribute to the Rat Pack beginning April 19, and a children's show, "Raggs Kids Club Band," beginning May 28.

"You have everything from the young children all the way to the senior market," he says.

With a cast of seven in the 700-seat theater, "Swing" isn't a big show. But the energy output of the singers, dancers and six band members more than fills the shallow stage.

"We're dancing all day," says cast member Meredith Stewart. "It's very hard, but I'm excited to be working with Claude."

When Joanie Garner-DiPrizio auditioned for the show, she was floored to discover she'd be working with a director whose cabaret theater style she'd studied in college.

"Claude is very renowned. He's done a lot of things and runs the largest cabaret theater in the United States," she says.

Through music, dance, narration and multimedia, the show explores the history of swing music from the '30s, through its waning popularity when rock 'n' roll arrived, to its contemporary comeback.

Footage of real events, projected on two large screens, helps propel the story told through flashback narration by Johnny Logo, a fictional character who is a loose composite of early swing stars.

Johnny, played by Cory Tipichoff, first appears as an old man who watches a group of contemporary young people as they swing dance.

Through his eyes, and with more than 100 costumes, the audience goes back in time to the heyday of swing.

Music director Chris Leavy leads more than 36 numbers, including oldies like "It Don't Mean a Thing," "Heebie Jeebies," "Jump, Jive and Wail," "Route 66," and "Mack the Knife," and contemporary takes on swing such as the Stray Cats' "Stray Cat Strut," "Zoot Suit Riot" by Cherry Poppin' Daddies and Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5."

The story includes memorable moments with music icons. Louis Armstrong is played by gospel singer David Carr from Springfield. King, also from Springfield, portrays Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday. King most recently performed in Vandivort Center Theatre's "Broadway Rocks."