Magnificent Seven

Kurt L Moore

The White House Theater hosts a dinner show called “Magnificent Seven.” I and my friend Jude, went to visit them the other night. It was quite an experience. We were seated graciously, by an extremely happy hostess, and then our waitress appeared and took our order for dinner. Jude had the chicken entrée and I had the steak. Both entrees passed the test for fine dining and we arose from the table feeling satisfied, as we were ready for the main event, the “Magnificent Seven” show.

I know, you have heard the name “Magnificent Seven,” for as long as you can remember. In 1960, John Sturges directed a motion picture called, “The Magnificent Seven.” The movie was taken from a story written by Akira Kurosawa, “The Seven Samurai.”

The picture certainly jump-started the careers of Charlie Bronson, Steve McQueen and James Coburn, not to mention a bit player named John Alonso, who went on to become Director of Photography on such films as “Chinatown” and “Blue Thunder.” The musical theme of the movie, scored by Elmer Bernstein, was one of the most popular movie themes ever presented on the silver screen and was used for decades to sell Marlboro cigarettes.

I am pointing out that the popularized title “Magnificent Seven,” has been around for nearly half a century in moviedom. I went onto the internet, out of curiosity, to find that the term has been around, nearly since the beginning of time. From the Ancient “Magnificent Seven” Wonders of the World, you know, like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, to “Magnificent Seven” green sea turtles hatchlings, who are the pride and joy of a west coast biological team.

Now back to the show. The “Magnificent Seven” title is probably used wrong in describing this show. There are more than seven ultra, multi-talented people in this production. So maybe we should call it the Magnificent 12 or 14 or perhaps even 17. They were all magnificent.

I reviewed this same show last year and noticed that from that time till now, several changes have taken place. The scenery, or back-drops, are brighter and encompass more of the stage. Several faces have changed in the cast and the “new guard” is truly magnificent in their performances.

I also want to mention that the bass guitarist, Jeff Donachy’s hair, which last year could have won the coveted OZ Award for being the wildest in Branson, has been tamed down to resemble more of a human hair-style.

The show is a musical romp through the ages in movie themes, dance and song. American movies have traditionally been, a chronicle of American life as we have experienced it, ever since the filming in 1903 of “The Great Train Robbery,” our first narrative film and 1927’s first “talkie,” “The Jazz Singer,” American song, in the same way, has been a compilation of our nations ups and downs, our good times and our bad times from the Civil War’s “Aura Lee” to the ballads lamenting the 9/11 tragedy that befell our country and our people.

What better place to tell of the history of our great land through song and dance, than at the White House Theater. That is as symbolic as apple pie, our flag, Dinah Shore and Chevrolet. “See the USA, in your Chevrolet.” Remember?

Through this show, the cast and crew of the “Magnificent Seven” are making a statement: “We are Americans and we stand tall in a world gone mad.” The pre-show was handled with ease by Mike Bliss. Mike has a rare talent of being able to take a “cold” audience and warm them to just the right temperature, so they will be fully able to enjoy the coming attraction. Mike does magic, tells jokes, mixes with the audience and generally gets everyone into a pie-in-your-face mood. Mike does many things in the show itself and surprised me as to how all-around talented he really is.

Amanda, one of the single-named performers in town, headlines the show. In my opinion, her qualities shine fullest when she is standing in front of the closed curtain, applying clown make-up on her face and donning a clown suit, while singing, “Send in the Clowns.” To me, her glory shines greatest in those special few moments of the show. She is a very talented young lady whose star will only get brighter through the passage of time.

Then, of course, there are the “magnificent” others. Let’s start with Joe Tinoco. Joe is a dashing, handsome fellow, with a down-home, urbane manner about him and a talent as big as an Oklahoma sunrise. Joe sings, dances and does movies. Yep, Joe has been in a couple-three movies, including one with Dolly Parton. So we can say that Joe has been in some pretty heavy-duty company in his life-time. Joe is a multi-talented guy who brings a life to the stage as few can.

Tamra Holden, a multi-talented individual, sings, dances and literally does everything in her power to bring about a truly great show. I would like to tell you of a benefit, given last year, where Tamra was dressed up, or down, as you may choose to look at it, in a cow suit. My point is this; Tamra will do what it takes to make a show successful. By the way, she looked cuter than a bug’s ear dressed in ‘cow.’ I have a personal photo of her backstage, looking like Elsie and it is truly hilarious and one of my personal favorites.

Then there is Nellie Norris. Nellie, the other person in Tamra’s cow caper, is a bright, radiating woman with a bright-eyed smile that speaks volumes. Nellie is multi-talented and generates “feel-good” feelings whether she is onstage or off-stage. I ran into Nellie, one day, downtown. She was dressed in a red, white and blue, glittering Uncle Sam outfit, complete with the traditional stove-pipe hat. She was promoting their show at the White House and she stood out from the crowd around her. Not necessarily because of the outfit she was wearing, but mostly because of her “million-dollar-before-taxes” smile and radiant personality. I believe Nellie put all the glitter into her outfit, not the other way around. Nellie Norris is one of those rare people who give off rays of sunshine wherever they happen to be.

Rebecca Frederick is a beautiful, reserved singer, dancer and all-around talent in the show who will win your heart. Rebecca joins the rest of the cast for performances such as, the Supremes, Andrew Sisters, McGuire Sisters and gospel groups. Rebecca is outstanding as a soloist as well.

There are many more people involved in the production and performance of “Magnificent Seven.” They are all multi-talented and seem to have found their niche in this show. Just as John Sturgis’s film about seven magnificent men, helping a poor Mexican town fend off the bad guys, perhaps this “Magnificent Seven” production will be responsible for jump-starting other careers. Go take it in and let me know what you think.

“Magnificent Seven” is a larger-than-life production that you will certainly want to see while in Branson.

Copyright © 2004-Kurt L. Moore-All rights reserved. klmoore@earthlink.net

Thanks so much for the great review of our show!! Really nice! Oh by the way, you may have missed it, but we actually call our show, the "Magnificent 7pm Show" because as you stated 7 makes no sense at all, which is what we have been saying all along, but it is just sinking in now to the CEO's so things are coming out now with that name...so now we can not only promote the name of the show, but we also tell them what time we are at also!! 2 birds...one stone! Well, again, thanks so much for the support...sure appreciate it...hope to see you again soon... Your friends, Joe and Tamra

ps...not sure what you do with all your pictures once you are finished with them, but we'd love to get copies for our scrap books or maybe even to put on our sites, if you would allow of course...your got some great pictures! Let us know, see ya soon!

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