Shows - Branson Critic

Recently, I returned home from 9 wonderful days in Branson, a city I have come to love in the last couple of years. Funny, not so long ago, I was wondering why anyone would want to spend a vacation there – now I journey there several times a year and am always sad to leave. I saw several great shows during this visit, which may be covered at a later time, but today I want to talk about Tony!

Tony and I celebrated an “anniversary” of sorts on May 16th - it had been two years to the day since this remarkable man first walked onto the stage and straight into my heart, where he has been firmly ensconced ever since. Try as I may, I can’t get him out of my heart or my mind. I went to Branson this time thinking that I could surely “unhook” myself from this awesome addiction. I planned to be there for 9 days, and I told my daughter before leaving that I was only going to see Tony’s show four times while I was there! She laughed and said, “Yeah, like that’s ever going to happen!” I was adamant, but she knows me so well.

As I sat down in my seat that first day, I was thinking “I can break this habit,” but my heart started racing the moment the music began to play and that marvelous voice filled the theatre with “A Little Less Conversation”……. into “Little Sister” ….. “One Night With You,” and on and on. It was, once again, like the very first time, and I knew it was useless – I must be weak, because here in my heart he will stay.

I purchased 7 more tickets to the show and was there every day (except Sunday when there is no Tony show!) So the next 7 days were spent trying to figure it all out. Do you know that Tony Roi’s show has the most repeat attendance out of all the shows in Branson?? What is it about this man that pulls his fans to him like a magnet?

I’ve mentioned this to Tony a time or two – he says it’s a spiritual connection – that pretty much sums it up! Yes, he is drop dead gorgeous!! Yes, he is a great Elvis Tribute Artist – the best ever!! Yes, he puts on a fantastic, two-hour action packed show six days a week, ten months a year!! Yes, he is a talented song writer, as well. And yes, he has the most mesmerizing voice that I, personally, have ever heard.

But there is something else, something that flows between him and his audience. There is a presence that is hard to explain…some feel it is the spirit of Elvis…some believe it is the spirit of God, himself, watching over the great gift that He bestowed upon this special man. I swear that if you ALLOW yourself to do so, you can actually FEEL this connection as Tony is on stage … it is a great sense of love, a great sense of gratitude, a great sense of awe, a great sense of something that is bigger than you or I.

Let yourself fully EXPERIENCE THE EXPERIENCE! Just sit back and close your eyes. Turn out the bright lights, silence the fantastic band and the beautiful Angel singers, forget the tango, and just LISTEN to this man’s voice. Do you hear it?? The power and the passion of the likes of Luciano Pavarotti!! Do you feel it?? The same kind of pure beauty and romance that radiates from Andrea Bocelli!! Doesn’t that beautiful voice reach into your soul and move you to tears? And doesn’t it surround you?? That sweet, sweet spirit of Elvis, gone from us these 30 years, yet ever present in this extraordinary man – Tony Roi.

I decided that I would talk to several people who were witnessing this phenomenon for the first time, to get their thoughts and feelings about Tony. I spoke with a couple from California who were sitting beside me and told them to prepare themselves for a most wonderful treat. They responded that they had seen many great ETA’s, particularly in Las Vegas - they just took me for an obsessed fan!! At intermission, they emphatically told me that I was right – they loved Tony and were anxious for the second half. After the show, they had just one word to say – “Incredible!” Right they are!!

The next day, I heard another woman from California speaking to Richard Bliss. I listened as she said she was also a singer, being of Italian descent, and she wondered if Tony was Italian – she said he looked and sounded like he might be of that lineage. Richard told her of Tony’s Cuban heritage and some of his background. The words she used to describe Tony were that she was “amazed and awestruck at the vocal talent Tony possesses.” She has some connection to the music business out on the coast – wouldn’t it be a great thing if she were a person who could further Tony’s already successful career? And wouldn’t it also be a great thing if the whole world could hear this magnificent voice? I walked back into the theatre with her and she introduced me to her husband. As we were discussing Tony and his show, the man in front of us turned around and said something nobody should ever say to me – that we must have never seen “this other ETA who shall remain nameless here on this page,” because Tony’s good but the “other guy” is better! Wrong thing to say!! I replied, “Those are fightin’ words, man, nobody is better than Tony!”

One afternoon, I was surprised to see a whole row of Daniel O’Donnell fans sitting right behind me. I, too, am a fan of Daniel, and it was because I had gone to Branson for the first time in 20 years to see him that I discovered Tony in the first place. So, of course, I struck up a conversation with them, but only after noticing the looks on their faces and hearing their comments during intermission…..to quote one of them, “We’re speechless!” Join the crowd, ladies!!

A sweet lady by the name of Virginia, from Alabama, after seeing Tony for the first time, told me she firmly believed that Elvis must live in Tony, something that many of his fans have talked about time and time again, and she told Tony as she was leaving – “You are special, you have a gift.” Truer words were never spoken, Virginia.

One man was there alone, obviously enjoying himself very much throughout the show. I approached him afterwards, and he, too, was so impressed with Tony. He was behind me in the autograph line, and he took Tony’s hand and said, “Man, if I was a lady, I’d be screaming, too. YOU ARE ELVIS!” Amen to that, brother!!

There are always several of us diehard “groupies” in attendance, and we come from all across the country, even the world! My Tony family fans - my good friends - who were in attendance during that week came from Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Utah. Then there was Maria, who came from South Africa – she spends 19 hours on a plane just to see Tony Roi. What does that say to you about Tony?? Amazing!!

Noel Coward, the famous playwright once said, “You will know you are old when you cease to be amazed!!” You’ve already read many times in the reviews for Tony Roi that although he has fans of all ages – men, women, and children - he is extra special to us “older” women – the ones who grew up in the era of Elvis. Though we don’t like to admit it, we are now the Senior Citizens, and some of us – myself included – thought that the really fun part of life was pretty much a fond memory!! For me, that line of thinking disappeared two years ago! I will turn 65 in the fall, and while I would much rather be turning 45, I don’t feel old – largely because I NEVER CEASE TO BE AMAZED by the magic of Tony Roi. When I am in the amazing world of Tony Roi, I forget the reality of my years, and I am 18 again!

So I guess I’ll continue sitting in the front row at the House of Roi every chance I get until I cease to be amazed – and to quote my daughter, “Yeah, like that’s ever going to happen!”