Steve Bergsman

On my first night in Branson, Missouri, I went to see the play "Million Dollar Quartet," the lively musical that re-creates the time Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash gathered together at Sun Records Studio to meet, greet and heartily jam together.

This play has been so grandly greeted in Branson that it is booked at the Welk Resort Theater until 2019 — and it is the perfect play for this vacation spot in the heart of the Ozark Mountains on the Missouri border with Arkansas. As an entertainment venue Branson does a number of things very, very well. And one of those things is spotlighting tribute bands. In fact, Branson is probably the epicenter of the tribute-band business with performers imitating everyone from the Carpenters to ZZ Top and from Elvis Presley to Neil Diamond. There are so many tribute bands in Branson that I sometimes got confused and assumed there were tribute bands for tribute bands, a kind of mathematical equation of tribute bands squared.

This is not to put down "Million Dollar Quartet," a play I wanted to see and was glad to catch, but this was theater. In fact, after the play I went backstage to talk with the four young men who portrayed the great talents who got their start at Sun Records. I asked Tyler K. Hunter, who played Elvis Presley, how he liked being in Branson, and his response was musical: "Love the area, love the people around here, love the Lord."

The second thing Branson does well is to be the antidote to Las Vegas. If the great Nevada capital of glitz boasts a backdrop of sin and tawdriness, then Branson wants to let you know it is the epicenter of family fun. I was looking at a promotion for a comedy team appearing at one of Branson's nightspots, and the hook-you-in promise read, "clean comedy."

In Branson, family fun also means patriotism and the Christian religion. Many shows of pure entertainment end in flag-waving dedications to America. And if anything gets bigger treatment than patriotism, it's religion. There is no bigger show in Branson than Sight & Sound's production of "Moses." The immense auditorium - probably the biggest proscenium I've ever seen - hosts religious spectacles complete with real camels, horses, goats and lambs. But even if S&S goes Old Testament, which it often does, the storyline always ends up with Jesus Christ — as does almost any conversation with Branson entertainers.

At Silver Dollar City I spent a lovely evening listening to a group of four pickers play holiday music. When they weren't singing, the lead couldn't put together two sentences without invoking the name of the Lord.

The third and most extraordinary thing Branson does well is promote a whole slew of entertainers of whom you probably have never heard and never will unless you make the trip to the Ozarks. This is not to say famous names don't come to town, but evening in and evening out hordes of tourists turn out for Branson's famous, such as ShojiTabuchi, a Japanese-American country music fiddler and singer.

To my surprise about half of the group with whom I was traveling declined to see "Million Dollar Quartet," opting instead for two of Branson's most famous acts, The Duttons and The Baldknobbers. The Duttons is not a made-up band name but a family of performers who sing, dance and play about a zillion instruments from violin to mandolin to keyboard and drums — kind of like the Jonas Brothers but more wholesome.

Like every other headliner in Branson, The Duttons bill themselves as "family entertainment." They perform more than 300 shows a year in Branson and own a hotel, restaurant and the theater where they perform. As someone wrote on TripAdvisor: "We see the Duttons every time we are in Branson and always enjoy the show. Wonderful family-oriented show."

The Baldknobbers is another Branson family-entertainment phenomenon put together by a family, the Mabes. The Baldknobbers bill themselves as creating Branson's first music show 50 years ago, and there is enough Mabe progeny to keep the country music and comedy show going on for the next generation of tourists. The Baldknobbers also have their own theater and a few other namesake properties around town.

Since family acts were such a big deal in Branson, I picked out one that I thought would be the most entertaining. Jerry Lawson, who was the lead singer for The Persuasions — probably the most famous a capella (no musical instruments) group ever — is a friend of mine. Even when he sings alone, it's enough entertainment for a whole audience. So I've become a fan of a capella, which is also the expertise of another famous Branson family act called Six, which is made up of six Knudsen brothers. There are actually 10 Knudsen boys, but apparently four didn't make the cut.

The six brothers all have the same make of car but in different colors, which they park outside the Mickey Gilley Theater where they perform. During the show they stick to the same color patterns for jackets and platforms.

One morning I had breakfast with Adam Hughes, one of the Hughes Brothers, another popular family act. I asked him if they ever took the act on the road. He told me no, it was much more lucrative for the family just to play Branson. The Hughes family has its own theater, as well.

During the holiday season it's possible to see the Andy Williams Christmas Extravaganza. Although Andy Williams has passed, the show lives on through the efforts of two more sibling acts,The Osmonds and The Lennon Sisters.

I don't know, but it seems to me that in real life most siblings are always at each other's throats. Maybe the water is different in Branson. When Branson touts "family entertainment," they mean it in every possible way.

WHEN YOU GO

For more information, visit www.branson.com and www. explorebranson.com.

Although Branson has a small airport, most visitors arriving by plane come into the Springfield-Branson National Airport. The ride from Springfield to Branson is less than an hour.

Hilton boasts a complex of hotels on the edge of historic downtown Branson. I stayed at the Hilton Branson Convention Center, but others in my group stayed across the street at the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing: www.hilton.com/branson.

Steve Bergsman is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.