A Stafford Family Christmas
By Tyler Francke, Branson Tri-Lakes News
Christmas is a time to be around loved ones for many and it’s the same story in Branson, though it sometimes plays out a bit differently for the city’s performing families.
The holiday season means more family time for longtime Branson entertainer Jim Stafford, partly because his whole family joins the show, including his wife, Ann.
“I always like the Christmas show, because the whole family’s in it,” Stafford said after a performance at his theater Wednesday.“My wife’s not in it during the regular season, but she does it during Christmas.”
Of course, the Staffords’ son, Shea, now 18, and daughter, G.G., now 14, have been performing at the Jim Stafford Theatre virtually their entire lives.
“They were always excited about doing it,” Jim Stafford said.“Sometimes, they’ll say, ‘I don’t know if I want to practice today, Dad.’ But I guarantee you, when somebody comes to visit, they race each other to the piano. They really do love it.”
During Jim Stafford’s Christmas show, both children play piano and sing, while Shea also plays fiddle and G.G. shows off her harp skills. Ann Stafford takes the spotlight for a more serious segment in the comedy-laced show, reading an essay about the impact of Jesus Christ called “One Solitary Life.” And they all participate in a skit during which the family pretends to miss Jim Stafford’s obvious clues about his desired Christmas present — a new guitar, to replace the one “destroyed” earlier in the production.
“It’s fun to be up there with everybody,” Jim Stafford said.“It’s a good thing.”
He said when he first moved to Branson more than two decades ago, the entertainment industry had no holiday season.
“The place was a ghost town after the 31st of October,” he said. “Everybody left, they closed up shop and that was that.”
The Staffords were among the first theater owners to debut a Christmas show, he said.
“We did that because we believed there could be a Christmas season here,” he said. “And now, something that didn’t exist at all has become, really, the biggest season we have.”
Not surprisingly, Christmas is also a time for the Staffords to spend time with each other, their extended family and their Branson friends. They usually take a brief vacation; this year, they’re headed to Jim Stafford’s native Winter Haven, Fla., where he has a few shows scheduled in a newly renovated theater.
Oftentimes, Christmas in the Stafford home isn’t all that different than what audiences see on-stage.
“Sometimes, we break out the guitars and do some songs,” he said. “We do that just about every year.”
They and a special guest, vocalist Kristin Meadows, perform some of their favorite seasonal standbys in this year’s holiday show, including “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen,” “Silent Night” and a Jim Stafford original, “A Guitar for Christmas.”
The show is split between the Christmas segment and highlights from the family’s regular-season show, featuring Stafford’s trademarked humor and instrumental virtuosity.
The show also features new music performed by Shea and G.G. Stafford, who each released their first solo albums this month. Jim Stafford said that despite the laid-back appearance of his shows, some of the segments, especially arrangements involving his children, can take up to six months to put together.
“The Jim Stafford Christmas Show” runs through the 10th in Branson and his regular "Jim Stafford Rockin' Comedy Show" returns for the last week of December.
http://www.bransontrilakesnews.com/news_free/article_9a419580-1796-11e1-9ab5-01cc4c03286.html
Christmas is a time to be around loved ones for many and it’s the same story in Branson, though it sometimes plays out a bit differently for the city’s performing families.
The holiday season means more family time for longtime Branson entertainer Jim Stafford, partly because his whole family joins the show, including his wife, Ann.
“I always like the Christmas show, because the whole family’s in it,” Stafford said after a performance at his theater Wednesday.“My wife’s not in it during the regular season, but she does it during Christmas.”
Of course, the Staffords’ son, Shea, now 18, and daughter, G.G., now 14, have been performing at the Jim Stafford Theatre virtually their entire lives.
“They were always excited about doing it,” Jim Stafford said.“Sometimes, they’ll say, ‘I don’t know if I want to practice today, Dad.’ But I guarantee you, when somebody comes to visit, they race each other to the piano. They really do love it.”
During Jim Stafford’s Christmas show, both children play piano and sing, while Shea also plays fiddle and G.G. shows off her harp skills. Ann Stafford takes the spotlight for a more serious segment in the comedy-laced show, reading an essay about the impact of Jesus Christ called “One Solitary Life.” And they all participate in a skit during which the family pretends to miss Jim Stafford’s obvious clues about his desired Christmas present — a new guitar, to replace the one “destroyed” earlier in the production.
“It’s fun to be up there with everybody,” Jim Stafford said.“It’s a good thing.”
He said when he first moved to Branson more than two decades ago, the entertainment industry had no holiday season.
“The place was a ghost town after the 31st of October,” he said. “Everybody left, they closed up shop and that was that.”
The Staffords were among the first theater owners to debut a Christmas show, he said.
“We did that because we believed there could be a Christmas season here,” he said. “And now, something that didn’t exist at all has become, really, the biggest season we have.”
Not surprisingly, Christmas is also a time for the Staffords to spend time with each other, their extended family and their Branson friends. They usually take a brief vacation; this year, they’re headed to Jim Stafford’s native Winter Haven, Fla., where he has a few shows scheduled in a newly renovated theater.
Oftentimes, Christmas in the Stafford home isn’t all that different than what audiences see on-stage.
“Sometimes, we break out the guitars and do some songs,” he said. “We do that just about every year.”
They and a special guest, vocalist Kristin Meadows, perform some of their favorite seasonal standbys in this year’s holiday show, including “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen,” “Silent Night” and a Jim Stafford original, “A Guitar for Christmas.”
The show is split between the Christmas segment and highlights from the family’s regular-season show, featuring Stafford’s trademarked humor and instrumental virtuosity.
The show also features new music performed by Shea and G.G. Stafford, who each released their first solo albums this month. Jim Stafford said that despite the laid-back appearance of his shows, some of the segments, especially arrangements involving his children, can take up to six months to put together.
“The Jim Stafford Christmas Show” runs through the 10th in Branson and his regular "Jim Stafford Rockin' Comedy Show" returns for the last week of December.
http://www.bransontrilakesnews.com/news_free/article_9a419580-1796-11e1-9ab5-01cc4c03286.html
posted by Cindy Merry at
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