Rankin Brothers: Branson's spectacular 'Best Show of 2009'

Randall Murphree - Guest Columnist - 11/20/2009 11:30:00 AM

(First in a three-part series)

Step into the Starlite Theatre on Branson, Missouri's, main strip, and you'll think you've time-traveled back to your little hometown in the 1960s. A vintage automobile or two sit on the indoor street beside an "outdoor" café. Last week it was a 1960 Chevrolet station wagon – all 17.5 feet of it. Across the street, behind brick facades, are Barbara Fairchild's Diner, The Emporium gift shop and a theater marquee that boasts a vintage vertical sign proclaiming "Starlite" in red neon.

The nostalgia doesn't end there. Inside the theater, the Rankin Brothers – Mark and Matt – launch into a two-hour show that'll evoke memories for old-timers and entertain younger guests with great music from that era. Mix in a whole lot of humor and you've got one of Branson's top trademark family-friendly shows. One of the best I've seen.
 
In fact, earlier this month, Bransonshowawards.com named them Best Show of 2009. There's nothing real flashy. No gimmicks. But they don't need gimmicks or glitz. The Rankin Brothers Show is not about the theater. Or the light show. Or fancy sets. Mark and Matt Rankin are about the music. With Mark's strong lead voice and Matt's smooth, velvet harmony, they've got what it takes to deliver a great show with the main ingredient – talent.
 
Mark, 37, and Matt, 36, didn't live through the 1960s, but they've got the era down pat. They sing various styles of music and shine brightest when they deliver the hits of vocal duos of the '60s. Singing the Everly Brothers' emotional "Cathy's Clown" or Simon and Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound," they take you back to a time you enjoy remembering. Their easy style, stellar harmonies and impassioned delivery make every song an event. 
 
They get a lot of mileage and side-splitting laughs with their portrayals of artists from the era. Mark dons an Elvis costume for his over-the-top comic salute to the king of rock and roll. He and Lori Kelly, one of a trio of female vocalists on the show, give a fun cover of Sonny and Cher's "I've Got You Babe." Matt holds his own in a solo portrayal of Buddy Holly, singing "Peggy Sue" and "That'll Be the Day."
 
Larry Rankin, also known as Dad, might as well be mayor of the little town in the Starlite lobby. He's busy before and after the show greeting guests, welcoming them and making sure there's nothing they need, telling people how much his family loves Branson.
 
"I was in commercial real estate in Texas," he said. "The boys were helping me in my business and doing a lot of music regionally in the Dallas-Fort Worth area." They began thinking about Branson in 2000, and finally risked making the big move early last year. They were quickly affirmed in that move when they were voted Branson's Best New Show 2008 by Bransoncritic.com.
 
As is true with many of their Branson peers, the Rankin brothers take their Christian faith seriously. That's certainly one of the things about Branson that makes the city attractive to the American Family Association and families who sometimes find too little family-friendly entertainment in the nation.
 
At the end of the show, they acknowledge onstage their gratitude to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I suspect it's being grounded in that kind of faith that allows them to maximize their greatest asset – the pure, perfect harmony that is highlighted in such songs as "The Anchor Holds" and their medley of "Dixie," "Hush, Little Baby" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
 
It's not about the show, but the songs. It's not about the medium, but the music. And I guarantee you the Rankin Brothers deliver some of Branson's best.

[Editor's Note: Part 2 of this series will be published during Thanksgiving Week, and Part 3 the following week]

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