Stacy Long
AFA Journal staff writer
June 2014 – Vacation in Ozarks is fun family fare.
With a full-sized sailing ship, a giant man-swallowing whale, and fish that swim among an enraptured audience, Sight and Sound Theater’s dramatic production of Jonah is one of the season’s top picks among shows in Branson, Missouri, a town known for its family-oriented entertainment.
Staging high quality productions with skillfully engineered sets and professional actors chosen in nationwide auditions, Sight and Sound brings stories of the Bible to life in an incredibly colorful way. Well-trained animals traipse the stage and up and down aisles, detailed light and sound effects simulate the appropriate environment for the story, and a highly talented cast lives out biblical events and characters through story, song and dance.
While Jonah is a daring choice for a theatrical production, Sight and Sound brings a delightful finesse to its performance.
Most importantly – while the play does include creative details, carefully noted by the director prior to the performance – Jonah is not only faithful to the biblical account. It also highlights the prophetic nature of the story, demonstrating its Messianic significance in God’s plan for salvation and very clearly presenting the gospel in a way that will be of value even for mature believers.
The performance of Jonah will continue through December 31, with shows typically scheduled Tuesday through Saturday of each week. Meanwhile, Moses is playing at another Sight and Sound location in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Great Passion Play
The Great Passion Play (See “The Greatest Story,” AFA Journal, 4/13.) is noted as America’s #1 attended outdoor drama. Since 1967, the biblically based play has been produced in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, about one hour’s drive from Branson.
The venue also offers other attractions (some free) including David making shepherd slingshots, a Holy Land tour, Parable of the Potter, a Bible museum with 7,000 Bibles and the Sacred Arts Center.
Silver Dollar City: family theme park
A few miles outside Branson, the guide’s voice filled the dense, damp darkness: “The first tours of Marvel Cave in 1894 were conducted by candlelight, and if your candle went out, this darkness is all you had.”
Despite that risk, early tours of Marvel Cave were a great success. While the cave had initially been explored in hopes of discovering deposits of marble, its owners soon realized they had an alternate resource to mine – the curiosity of their guests.
Soon long lines were forming as people waited their turn to enter the cave, and the creative entrepreneurial spirit of the area developed to match. A small Ozark mountain city sprang up around the cave entrance to cater to the gathering crowds. Before long, visitors could find even greater attractions above ground as the area now known as Silver Dollar City became energized with musical entertainment, games and rides and the shops of local craftsmen.
Marvel Cave still hosts daily tours. But today, Silver Dollar City offers countless options for a full-packed day at the theme park. The crowd is shoulder-to-shoulder on winding roads lined with rides for all ages, a special children’s section, food vendors and shows featuring a wide variety of gifted performers. And that crowd is filled with families – with parents and grandparents having as much fun as the youngest children and the most animated teenagers in their group. 
Sight and Sound Theater
800-377-1277
The Great Passion Play
800-882-7529
Silver Dollar City
800-888-7277
