When Sharena Naugher and her family closed the Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Theater in Branson last October, they believed the show had run its course.
After more than 50 seasons, rising insurance and production costs, declining attendance and several health-related factors led Naugher and her parents, Gary and Pat Snadon, to announce that the show would not reopen this spring, Naugher said.
Shortly after the Oct. 19 closing, Gary Snadon died of complications related to pancreatic and liver cancer. Naugher said Monday that over the months after her father’s death, she and hermother gave long consideration to whether and how to reopen the theater.
“We had the winter to step away from it,” Naugher said. “Through a lot of prayers, we just took a leap of faith.”
Earlier this month, Naugher announced that the theater will reopen May 23 with a performance of the Shepherd of the Hills, an 85-character drama based on an early-20th-century novel.
The show will return to production on a slimmeddown schedule, Naugher said. Until it closed last fall, the cast performed seven nights a week in the summer, and six nights a week in the spring and fall, Naugher said.
“We used to run May 1 through Oct. 31,” Naugher said. “This year, we’ll open Memorial Day weekend and do four nights a week through the summer, and Friday and Saturday night shows in September and October.”
Naugher estimated the cost of production at $5,500 per night. The theater will employ a rotating cast of more than 70 actors. She said ticket prices will remain $37 for adults, $18 for children 16 and younger.
Some features on the theater grounds, such as the Inspiration Tower and a zip line, have remained open and provided some revenue while production of the outdoor drama had ceased.
“We haven’t sought any additional funding to get rolling again,” Naugher said. “Right now, we’re just taking it day by day.”
“We haven’t taken out a second mortgage yet. It was just such a hard decision last year,” Naugher said.
The Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Theater, also known as the Old Mill Theater, seats 1,200 people and is one of more than 20 Branson theaters that seat 1,000 or more.
Lynn Berry, a spokesman for the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, said theaters throughout Branson saw an increase in attendance in 2013 over the previous year. Revenue from the city’s 4 percent tourism tax - which is applied to theaters, amusements and overnight accommodations - increased 3.5 percent in 2013 to more than $7.6 million.
Other major outdoor attractions in the Ozarks have also been recovering from economic hard times. The Great Passion Play, an outdoor drama in Eureka Springs that depicts the final week in the life of Jesus, managed a turnaround in 2013 after reducing the number of performances by roughly 27 percent, from 110 each year to 80, said Executive Director Dick Kensley.
The outdoor venue for the play can seat about 4,000. Kensley said each production costs about $8,000 and requires a minimum attendance of at least 500 “just to break even.”
Play producers added a buffet dinner costing $12.50 and reopened the Holy Land Tour, which had been closed for several years, as additional sources of revenue. Operators also reduced the cost of an adult ticket from $27.85 to $24.85.
The season for The Great Passion Play begins May 2 and runs through Oct. 25.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 04/09/2014