About Kirby VanBurch Show in Branson MO from TravelMyEarth.com

Blog by Fred Hawkins

Upon arrival at the show site we were impressed at the building that looks like Aladdin’s Temple from the outside. Upon entering we found that they serve refreshments like a movie theater, they don't have a dinner show, like some of the others in Branson. This is a fast pace show, so the eating of a meal during the show would not be conducive to following all the action. When we entered, the lobby had a small fountain and a statue of a weird looking man in a tuxedo. At least we thought it was a statue, it turned out to be a gentleman making weird faces by crossing his eyes and having the bulge out. He was a mime, with some of his movements supported by sound effects. For example: when he spread his hands and held them to his ears like he was answering a phone a ringing sound was heard. At first, our five year old was scared of him. Then he became enthralled with him and would not stop following him as he went from group to group providing a nice way to occupy the waiting time.

For the show we sat about five rows from the front, directly in the middle of the stage. The four rows in front of where the children sat did not have seats, so the performers could walk part way into the audience. It also, ensured they had great visibility of the show. As for the show, what can I say but it was mesmerizing. As expected, assistants, tigers, snakes and Kirk Vanburch all traded places in boxes that were not connected in any way making it appear like there was true magic on the stage. He even made a helicopter appear on the stage, an event he developed for his NBC TV special. His show was great, but it was not limited to his magic. Also included was an act where a woman climbed and danced up and down two strips of cloth hanging from the ceiling. She was very graceful in her movement. Also in attendance was a champion cross bow artist. This was extremely impressive as he shot a crossbow at his assistant backward based solely on her guidance as to where to place the bow. And, in another demonstration he aligned six targets with crossbows attached in a crisscross manner. He hit the first target causing the crossbow to release and hit the next and repeating this two more times with last arrow aimed at an apple atop his head. It took a few minutes for him to put everything in just the right place, but this was a most impressive demonstration of his skills.

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