Entertainer Barbara Fairchild has had a busy spring in Branson.
Last month, she and husband Roy Morris reopened the Barbara Fairchild Diner at 3044 Shepherd of the Hills Expressway. The couple rolled out the diner last year, and closed it during the winter months when they were on the road.
Also in April, Fairchild moved her Sunday morning worship service to the Starlite Theatre, 3115 W. Highway 76. Fairchild started the service in 1993 at the Willie Nelson Theater, according to www.barbarafairchild.com. She and Morris continued the services through 2004, before taking the ministry on the road.
The perky singer's "Teddy Bear Song" topped the pop charts in 1973, and she's now best known for gospel music. Fairchild's last release was a Christmas album in 2007.
Earlier this year, she was on the road performing nearly 30 shows at churches and resorts in Texas and Pennsylvania.
Fairchild, who's lived in Branson since 1992, said she wanted to stop touring and enjoy her 11 grandchildren. She works at the diner, singing, baking desserts, talking to fans and serving as a waitress, a job she's done in the past. "It's a lot like being an entertainer," she said.
Located in the Victorian Village next to Hamner Barber Theater, the diner serves salads, sandwiches, pot roast, cornbread and beans, and Fairchild's homemade "sawdust pie." Hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The diner also holds special events, including occasional G-rated Friday Comedy Nights with $5 evening shows at 7 and 11.
Shake it up
Two new shows just opened in the Shake It Up Show Club, 625 State Highway 165 near Stone Hill Winery. "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love" and "Our Sinatra" were brought to Branson by Jack Lewin, who has produced the shows off-Broadway and in Michigan and Florida.
"Hunka" features Heather Gentry, Tony Turner and Jason Yeager performing Elvis Presley music but not as impersonators. It's the same philosophy for "Sinatra," performed by Brian Long, Heather Petersen and Gavin Reign.
The cabaret shows are geared for intimate nightclubs, Reign said. "It's a review of familiar music with a different angle and with anecdotes," he added.
Long earned his music degree from Evangel University in 1996 before heading to New York City. Jason Yeager was among last year's top 10 male finalists on American Idol.
The Show Club building - refurbished under new owners Steve and Carol Derringer - was built by Bill and Janet Dailey in 1985 as the Wildwood Flower Supper Club. From 1993-99, the club featured "Pump Boys and Dinettes," and later, it operated as the Ain't Misbehavin' Theatre.
Kathryn Buckstaff, membership public relations manager of Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, can be reached at kbuckstaff@bransoncvb.com.
