Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
All Aboard The Branson Belle!
Showboat stars share their secrets
If you’ve ever been entertained by the gregarious emcee of the Showboat Branson Belle, you know Christopher James is charismatic, funny, engaging and boisterous.
If you’ve ever met James off stage, you’ve no doubt been surprised.
The character on the Belle stage is exactly that — a character, honed from many years as an entertainer, magician, comic and host. The real James is quiet, private, serious and more of a businessman than you’d expect. And an interview with him starts slowly.
“When people come and see me off stage, like come to my house, everyone that visits always thinks I’m in a bad mood, because I’m just quiet,” he says. “When I work on cruise ships, my wife gives me a hard time, because I might not have spoken at all until I get on stage.
“I’m also very, very private,” he adds. “A few years ago, we had a party, and a lot of people came over, and most of them said, ‘We had no idea you even had a house.’”
James, who is just finishing up his 16th year on the Branson Belle, says in a typical year — which clearly 2020 has not been — it’s common to see 2,000 people a day on the showboat. It’s also not unusual for them to approach him after the show — or occasionally somewhere else in Branson — to tell him a joke, remark on their cruise or otherwise presume an acquaintance. One of the questions fans often ask is whether James was the class clown.
“No, I was the total opposite,” he says. “I had kind of a stutter. I didn’t really talk much until I got to high school. I remember speaking up in class, and everyone turned to look!”
But he admits he was the class instigator, convincing other people to do what he was too shy to do. And that comes in handy when he’s pulling audience members on stage to be silly. So does the fact that he’s got a graduate degree in psychology — and a second one in anthropology — plus years of experience running a business he built himself before he decided he wanted to perform full time. He adds that getting his comedic start in bars and churches taught him how to find universal appeal, a skill he also uses every day on the Branson Belle.
“My whole life has been extremes,” he muses. “Being crazy on stage, being quiet at home. Getting a ton of attention or no attention. I own businesses in town which are the complete opposite of what I do on stage. I go from people screaming and cheering to coming home and having to fix a toilet.”
On the other hand, Steve Parrish, the Branson Belle’s show captain, has a story that sounds like a Disney movie. Performances at choir camp helped him get an audition for Walt Disney World — but nothing happened. A year later, he got a call, auditioned again by phone and next thing he knew, he was cast in the live production of the children’s cartoon “Doug” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. He also worked at Six Flags in Illinois, did summer stock in Colorado and spent a Christmas season at Silver Dollar City — where he was Fred in “A Dickens Christmas Carol” — before joining the ensemble on the Branson Belle 17 years ago.
“I’ve done straight plays and straight musicals where you don’t break the ‘fourth wall’,” he says. “But on the showboat, it’s all about the audience, making that connection with them, having eye contact. You feel their energy and give that back to them.”
He often reminds himself of the advice he was given by a director in college.
“‘We’ve rehearsed, you’re ready, now this is the gift you offer to the audience. They’re going to offer the gift of their acceptance,’” he remembers. “I want to always be mindful of the fact it’s a two-way street, a relationship. Even if we’ve done the show 300 times this year, most people are seeing it for the very first time. To remain mindful of that is key. That’s the real challenge.”