Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Hollywood Comes To Branson
Mansion announces movie and TV plans
An announcement made this month shows there’s a gold rush brewing in Branson. Last fall, owners of the Mansion — which dates back to the 1990s as a showcase of musical entertainment like Michael Bolton, The Oak Ridge Boys, Rhonda Vincent and Tony Orlando — announced a new focus for the 3,000-seat theater perched above Shepherd of the Hills Expressway. The Mansion would be renamed the “Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts” and would add touring Broadway-style productions to its offerings.
Turns out that was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Mansion Entertainment Group has set its sights on bringing Hollywood to southwest Missouri, too.
“It’s one of those overnight successes that took about three years in the making,” says Larry Wilhite, CEO of the Mansion Entertainment Group. “The name change was just the first domino.”
Wilhite says “it came to our attention that there was a great opportunity in the motion picture, TV, animation and music industry for facilities in the area with the ability to create and produce these needs.”
These are the components announced as part of the Mansion Entertainment Group:
• “Mansion Animation” with teams in Missouri and Europe. The original CGI animation arm is currently in production on a new animated film which will premiere in major film festivals worldwide later this year and is in pre-development for a full-length animated musical motion picture.
• “Mansion Sound,” opening in late spring 2022 at the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts, features unique audio production and post-production studios for motion pictures/ television and music, Wilhite says. “New stateof-the-art custom-made equipment exclusive to Mansion Sound is currently not available anywhere else in the world.”
• “Mansion Film and Television” is currently in pre-production for a “major world-class musical concert experience” which will be broadcast from the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts, featuring special musical guests from the world of Broadway, rock, country, gospel and more and a full symphony orchestra. The unique televised special will be syndicated domestically and internationally as “a musical gift to the world from the Mansion.”
• “Mansion Studios” will be located on several hundred acres at an as-yet-undisclosed location in southwest Missouri. According to a news release, the state of the art motion picture and television studio complex will feature multiple soundstages from 48,000 square feet to 18,000 square feet, a mixing stage for full orchestra, vfx and animation production, full production/ post production office centers, multiple mill/ flex/construction facilities, full support vendor space, producer cabins and bungalows, classic studio commissary, expansive motion picture screening theatre, backlot locations (suburban, city-scape, western, residential) and full producer amenities.
“Mansion Studios will also feature a studio tour allowing guests to experience movie making magic and celebrate the history of motion pictures with unique and exciting immersive fun for the entire family,” Wilhite says in the press release.
Throughout the spring, Wilhite adds, watch the stage of the Mansion for national dance competitions, beauty pageants and Branson PraiseFest in March, with a show lineup starting in September that includes the Oak Ridge Boys, the Bellamy Brothers, the Gatlins and more and the rescheduling of the “Disney Princess: The Concert,” delayed by covid concerns. It will now take place Dec. 1.