Medora Musical

kwasiak
kwasiak
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
3
Reviews
4
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Don't Drag Your Husband to This

  • August 30, 2009
  • Rated 1 of 5 by orig_az from Phoenix, Arizona
While researching our trip to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, I kept seeing ads for the Medora Musical and pitchfork fondue. Since there is not much else in terms of nightlife in Medora, I convinced my husband that we should check it out. We were both expecting the show to be a bit hokey, reading the description that it was a variety show with a heavy patriotic and Teddy Roosevelt theme. We were both fairly disappointed. The plot, if you can call it that, was barely followed and the songs performed had nothing to do with anything (example: a girl sings "I Hope You Dance" to the main character who has just opened a cafe. Huh???). However, the singers were all pretty decent. The choreography was straight up amusement park quality, meaning unoriginal and unimpressive. There was a short clogging piece that was cool, but that alone could not make up for the rest of the two hours of step-touch/step-touch/turn over and over again. My husband and I aren't particularly religious and were therefore a little weirded out by the random Christian rock number performed in gospel robes. Again, this number had nothing to do with the plot, but we had already realized not to expect that. The featured performers were the Peking Acrobats. This was definitely the best part of the show, which is strange as didn't fit into the rest of the performance at all. The tickets are a little steep for such a mediocre performance so if you want to go and your husband is whining about it, let him stay in the hotel! It'll save you the much louder whining in the car ride home.

Husband's Perspective:

I went into this with extremely low expectations which were not met. As the wife mentioned, we expected a patriotic and corny performance, however, the disjointed nature and religious overtones of the performance made for an especially disappointing evening. I don't know who I fell worse for, the audience or the poor entertainers who are forced to endure a summer of performing what would, on it's best day, be a below average musical.

301 Fifth StreetLocal Secrets, Big Finds 2007 Pick

  • February 4, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Local Secrets from New York, New York
In the "quaint and friendly" town of Medora, the "million-dollar" Burning Hills Amphitheater plays host to a "nightly open-air variety show" featuring singers and dancers, live horses, and two hours of "heart-stirring" family fun, much of it "built around the Teddy Roosevelt Rough Rider theme." If you’re hungry, opt for the "pitchfork steak fondue" dinner beforehand, and rest assured: "the plays and dinner are always very good."

www.travelocity.com/localsecrets
Editor Pick

Medora Musical

  • August 18, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by kwasiak from Tucson, Arizona
Medora Musical

The Medora Musical is played out in an outdoor amphitheater as the sun is setting and night sets in. The music played and sung is pretty much exclusively country. I love country music and actually found this a tolerable show. You must understand that it being tolerable is a big thing coming from me. I really do not enjoy going to shows of any kind including concerts of my favorite musicians, but I can honestly say I'm actually glad I went to this, however I would not personally go again and I doubt there will ever be a show I want to attend more than once.

One great thing about this show besides the great country music is that it tells a story as it goes. The main story line is about a woman coming home to Medora to open a dance hall. While most of the songs do not actually tell the story, they are placed into the plot very well to go with the current scene. If you often listen to country, then you will likely recognize many of the songs.

The main things I did not like were the intermission and the featured guest performance in the middle of the show. The show is just not long enough to need an intermission. For our show the guest performer was a comedian. It was not too bad, but it also made the show go longer than it needed to be.

The Amphitheater has a snack bar similar to what you would find at a movie theater. They have awesome popcorn as well as candy and soda. There is also a gift shop here that sells Medora Musical memorabilia. You can get autographs here and a few other places around the amphitheater from the cast after the show.

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