Final Season for Miracle Theater; To Reopen in Fall as Smoky Mountain Opry
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Feb. 18, 2011) – After five years of a successful run, David Fee and Jim Hedrick co-owners of the Miracle Theater and head of the Fee/Hedrick Family Entertainment Group in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., announced that the 2011 season of “The Miracle Show” will be its last. “The Miracle Show” and another production at the theater will end in October.
The theater will remain under the co-ownership of Fee and Hedrick and the Fee/Hedrick Family Entertainment Group and will reopen Nov. 7, 2011, as “Christmas at the Opry” at the Smoky Mountain Opry Theater (formerly known as the Miracle Theater) to ring in the holidays debuting a brand new original music show.
“The Miracle Show” will end its run on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011, and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” will end on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011.
Now in its sixth season in the 1,400-seat Miracle Theater, “The Miracle Show” opens its new season Saturday, March 19, 2011. “Joseph” is in its second season at the theater and reopens Saturday, March 12, 2011. There are about 70 employees currently working at the theater.
Both Fee and Hedrick explained that the reason for the change for the two well-loved and well-received area shows is to go out at their peak attendance so that people do not get tired of going to the same shows.
“We love ‘The Miracle Show’,” Fee said. “It is an original production, and we created it. Most importantly, though, the theater has become a faith-based ministry, and people have been saved because of the influence of ‘The Miracle Show’, the ministry and the life-changing message.
“The show is very important to us, and because of that, we are looking into a variety of ways to keep the show going, including a national tour, another Christian theater picking up the show or the show being placed at a Christian theme park,” Fee said. “For example, we are even exploring the option of putting the show at the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida. We believe that God wants to pour out His Spirit through this show in greater measure than ever before. But we have to be ready, we have to be willing and we have to be prepared for change.”
“Obviously, we are proud of the Miracle Show,“ Fee said. “We want to thank all of our huge fan base of supporters of the Miracle Theater, and we want them to know that we might bring ‘The Miracle Show’ back at Christmas time in the future to the Smoky Mountain Opry Theater.”
For the 2011 Christmas season however, the new “Christmas at the Opry Show”
will be a brand-new show.
“It will have some of the country's top singers, dancers, comedians and musicians as well as state-of-the-art sound and lighting,” Fee said. “In addition, it will have a full eight- to 12-piece band and will include traditional old-time seasonal favorite songs sung from beginning to end with many new surprises, including ice skating. It will be quite different from any of the shows that we have had at the Miracle Theater, but we will probably carry over some of 'The Miracle' and 'Joseph' cast as well as some former cast members of our 'Black Bear Jamboree Dinner and Show' and our 'Kick 'n Country,' and 'Magic Beyond Belief’ shows. We will hold open auditions later this year.”
“It will be a very unique Christmas show, and then we will change shows again for the next season and begin in March 2012 with a brand-new musical show that will bring back tradition and heritage in this area at the Smoky Mountain Opry,” Fee said. “The show will have high-energy entertainment, including comedy, dancing and music with everything such as a little bit of Broadway, a little mountain music, some gospel, pure country, classic hits, pop melodies and old bluegrass.”
“The Miracle Show” is a $15 million original Broadway-style production that portrays the life and miracles of Jesus Christ. In addition to the many singers, dancers and technicians, “The Miracle Show” features the theatrics of soaring angels as well as a special animal cast of camels, donkeys, and sheep.
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” is based on the story of Joseph and his "coat of many colors" from the Bible's Book of Genesis. The narrator tells the story of Joseph, his trials and tribulations at the hands of his jealous brothers.
“The Miracle Show” will be performed this season in the afternoon matinee slot at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays. “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” will be the evening show at 8 p.m. six days a week. Tickets for both shows are $39.95, plus tax each, and children 11 and under are free.
For more information, call the theater's box office at 865-428-7469 or 1-800-768-1170, or visit www.MiracleTheater.com.
The Fee/Hedrick Family Entertainment Group, one of the largest show production companies in the Southeast, also owns and produces three other major shows in the Smoky Mountain area, “The Comedy Barn,” the all-new “Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show” and “The Blackwood Breakfast Variety Show.” The Fee/Hedrick Family Entertainment Group is running a season special of a combination ticket of any two shows for $49.95, plus tax.
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CONTACT:
Deborah Fee Newsom
865-414-6887