“We have had numerous requests to take the Lawrence Welk Show on tour for Christmas and during the fall season,” said Larry Welk, CEO & Chairman of the Board of The Welk Group, Inc.”Because of our packed schedule of shows in Branson, we have been unable to meet these requests.We have decided to do one more season at our theatre and then take the show on the road in 2005.
“The Lawrence Welk Show” was broadcast for 27 years –on the ABC television network from July 1955 to September 1971 and in syndication from 1971 to 1982.Demanding that his shows be clean and wholesome, Welk featured easy-listening music performed by a “family” of wholesome musicians, singers and dancers.The show’s enduring popularity has been proven time and again through highly rated re-runs and specials on PBS since 1987 and 10 years of live performances at The Welk Resort Theatre in Branson.
The 2004 Welk Show will feature America’s Sweethearts of Song, The Lennon Sisters; the Queen of the Honky Tonk Piano, Jo Ann Castle; vocalist Ralna English;and a rotating cast of original guest stars from The Lawrence Welk television show including Jack Imel, Guy Hovis, Mary Lou Metzger, Arthur Duncan, Ava Barber and Dick Dale.
The Welk Grand Finale Season includes