Helena Lee: Mama's Fallen Angel

Was anxious to see Ms. Lee perform after reading about her on a website. Sadly, was not impressed! Raw talent? Yes, but everyone can sing... Some people lack natural musicality though. Was not impressed that she relied on karaoke tracks. With proper vocal training, investing in professional quality backing tracks transposed into her key, and professional quality costumes - she could definitely be a professional and class act!

One of the many shows that I enjoyed while visiting Branson was Ozark Murder Mysteries performed at the Circle B Theater.

My brother and I had a pleasant dining experience with the folks from Minnesota seated next to us. The actors presented our meals as they prepared to serve up a fun evening of murder surrounding a conclave of comedic characters in the production “Speak Easy, Die Hard.”

The Branson setting of the play, crafted by playwright and actor Fred Athay, combines comical local moonshiners, an aspiring country singer and a host of big city hoods all converging towards one ultimate climax of hilarity.

The company includes a variety of actors and actresses who shine in this production and bring a full-on comedic spoof to life. One of the shining highlights of the evening was members of the cast who doubled successfully and convincingly in dual roles – one of those - the talented Helena Lee.

I’ll admit up front I didn’t figure out who did it.

That annoys me a bit. Mystery lovers hate it when they can’t guess the killer at the end. I guess that’s a credit to the story so they had enough red herrings to throw me off.

Then again, I was laughing so hard most of the time I probably missed a lot of clues.
“Speak Easy, Die Hard” is the latest Ozark Murder Mysteries production at the Circle B Theatre in Branson. It features a pasta dinner for those who may have missed dinner earlier. (I didn’t eat the dinner tonight so I can’t review that.)

The show features an ensemble cast but there’s a clear “star” in the production: Helena Lee. She’s one of the local “gangster”‘s daughters in the play but in the pre-show she plays “Laurel Vincent”, a British singer/entertainer. It gives her a chance to show off her vocal chops and tonight she brought a killer rendition of “Cabaret.” It’s not really something that ties into the murder mystery production but it’s very entertaining.

Let’s put it this way…I’d pay to see her do a full show on her own based on the sample I saw tonight.

The show itself is based around the idea that a tone-deaf performer Roy Billy-Bob Joe Horton who gets a theatre to perform in thanks to local “gangster” Peter “Pa” Parker. Peter obtained the money from a bunch of gangsters around the country who come to collect.

The show progresses at a steady tempo although it dragged a bit in the middle. I’m chalking that up to the fact they had a cast member unavailable tonight and so they were shifting things around to accommodate that unexpected change. (Helena Lee played two roles in the production tonight because of it and did both parts well.)