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Aug 1, 2010
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Seven Pines, Virginia
Now I don't always see every show on every trip. Some of the shows I haven't seen since mid May. So, I appologize if others have already noticed the following changes. Yesterday (7-10-11) I went to several of the shows and noticed many changes, improvements or refinements to the acts. This is Octoberfest has replaced songs added new songs and added interaction with band. It give the perfomance a fresh feel. Mix It Up has added more dancers. The stage is really full now. Celtic Fyre has fine tuned the dancing and has put in some subtle new dance sequences and added more interaction amoung the performers. I like that BG is keeping the shows fresh without sacrificing the talents or performances.
 
I liked some of the changes with Celtic Fyre. Particularly, at the end of the tap dancing routine, the one guy blows a kiss to the bride at the end of his dance. Also they added a bit where one of the dancers sat on the stool and spun around and danced. The only thing I didn't like was the main singer guy from last year was different and I couldn't hear this new guy's voice as well over the music.

While we're on the subject, the new Wolf Haven show improvements are great. It's all about predators and they have included that Barn Owl from Scotland, a fox, and a few rats.
 
I noticed several different singers and dancers from my previous visit on 7-1-11. There was a new woman singing "The Voice", and she did a great job. The "pub owner' was the same guy from last year, however earlier this year I did notice an alternate performer.
 
The performers just rotated often. Once they go to being open 7 days a week, there is a whole "B" team that rotates in and out of roles to give the main performers days off. Some of them are in several shows. For example, there is a blonde girl in the Oktoberfest show who is also the back up female dancer for Mix it Up and the can can show in France.

Also, the just with the nature of the beast, some will move on to other jobs at the drop of a hat. The Finnegan's Wake guy in CF from the beginning of the season just left two weeks ago because he got a job on a cruise ship.
 
Normally, "This is Oktoberfest" is a show you can count on; the show quality has been consistently high for decades. Song lists may vary from one season to another, but overall it's been a classic.

Until now.

The last time I went, there was one male dancer who kept playing with the girls' skirts and, at one point, I saw him put his head underneath. They added "The Lonely Goatherd" to the show: an American song from a show about Austrians... it's about as absurd as hearing the Canadian singer Celine Dion playing in 1800's Aquitaine (which, thankfully, now only happens in the evening).
 
Elsewhere it has been mentioned that This Is Oktoberfest has had significant changes this year. While the above post mentions some chnages, they don't seem too offensive to me, but I'm wondering what else is changed. Another thread got me thinking that the show might have been redesigned in a major way, but I'm not sure what they meant exactly.
 
There's some funny parts for the adults as well. I remember they had a song about beer or something and these two actors/singers were sitting on one of the sides of the stage and they were moving on to a new song and they just kept complaining about moving on the whole time. (it was in the script, obviously) It was pretty funny if you're close enough.

p.s. I'm horrible at describing shows. haha.
 
I attended the last performance of the day for Celtic Fyre last night. The cast seemed to ad lib and improv some of their parts. It was quite fun and refreshing. They all looked as though they were having a great time.
 
Haberdasher1973 said:
They added "The Lonely Goatherd" to the show: an American song from a show about Austrians...
The Austrians weren't exactly thrilled about German occupation...

gardener14 said:
Elsewhere it has been mentioned that This Is Oktoberfest has had significant changes this year... I'm wondering what else is changed. Another thread got me thinking that the show might have been redesigned in a major way, but I'm not sure what they meant exactly.

Okay, so I got to see it from the beginning on Monday:

The show no longer begins with the voice of the Burgomeister explaining how Oktoberfest began, the show no longer explains how polka mania swept the US and at least half of the dialog now belongs to one of the female dancers who uses a shrill cartoon-like voice.

It was unwatchable... and sad. It's part of the continued dumbing-down of the park.
 
Haberdasher1973 said:
The show no longer begins with the voice of the Burgomeister explaining how Oktoberfest began, the show no longer explains how polka mania swept the US

I don't even remember these elements being part of the show. They may have been gone for years.
 
Shafor said:
Haberdasher1973 said:
The show no longer begins with the voice of the Burgomeister explaining how Oktoberfest began, the show no longer explains how polka mania swept the US

I don't even remember these elements being part of the show. They may have been gone for years.

Nope; they were there through last season.
 
The only part od the oktoberfest show is where they pick u up and make u dance with em :dodgy:
 
Really the show hasn't been the same since the Burgomeister retired, not sure when that was. They've never been able to replace his presence. The performers singing now just don't do the German songs justice. Anyone remember when they had the organ or calliope above the exit? If I remember right it use to play as the performers left after the show. Anyone have any pics?
 
I saw the show twice this week. It's a bit shorter than the old show (barely 20 minutes...it should be 25-30 minutes to please me more).

The two main characters now have names and personalities. The female, named Streudel, was played by a different woman at each show I saw. The first was excellent with a great voice and friendly demeanor. The second was probably the shrill cartoony person mentioned a few posts ago. I disliked the second Streudel tremendously while I loved the first woman who played Streudel.

I also got the impression that each show is the same. The old show had at least a couple variations, so it changed on repeat viewings. That doesn't appear to be the case based on the two shows I saw and reports online.
 
I have an idea for a show refinement.

What would happen is, in Celtic Fyre, they would take those American tap dancers out, and just have the Irish jig guys/girls. Then, like, you could take out the bar to give the people a little more room. Then, to sort of help the audience, they would pick maybe some older types of Irish songs, rather than the stumbly, hard to understand ones they've got now. Also, you could like, change the costumes and sets to be a little more mystical/magical, and eliminate that goofy story-line with the wedding and such. You could then focus on like Irish dancing, like this super-popular worldwide phenomenon called Riverdance, and these other shows they used to have at Busch Gardens, called Irish Thunder and Emerald Beat.

Oh yeah, then you could change the name to something cooler...like Irish Thunder, or Emerald Beat.

Just my ideas.
 
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DoctorMoneyMD said:
I have an idea for a show refinement.

What would happen is, in Celtic Fyre, they would take those American tap dancers out, and just have the Irish jig guys/girls. Then, like, you could take out the bar to give the people a little more room. Then, to sort of help the audience, they would pick maybe some older types of Irish songs, rather than the stumbly, hard to understand ones they've got now. Also, you could like, change the costumes and sets to be a little more mystical/magical, and eliminate that goofy story-line with the wedding and such. You could then focus on like Irish dancing, like this super-popular worldwide phenomenon called Riverdance, and these other shows they used to have at Busch Gardens, called Irish Thunder and Emerald Beat.

Oh yeah, then you could change the name to something cooler...like Irish Thunder, or Emerald Beat.

Just my ideas.

You do realize the American-Irish tap-off came directly out of Riverdance.
 
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