America is learning what many Branson visitors and residents already know — The Duttons have talent. One of Branson’s most popular and entertaining families was featured in the first of four audition episodes for the NBC show “America’s Got Talent,” which aired Tuesday night.
“It has been such an exciting experience, and we are very fortunate,” Sheila Dutton said Wednesday morning. “Everyone from NBC has been very classy, especially (executive producer) Simon Cowell.”
Sheila’s husband, Dean, added that he is “convinced” that the Duttons’ performance on “America’s Got Talent” will be a boon for Branson tourism. “It has been a great opportunity for us to go before the whole country and perform,” he said. “Not only will we benefit, but all of Branson, because when these people come to town to see us, they will also want to see everything else Branson has to offer.”
Sheila said the family has already seen evidence of a spike in fan interest. “Our amount of calls increased and we had to call more people in to help answer phones in the box office, and during the first hour of the show our Web site got about 4,000 visitors.”
Lynn Berry, public relations director for the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, said she also feels the exposure will be good for the community. “It just shows that we have more national caliber performers than we even knew we had,” Berry said.
Sheila said NBC was expecting 20 million viewers to tune into the show.
The musical family of 14 impressed judges Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff with a bluegrass number, but drew criticism from the third member of the judging panel, Piers Morgan, who felt too many members of the family were performing and gave the group an ‘X’ when the five youngest Duttons made their way to the stage at the end of the act.
The votes from Hasselhoff and Osbourne allowed The Duttons to move on to the “boot camp” round of the show, which will be aired during its fifth week.
Sheila Dutton said the family was approached by NBC to try out for the show, and were encouraged to include the children in the first performance but was unsure whether the youngsters would make another appearance if the group advances to the semi-finals, where viewers will vote on their favorite acts.
“If we move on, we want to try some different things,” Sheila Dutton said. “We want to do some contemporary and vocal performances.”
Dean Dutton quashed rumors that The Duttons would be selling their theater and leaving Branson that have surfaced upon the news of their appearance on the show.
“There are a lot of opportunities that could come to The Duttons from this exposure, but we love Branson and will be here a long time,” he said. “We hope that any benefits we get will also benefit all of Branson.”
Information courtesy of Branson Daily News