AMERICAN
MUSIC THEATRE
WELKNOTES
STARS OF THE
LAWRENCE WELK SHOW
IN CONCERT
JULY 15, 2006
PHOTOS AND TEXT BY NICK TIMKO

LANCASTER
PENNSYLVANIA

 
The evening show began with the beautiful Anacani. She makes all of her
outfits and slips behind the curtains for about 15 seconds to "change" into
the next one. She had 4 costume changes. She sang "Memories", in a
heartfelt tribute to Lawrence Welk. At the end she wiped away some
tears. She's so genuine. She did a great job singing and playing
"Yours" on her guitar.  She ended her segment
with a terrific salsa number.

 

 
Warren Bills next introduced Joanne Castle. Joanne recently had some
knee surgery and is having back troubles, so she's using a cane
right now. Her physician advised her not to go, but she didn't want
to disappoint her fans! She played a variety of honky tonk and
ragtime (Piano Roll Blues, Maple Leaf Rag), as well as some classical
show tunes. She dedicated the "Beer Barrell Polka" to Myron Floren.
She still has a photo of her and Myron when she was 12 years old
and cherishes it. "Choanne" (as LW called her) is a real
stand-up comic; kind of a mix of Red Skelton (she laughs at her
own jokes) Victor Borge and Liberace. She even had patriotic
sneakers on (needed while she recuperates).
Warren Bills brought on Arthur Duncan
next. Art moves like he is still 20
years old. He did a great rendition
of Louie Armstrong's
"What A  Wonderful World".
Art naturally gets out of breath after
a dance number,
but recovers quickly to sing.
The closers were Guy and Ralna; "The Donny and Marie of the Geritol Set"
(Guy's words, not mine). Guy's solo of "Let The Eagle Soar" was fabulous
and brought the house down! Ralna soon followed with LW's favorite hymn
"How Great Thou Art"; receiving a standing ovation. They teamed up to
do Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life"; a song that came out
when their daughter Julie came into their lives.
The entire cast closed with
the familiar theme
"Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Weidersehen".
All in all, a terrific show
that lasted from 8 to 10:40 PM. The autograph session in the lobby afterwards took us to midnight. What a terrific show and cast. They don't make entertainers like these
anymore. 100% genuine and warm. LW taught them well;
they make their audiences
feel special.