The Duttons are moving to Yakov’s.
Starting on Monday, Sept. 26, The Duttons will reopen for their show for the 2022 season with an 8 p.m. performing at the Yakov Theater in Branson. Following a July 13 fire, The Dutton Family Theatre was closed down for repairs.
The fire, which started in a trash can outside of their theatre, quickly worked its way up the corner column of the theater before entering into the crawl space, facade and roof of the building. Even though the fire was extinguished quickly, fire, water and smoke damage was left throughout the entire facility.
In the weeks since the incident, the family have been waiting to receive estimates on the damage and making plans for how long it would take to make the theater once again safe for performers and guests.
“We were hoping in the beginning that the fire damage was minimal and we would be able to open our theater back up for guests within a month or two,” CEO and Technical Director Timothy Dutton said. “The deeper we get into this project, however, the more problems we find—especially the amount of smoke damage that went through the whole building, even the parts of the building farthest away from the actual fire. It soon became essential to find a new location to host our show for the remainder of the season. We are so grateful to Yakov for offering to host us and we are delighted to be going into such a beautiful location.”
The Duttons will offer audiences a slightly more limited schedule at Yakov’s, which will accommodate his upcoming fall showtimes.
“The challenge was to find a theater that was big enough to host a large cast, have enough seats to accommodate our current reservations and had the time slots available for our schedule,” Owner and Manager Sheila Dutton said. “Yakov’s was absolutely the best fit, and when he called to offer, we couldn’t have been more delighted.”
Yakov Smirnoff shared he was happy to help The Duttons.
“I really think that Vladimir Putin was responsible for the fire at The Duttons, so it was the least I could do to invite them into my theater!” Yakov said.
The Duttons 2022 season will resume with their Reunion Shows, which will feature all seven of the original Dutton siblings performing together from Monday, Sept. 26, to Friday, Sept. 30. The following week, The Duttons will resume with their regular show, which will run through Oct. 31; before they switch over to their Christmas show, which runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 14.
Smirnoff will be opening his 2022 show “United We Laugh” on Sunday, Oct. 2, with 2 p.m. performances on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Showtimes will run through Nov. 18. Visit yakov.com for details.
Re-construction and clean-up of the fire and smoke damaged Dutton Family Theater will continue through the fall and winter, with a scheduled reopening date of April 2023.
The Yakov Theater is located at 470 State Highway 248 in Branson. For additional information or to make ticket reservations for The Duttons, call 417-332-2772 or visit theduttons.com.
