(NAPSA)—This year, the show that helped make Wisconsin Dells a popular tourist destination—the Tommy Bartlett Thrill Show—celebrates 50 years on water, on stage and high in the sky. Marking the Golden Anniversary season, this year’s performanceof the “Greatest Show on Hg0”is a look back on water skiing throughout the decades. It features nostalgic costumes and music, highlights of the well-traveled Bartlett skiers and notable accomplishments of the show’s creator, Tommy Bartlett. “Tommy Bartlett had a vision for creating good, wholesome family entertainment, and not only did he bring it to Wisconsin Dells, he shared it with the rest of the world,” said Tom Diehl, president of TommyBartlett, Inc. Theact started as the “Tommy Bartlett Water Ski & Jumping Boat Thrill Show,” a touring show out of Chicago. At only its second stop, Wisconsin Dells, the show wasa hit, and local leaders asked Tommy and his crew to stay permanently. Since 1953, what has evolved into the Tommy Bartlett Thrill Show has wowed audiences of all ages on the scenic shores of Lake Delton. Throughout the decades, the show has continued to tour, performing at World’s Fairs and embarking on U.S.O. and other good-will tours that exposed millions of people worldwide to the thrill of water skiing. Bartlett and the Thrill Show are credited with putting Wisconsin Dells on the map by creating a vision for entertainment that has kept families coming back for generations. After almost half a century, the Thrill Show is one of the longest-running, live, outdoor entertainment showsof its kind in the world. Then & Now: With skill, grace and heart-pounding action, the Tommy Bartlett Thrill Show has dazzled more than 20 million spectators worldwide during its 50-year run. “What allows the Thrill Show to remain so popularis its timeless appeal. We often encounter grandparents whofirst saw the show decades ago and are now returning to share the same experience with their grandchildren,” said Romy Snyder, executive director of the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau. This season, the newest entertainers to grace the Thrill Show stage are Netane’s Polynesian Drum Dancers. The troupe performs traditional South Pacific rhythmic musie and drumming, adds high-energy dancing and acrobatics and tops it off with fire and twirling knives. Returning to the stage are longtime Bartlett performers, the Nerveless Nocks, with their breathtaking swaypole routine. The Nocks perform tricks on poles that tower 80 feet off the ground, and they do so without a net below. Another audience favorite, Dieter Tasso, “dishes” out good old-fashioned humor using— dishes. This comic juggler balances cups, saucers, a teapot and other items on his head, feet, hands and nose. The show’s evening performance also features a new patriotic grand finale in celebration of the 50th season. Using a state-ofthe-art, full-color laser-light system, the finale pays tribute to America through a spectacular mix of music, color, graphics, entrancing water fountains and fireworks. In addition, the night show features a daring lighted-kite routine in which a performertakes off from the stage, soars 700 feet above the crowd on a hang-gliding kite and lands where hestarted. The show performs daily, rain or shine, at 1:00, 4:30 and 8:30 p.m. from Memorial Day through Labor Day. For more information aboutthe TommyBartlett Thrill Show: Visit www.tommybartlett.com Call (608) 254-2525 For lodginginformation,visit www.copacabanaresort.com @
