BRANSON, Mo. -- TOM UHLENBROCK/ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Fox hunts, cakewalks and pie suppers -- in which the highest bidder got to eat the pie with the girl who baked it -- were Ozark traditions a half-century ago. So were the Mabe brothers.

''They'd have fox hunts all around the Ozarks, men would get together, it was more of a social gathering,'' said Brent Mabe, son of Lyle, one of the four brothers. ``They decided they wanted some entertainment before they ran the dogs, so my dad and his brothers would go out and sing for them and tell some jokes.''

By 1959, the brothers were so popular with the locals -- and the visitors who came to fish the man-made lakes -- that they started performing at Branson City Hall.

Then the brothers took over an old skating rink in downtown Branson. They donned hillbilly costumes and used homemade instruments, including a washtub bass and the jawbone of a mule. They called themselves the Baldknobbers, the name of a secretive vigilante group that met at night on the bald knobs of the hills.

''That was the first actual live music theater in Branson,'' Brent Mabe said. ``By 1968, they were drawing big enough crowds that they decided to open a theater on 76 Highway, where the Presley family was performing. It scared them to death 'cause they didn't know how it would work.''

The Baldknobbers and the Presleys were the first, but the number of venues grew over the years.

Today, 50 theaters make Branson the country's live music-show capital. Branson has 50,042 theater seats, more than Broadway, Las Vegas or Nashville, which are the key to attracting about 8 million visitors a year.

50TH ANNIVERSARY

This summer, the Baldknobbers Jamboree is celebrating its 50th anniversary in its state-of-the-art theater, which has been updated four times. But that's about all that has changed. The production is still a family affair, with six Mabes, including Brent, on stage and nine working out front. And the show still mixes bluegrass and gospel music with a hillbilly humor that is pure Americana.

Brent Mabe said the biggest change he has seen on the Highway 76 ''Strip'' is the variety of shows, including a new one this year, for Branson at least. Cathy Rigby will be starring in Peter Pan, which won an Emmy and was nominated for a Tony during its run on Broadway.

Branson has not escaped the current economic malaise unscathed.

The Grand Palace Theatre, a white antebellum mansion-style building that has been a mainstay on Highway 76 since 1992, has closed.

The 6-year-old Celebration City amusement park also shut down when it didn't meet corporate expectations. The park was owned by Herschend Family Entertainment Corp., which also owns nearby Silver Dollar City, an Ozark-themed park.

WHAT'S ON

But most of the shows continue, including these four that I took in during a recent visit.

• Baldknobbers Jamboree: The stars are the three comedians, including the rubber-faced Stub Meadows. The routines are corn pone, nothing political, nothing off-color.

Each show ends with a patriotic medley in which veterans are asked to stand. The old soldiers love it.

Tickets are $30; 800-998-8908; www.baldknobbers.com.

• Noah the Musical: The show at Sight & Sound Theatres tells how Jehovah, angered over the evil ways of man, tells Noah to build an ark and . . . well, you know the rest.

The star here is the set, which includes a giant ark for the first half. After intermission, the curtains open to oohs and aahs as the audience sits inside the ark, with four stories of stalls filled with animals, some live, some animatronic. They all nod their heads, wag their tails, shuffle their feet.

Runs through Oct. 31. Tickets are $52 for adults, $25 for teens, $16 ages 3-12, and $99 for a family of four. 800-377-1277; www.sight-sound.com.

• Circle B Supper Show: Put on by the Horn family of singers and players, the show features the hits of cowboy crooners such as Marty Robbins and the Sons of the Pioneers. If you like Red River Valley, They Call the Wind Mariah and The Wayward Wind, you'll love this show.

The dinner is barbecue beef and all the fixins'. Priced at $31 for adults and $16 for kids under 13, the show was named ''best bang for your buck'' last year. 800-678-6179 and www.circlebchuckwagon.com.

• The Haygoods: This show blew me away. The Haygoods are seven brothers and one sister ranging in age from 16 to 32. They must come from incredible genes, because all are talented, with looks to match.

The show opens with one brother singing from on top of a grand piano and doing a front flip onto the stage. The energy builds from there.

The award-winning Giddings, Texas, high school band performed before the show that I attended, and the members stayed around for the Haygoods. There was some serious squealing from the girls whenever Aaron, 16, did a solo.

Tickets are $34; 417- 339-4663; www.thehaygoods.com.

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