Entertainer Shoji Tabuchi 10/12 | 100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans

Asian American Profiles

KING OF BRANSON

PAGE 10 OF 12

"I'm not thinking about making any profit on the Christmas show," he says. "It's customer service and also for the long run." In a year when profits have been good, it certainly makes financial sense to reinvest some of it in currently-deductible expenses that will help build equity in Branson audiences. Tabuchi is a perfect illustration of the theory that generous service and profitability go hand in hand. The duties that may seem the most onerous -- signing autographs during intermission, going out in the cold to see off every tour bus -- are the ones he seems to enjoy most.

"It's not a job to me at all," he says a bit impatiently. "That's where you get most of the feedback -- people telling you, 'I wish I could hear such and such song.' Or, 'Next time I'd like you guys to do this.' Also, I enjoy talking to people. Of course, it's good for the business."

he Tabuchis have built their lives around the theater and their shows. They live a scant two and a half miles from the theater, less than five minutes by car. Despite his money and celebrity status, Tabuchi prefers to drive himself in vehicles that are surprisingly ordinary, including a GMC Astrovan with all-wheel drive. The BMW 325 he used to drive, he says, has become too small for his family lifestyle.

     The family of three lives with a housekeeper in a 7,000-square-foot, four-bedroom house with five baths. The house has fallen a bit below the family's current station in life. It has also lost its sense of privacy. After a local newspaper mentioned its location, it was invaded by camera-toting fans wanting to capture the family at home. "They were standing right there on my yard," recalls Tabuchi, his eyebrows lifting incredulously. "They asked me if I could pose for their camera. We have to keep our family life private. That's all we've got left."

     Tabuchi has already bought the site of their dream home -- a large secluded lot with prime waterfront acreage at Table Rock, a quiet scenic lake that has become a resort for well-heeled fishermen. Tabuchi keeps a bass boat there and uses it often. The lot is a 20-minute drive from the theater, calculated to help them keep more of a sense of separation between their professional and private lives. "I just put a road into it and then we'd like to build our dream house in there pretty [soon], I hope."

     Its design will be left to Dorothy. "She won't let me touch it," says Tabuchi with an easy laugh. "She has better taste than I have, I guess."

     The dream house will have a tennis court but no pool. Tabuchi's favorite pasttime is hunting lunker large-mouth and Kentucky bass on Table Rock or Bull Shoals. He also takes occasional trips to trout-filled Lake Taneycomo which meanders through wooded Ozark valleys along Branson's southern edge.

     Home is not only a sanctuary but also the creative center of Shoji Entertainment Inc. Tabuchi and Dorothy talk business incessantly at home except on those rare occasions when they force themselves to stay clear of the subject for Christina's sake. It is clear that they are each other's best friend and the show occupies center stage in their emotions. Asked about close friends, Tabuchi thinks long and hard before naming Mike Ito, the Japanese banjo player who introduced him to Dorothy.

     "I have friends, many friends, but I would say Mike Ito is the closest. Probably he would be the only one." Tabuchi and Ito speak English to each other. The humor in this makes Tabuchi laugh.

     He has maintained few connections with the culture of his native land, perhaps an occasional Japanese meal prepared at home by Dorothy using ingredients purchased at an Asian market in Springfield, a 40-minute drive from Branson. "But we don't hardly have time to cook," says Tabuchi, "so we eat out."

     For one thing Tabuchi usually gets home at 11:30. He unwinds for an hour or two by watching sports on TNN or ESPN while having a snack and talking with Dorothy. "What's happening and all that, what [we're] gonna do, [we] talk about a whole bunch of stuff." Tabuchi goes to bed around 1:30 a.m. and wakes up at nine. After a quick breakfast he heads into the corporate office at around ten. Dorothy doesn't involve herself with the financial side of the business and rarely goes there. At the corporate office he goes over business with Jewell who serves on the financial side a function somewhat analogous to that served by Dorothy on the production side.

CONTINUED BELOW

     At noon Tabuchi returns home for lunch with Dorothy before going to the theater with her at 1:30. There is usually a meeting at two o'clock while everyone gets ready for the three o'clock show.

     The Tabuchis' schedule leaves little time to spend with Christina outside of working together on two shows a day during the Christmas season and on the evening shows during the regular season. Growing up in a show-business family has imposed restraints on Christina's life as well. Now 12, she has not attended regular schools since kindergarten. She is taught by private tutors in her own classroom at the corporate office. That will be moved to the theater once the second-floor addition is completed.

     "She's much more advanced anyway," says Tabuchi proudly. "Some of the academics, she tested at 11th grade." A regular school would be out of the question because of the hours Christina spends rehearsing and performing. "If we want to go to a concert tour," says Tabuchi, "[and she were] in public school, we cannot take her." Tabuchi is neither defensive nor apologetic about the effect that kind of life may have on Christina. "She's a busy kid. She takes violin lessons, ballet and tap lessons, voice lessons and piano lessons." These classes, he feels, give her ample opportunities for making friends with kids her own age. PAGE 11

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