PHOTOS Uncle Si Robertson’s wife Christine makes rare public appearance

Duck Dynasty‘s Uncle Si Robertson is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and charismatic stars to ever emerge from the world of reality television. Fans of the show are all-too-familiar with his constant companion, a plastic blue cup of tea, but most are completely unfamiliar with his real-life constant companion: his wife of nearly 44 years, Christine Robertson (pictured with Si above).

Christine’s absence was a bit of a mystery for the first few seasons of the show, but Uncle Si later explained that Christine’s health was the main reason. “I always told people, ‘She’s got better sense than the rest of us.’ But that ain’t the real reason,” Si revealed in July. “Sometimes we film 12 hours a day, and she’s just not healthy enough to go through the rigors of that.”

Si later added, “But, ah, it ain’t no big deal. She wants no part of it anyway. She’s been married to me for 43 years. The last thing she needs is to watch us on a TV show.”

Although she may not want to watch them on a TV show, Christine did apparently want to watch the Robertson family in a musical as she made a rare public appearance, along with husband Si and the rest of the Robertsons, for the grand opening of Duck Commander the Musical last night at the Las Vegas Rio Hotel and Casino! You can see Uncle Si and Aunt Christine in the photos above rockin’ the red camo carpet, and here’s another picture:

(Click here and here for more photos of Uncle Si and his wife Christine!)

So what exactly is Duck Commander the Musical? Here’s the description from Caesars.com:

Based on the best-selling book The Duck Commander Family by Willie and Korie Robertson, this stirring new show will make its world premiere at the Crown Theater inside of the Rio All-Suite Las Vegas Hotel and Casino in April 2015.

In December 2013, the folks at The New York Times declared a stage musical about a certain duck-call-making family from Louisiana would be “a no-brainer.” They were speaking hypothetically – but what they didn’t know was one was already in the works, and now it’s here!

Duck Commander Musical transports the Louisiana bayou to the Las Vegas stage in a captivating 90-minute show – seasoned with all the southern spirit and down-to-earth humor you expect from America’s most famous rednecks, the Robertson family. But while the true-to-life, rags-to-riches story behind A&E’s mega hit Duck Dynasty will surely please its most loyal fans, audiences unfamiliar with the Robertsons will also find themselves charmed – and even moved – by this surprising tale of faith, food, and family.

Featuring a contemporary score that blends country, rock, gospel, and pop and a multimedia set delivering backwoods authenticity through cutting-edge technology, Duck Commander Musical will leave audiences humming the tunes, shedding a tear, and laughing at the hijinx of one family in pursuit of the American dream.

So how good is Duck Commander the Musical? So good it had Willie Robertson in tears! “It’s emotional at times,” Willie told Fox411. “I was crying watching it because you just think about if something were to happen differently, then none of this would have happened.”

Here is the behind-the-scenes report from Fox411 with some actual video footage from the stage performance and quotes from the cast of the production:

And here’s a video clip of just the stage footage with the song “Camouflage” playing:

If you’re wanting to hear more song samples, just head over to Caesars.com.

We’ll wrap this up with an AMAZING Robertson family photo (without Christine) from the event – click to enlarge: