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Annie Get Your Gun
takes a fun-loving look at the spectacular career of
sharpshooter
Annie Oakley and her
legendary romance with Frank Butler, the gun-toting
star of
Buffalo Bill's famous
Wild West Show.
When they first meet, Frank finds his position as champion
threatened by this backwards young woman with incredible
shooting prowess. In a publicity stunt shoot-out, Annie
turns the tables on the Wild West star: she wins the contest,
but at the same time, falls head-over-heels in love with him.
To be near him, she is offered and accepts a small part in the
show.
There is escalating competition between Buffalo Bill and his
rival showman, Pawnee Bill. Charlie Davenport, Buffalo
Bill's manager, convinces Annie to do a sensational solo act,
which makes Frank furious; he leaves and joins the competing
Pawnee Bill show. A European tour follows with the
backing of the droll and witty Chief Sitting Bull, who also
adopts Annie as his daughter.
But there is a happy ending, a wagon-load of fun along the
way, a true love story behind all the shenanigans along with
the incomparable music of Irving Berlin.
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The YCT Players |
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Analynn
Riley
as
Annie Oakley |
David
Warford
as
Frank Butler |
Douglas Virgil
Riley
as
Buffalo Bill Cody |
Mark Claxton
as
Charlie Davenport |
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Tamara Hall
as
Dolly Tate |
Ray Stokes
as
Foster Wilson |
Kenton Lysak
as
Tommy Wheeler |
Sayward
Krofchek
as
Winnie Tate |
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... and a
large supporting cast of
singers and dancers. |
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ANNIE ON
BROADWAY
Annie Get Your Gun opened at the Imperial Theatre on May
16, 1946. It had been written specifically for Ethel Merman.
Playwright Dorothy Fields had felt that casting Merman as
Annie Oakley would guarantee a surefire hit.
The New York production of Annie Get Your Gun ran for 1,147
performances and was the third longest running musical of the
1940s. It was the biggest Broadway hit of Merman's career. In
1966, she returned to the role for a revival at Lincoln
Center. The 1950 screen adaptation starred Betty Hutton and
Howard Keel.
The 1999 Broadway revival showcased Bernadette Peters. While
she lacks Merman's brass and crassness, Peters stands as the
prettiest and sexiest Annie to date, not to mention probably
the greatest singer of the bunch. The show was somewhat
updated for modern times. Not only did Peter Stone make
revisions to Herbert and Dorothy Fields' original book (the
story is now a show within a show, namely Buffalo Bill's Wild
West Show), but there have been revisions to Berlin's original
score as well. |
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Webguy's
note: Although I do not doubt the veracity of the
author of the above piece, nor Ms. Peters' attributes
and voice, they obviously did not have the opportunity
to view our Annie's performance. ;-)
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