Reviewed
by Judy Richter
Thanks to memorable songs by Irving Berlin (both music and lyrics), "Annie Get Your Gun" retains much of its original luster. However, the book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields is becoming dated, even in Peter Stone's 1999 revision, the one being used by Foothill Music Theatre. In notes to the press, director Jay Manley says the original 1946 book had become too offensive in its depiction of Native Americans. Stone's revision solves that political correctness problem, but the book still comes across as a bit corny.
Based
on a true story and set in the late 1880s, "Annie Get Your Gun"
depicts the rocky romance between Annie Oakley (Jessica Raaum), an uneducated but
sharpshooting young backwoods woman, and Frank Butler (Byron Westlund), world champion sharpshooter
and star of Buffalo Bill Cody's (John Musgrave) Wild West Show. She immediately
falls in love with him, but he's threatened by her shooting ability and
initially put off by her lack of refinement. He describes his preferences in
"The Girl That I Marry." Of course there's a happy ending after several
trials and tribulations.
Although
Foothill Music Theatre uses college and community performers, Manley directs
them so skillfully that even the most minor characters are actively involved.
Many of them also are terrific dancers who display their skills in Tyler
Risk's
choreography. The standout among them is the athletic Ted Zervoulakos as Tommy Keeler, the half-Indian,
half-Irish knife thrower in Buffalo Bill's show. And as overseen by musical
director Catherine Snider, most of the singing is good, but none of it is
outstanding.
lighting
by Kurt Landisman
and costumes by Janis Bergmann. However, sound designers Scott Murray and Liz Delong overmike some of the singers, a
problem that works against the perky Raaum, who otherwise does well with the
songs made famous by Ethel Merman without trying to imitate her. Such songs, sung alone or
with others, include "There's No Business Like Show Business," "You Can't Get a
Man With a Gun,"
"They Say It's Wonderful," "I Got the Sun in the Morning" and "Anything You
Can Do."
The
ensemble as a whole doesn't have the acting skills to overcome flaws in the
book or to maintain a snappy pace in some of the talkier scenes. The actors are
earnest, but some overact, and the accents seem forced. Nevertheless, it's a
creditable effort that makes for a generally enjoyable evening of musical
theater.
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