Annie Get Your Gun

Annie Get Your Gun is a big, well-known musical, it needs good music, larger than life characters, big voices, good choreography, set and costumes. Well done LAODS for achieving this in your latest production. It was a pleasure to be invited to see this production with its superbly tuneful score by Irving Berlin. Most composers would count themselves lucky to assemble this many hits over a lifetime, but to put them all in one show is memorable.

The band under the leadership of Henry Jeffrey was very good. The volume was right and the singers were never drowned, and you kept up a great pace with plenty of light and shade depending on the number.

I liked Nicole Weatherstone’s interpretation of the script and her direction of the cast and the use of the space on the stage was impressive. The set was minimalist which helped with the slick scene changes and costumes looked good and everyone appeared comfortable and totally at ease with what they were wearing.

This musical, based on the true story of the life and loves of Annie Oakley and Frank Butler the stars of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show is full of showstopper songs and Leona Mason as Annie was excellent and was the very definition of the phrase “Star of the Show”, changing with ease from the rough diamond wearing buckskin to a more refined glamorously dressed lady – totally believable.

Frank Butler needs to be a strong character, full of arrogance and swagger and Stuart Bruce-Gormley (a newcomer to this company) was admirable in the role. His duets with Annie “The Girl That I Marry" and "Anything You can Do” were first rate.

The secondary love theme between Tommy Keeler (Finlay Eagleson) and Winnie Tate (Georgie Swale) was well cast and they teamed up well giving a spirited performance especially in their duets “I’ll Share It All With You" and "Who Do You Love I Hope”. I particularly liked the knife throwing scene.

Great support came from Billy Young as Col. William F Cody, who narrated the story throughout. Lou Adie was a suitably sharp-tongued and jealous Dolly Tate and Jamie Fletcher was a worthy cynical Show Manager Charlie Davenport. Other supporting cast members Phil Bolt who played Foster Williams and Pawnee Bill and Michael Clarke as Chief Sitting Bull added greatly to the comedy in the piece. I thought the cameo appearance of some of the stalwarts of LAODS in the European montage at the opening of Act 2 was inspired!!

It was nice to see some youngsters in the show (Millie Barker. Evie Philips, Ella Basnett, Abbie Laidlaw, Ramsay Green) playing the parts of Annie’s siblings (Gertie, Jessie, Minnie, Nellie, and Jake) and they pulled all the right strings knowing when to take centre stage but more importantly, when to step back when attention isn’t on them.

Short of mentioning all the minor parts by name, all I can say is that everyone put every effort into their individual parts. Last and by no means least praise must be showered on the chorus who performed magnificently. The chorus sang and moved well in the company numbers and the choreography was well presented and well within the capabilities of the cast.

A thoroughly enjoyable evenings entertainment. Thank you Langholm and I look forward to coming along soon to a future production.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.