Reviewed
by Claudia Perry
Prince
Music Theater
has chosen to resurrect the old warhorse, Annie Get Your Gun starring Andrea McArdle and one must give director, Richard
M. Parison
credit for breathing life once again into this vehicle originally written to
show off the voice of Ethel Merman. For this show which opened in 1946 is
nothing more if not a string of numbers sung by the leading lady linked
together by a sweet, funny, dated love story. Ah, but the music and lyrics by
the inimitable Irving Berlin that links it together is another story, or rather it is the story. For every song is a
great song There's No Business Like Show Business, You Can't Get a Man With
a Gun, They Say It's Wonderful, I Got Lost in His Arms, I Got the Sun in the
Morning, Moonshine Lullaby, The Girl That I Marry, My Defenses are Down,
Anything You Can Do
and Old Fashioned Wedding which was added for the 1966 revival on Broadway with La
Merman revisiting the role she made famous.
Buffalo
Bill's Wild West Show has just come to town and in order to drum up business
they challenge a local marksman to a shooting match with their famous
sharpshooter, Frank Butler. Annie Oakley has also come to town to sell her
freshly shot game to the local hotel. After the hotel owner witnesses her
shooting expertise, he puts her up against Mr. Butler. Annie wins the match and
Buffalo Bill offers her a job with his road show. Already smitten by Frank,
Annie readily accepts a job to work as Frank's assistant and soon she is doing
her own small shooting tricks. On the road together, Annie and Frank fall in
love. But when Annie does a star turn and out shoots Frank in the show - his
ego is crushed. He leaves the show and joins up with the competition, Pawnee
Bill. Annie is devastated, but the Wild West Show travels overseas and Annie
gets to perform for the crowned heads of Europe. But on her return to the
states it's all show and no dough - as Annie comes back with a chest full of
medals but no bankroll. So Buffalo Bill decides to try and pull off a merger
with Pawnee Bill. This brings Annie and Frank back together again. But their
old rivalry comes between them once again and they have one more shooting match
to determine who is the champion shot of the world. This time (with the help of
Sitting Bull and Charlie) Annie is convinced to lose the match and win the man.
Most
praiseworthy is Musical Director Eric Barnes who has done a terrific job in
getting the ensemble to sing together in perfectly blended harmonies. For the
first time in a long time I could actually hear all the individual parts as
they were probably meant to be heard. Perhaps this is due in part to the Sound
Design by Otto Munderloh which was a revelation -- picking up every nuance and whisper. (Mr.
Munderloh they need you over at the Merriam - where sound is perpetually a
problem.) Vocally it's a great show. Jeff Coon sings the role of Frank Butler
as it was meant to be sung and seems to have a great time doing so. His big,
clear baritone fills up the stage and he is perfectly cast as the macho
showboat who is out shot by "Little Sure Shot". Balancing his braggadocio
with a twinkle in his eye, he is an eminently likable Frank, as he should be.
As Annie Oakley, Andrea McArdle has a fine, pure voice and sings with exceptional skill
and clarity. Having seen her many years ago in "State Fair", her
acting skills have come a long way. She comes off as sweet and love struck with
Frank and she and Mr. Coon have an easy rapport on stage. She is an Annie of
the Bernadette Peters variety - demure and feminine. I do believe that a more
tomboyish, backwoods performance could have been coaxed out of her if the
director had had the time to do so. If her character had started out this way,
we would have gotten to see the transformation from hillbilly to show biz
butterfly which the role demands. And perhaps if her character had been more
developed a lot more of the jokes that are inherently written into Annie's
songs would have landed better. Mary Martello not missing a beat, stands out
as the nefarious Dolly Tate, the only real villain in the play. Christopher
Coucil who also
played Buffalo Bill in the recent Broadway revival is wonderful. John Sherer is delightfully magnetic as
Charlie Davenport -- reminding one of a young Fred Willard and Arthur Ryan is amusingly stoic as Chief
Sitting Bull - the deadpan chief with all the best one-liners.
Though
there is not a lot of dancing in this show, it was evident that the chorus was
picked for its vocal ability and not it's dancing skills. This being the case
it would have behooved everybody to cut the endless Native American adoption
ceremony that precedes I'm An Indian Too. Thankfully, the director chose to keep this song
in the show as opposed to the recent revival which cut it deeming it
politically incorrect.
The
set by Todd Edward Ivins is simple and very effective and the lighting by Shelley Hicklin shows it off to great advantage
with it's orange and pink western skies. The costumes by Maggie Aker-Atkins are incredibly spotty. The men
seemed to have great fringed jackets and Dolly was outfitted in big elaborately
crafted dresses in hot colors. I later learned that Dolly's costumes were
rented. On the other hand, Ms. McArdle's costumes were designed specifically
for her and they were dreadful. Give the star of the show something decent to
wear please! If you're going to design costumes for the leading lady they had
better be better than the old ones you rent. Where's the suede, leather and
buckskin? Where's the cowgirl skirt with petticoats and fancy boots? Where's an
Indian costume with beads and feathers, hello? Ms. McArdle has a lovely figure
which was never shown off to advantage and if I saw her in one more pair of
dreary culottes I was gonna spit! Okay, I'm done. I've vented.
All
and all with these minor flaws, the show with its great music and strong leads
is still a highly worthy production.