Annie Get Your Gun
The Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) season
at Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park is in full swing. This year TUTS presents Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar
and Irving
Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun (reviewed below).
Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun is Theatre Under
The Stars second show in its 62nd season, playing opposite nights to
TUTS other production Jesus Christ Superstar,
and thanks to its two stars, Meghan Anderssen as Annie Oakley and Warren Kimmel
as Frank Butler, this show definitely hits its mark.
The cast of Theatre Under the Stars
production of Annie Get Your Gun.
Photo: Tim Matheson
Written in 1946, there is no doubt that
Annie Get Your Gun is from a different era, and although the book has been
updated to remove and tone down some of the more culturally sensitive scenes
with Native Americans, it is still not without its questionable moments. There
still remains the issue of the relationship between men and women but
fortunately, these uncomfortable moments are fleeting and the audience can get
on with enjoying a show that, although dated, is fun and full of great
performances.
Set in Buffalo Bill Cody’s traveling show we
cross the American continent, to Europe and back again as love builds between
Annie and Frank despite the very different worlds they originally came from –
Frank from his position of power as “the world’s best sharpshooter” and Annie as
the backwoods hick who challenges that power. At one point the couple part
ways only to be reunited in the evening’s best number: Anything You Can Do I
Can Do Better. And no one can do it better than Anderssen and Kimmel here.
As
Annie Oakley, Meghan Anderssen is the definite highlight of the night. This
woman can sing and brings both a strength and sweetness to her characterization
of Annie Oakley. It can’t be easy playing a role that its very heart puts down
a women’s ability to participate in a man’s world (at least in 1946) but
Anderssen manages this with great ease. Kimmel as Frank Butler matches
Anderssen beautifully and indeed it is when the two of them are on stage
together that the show really shines.
Stephen Aberle serves us up a wonderful
Buffalo Bill and Doug Pinkerton as Chief Sitting Bull brings what could easily
have been a caricature to life with wit and an understated performance. I did
find (as did my seat mates) Kimberly Page’s Dolly to be a bit shrill and would
have much preferred her to be more conniving than hysterical. And of course who
can’t help but be enchanted with Annie’s three little sisters played by Sophie
Leroux, Natalia McLaughlin and Roan Shankaruk.
But in addition to the great performances by
the two leads, this is also a show about the ensemble cast. We are treated to
some great production numbers here and Director Shel Piercy and Choreographer
Shelley Stewart Hunt get the most of the larger cast. Plus Musical Director,
Wendy Bross Stuart, has obviously done a great job with the singers. Cast
members on a unicycle, barrel rolling and acrobatics are all part
of the “big top” experience created here to the delight of the audience. Kudos
to this great ensemble!
Set Designer Robert Gardiner does a great
job of transporting us from location to location across this sprawling landscape
whether it is under the big top or traveling across the country on a train
although I was a bit disappointed that the big top was not more colourful
although the costumes made up for that for the most part.
Sound problems still seem to persist as they
did with Jesus Christ Superstar a few nights prior and this is a real shame.
The loud and brassy There’s No Business Like Show Business which opens
the show was overpowered by the orchestra and Kimmel’s voice was simply lost.
After the disappointing
Jesus Christ Superstar it is great to see
TUTS’ second show of the season is big, bold and a great deal of fun.
Annie Get Your Gun
plays in repertoire with Jesus Christ Superstar through August 16th.
Visit
http://www.tuts.ca for tickets and information.
