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Review: Annie Get Your GunA show hitting the bullseye
Annie Get Your Gun
Malvern Theatres
***** By Tim Crowe
She joined the travelling show, Buffalo Bill’s
Wild West Show, became a celebrity and eventually married Frank. Her
story is joyfully portrayed in ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ with humour, vigour
and brilliant songs by Irving Berlin. Because her life became wrapped up in the
performance world, the theme song of the musical and the design theme
for this production focuses on the world of show business. ‘There is no
business like show business!’ Consequently the band was placed upstage in full
view of the audience and the show opened with an explosion of
follow-spots across the stage and the front of the auditorium, and the
‘Show Business’ song began and closed the show. The American theme was strongly presented: the
Stars and Stripes was reflected in the backdrop of the set, the red and
white-striped drapes in front of which the lights played in a blue
starry pattern from time to time; the accents were well sustained and
the atmosphere of the Wild West was comically but convincingly
presented. The song and dance routines were brilliant and
varied. Lizzi Gee’s choreography for the show was wonderful, the
execution of the dances slick and eye-catching; the dances were
underpinned by the excellent, swinging music.
Jason Donovan leads the male cast as Frank Butler
for the early performances on tour and he performed with great panache.
But the performance of Emma Williams as Annie stole the show. Her voice
was tremendous, the moment when she sustained a strong note for the best
part of a minute, to outlast Frank, drew spontaneous applause from the
audience twice. She acted, sang and danced brilliantly. The lead performers were very well supported by
the rest of the cast and the subplot, provided by Dolly Tate’s younger
sister’s romance, added spice, colour and humour. Tate, played by Kara Lane, was Frank’s partner
who wants him for herself, bansher younger sister, Winnie (Lorna Want)
from marrying the love of her life, the show’s knifethrower Tommy (Yiftach
Mizrahi) who is half Indian. The costumes were very well designed by Karen
Large and Charlotte Simpson and added greatly to the atmosphere. Annie’s
development was well portrayed through the evolution of her costumes
from the rustic character she was at the outset to the more
sophisticated public performer of the later scenes. One of the themes that the play lightly and
entertainingly explores is the gender question of roles and
relationships. It is difficult for Frank to accept defeat at the hands
of a girl/woman, the kind of wife he looked for was a more traditional
and genteel type, but Annie challenges those stereotypes in every way.
She laments the fact that ‘it is difficult to get a man with a gun’. In
the end their relationship is secured on the basis of a balance more
acceptable in modern society. This is great family entertainment; it gets
stronger as it progresses through the evening. The lively music and
dance captivates and humours the audience, many of whom stood to applaud
and express their enthusiasm for a great evening’s entertainment. To
02-08-14. 30-07-14
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