This particular musical was done by West Jordan exactly 10 years ago, starring yours truly, as Dolly Tate. It was my first supporting role, and gave me the confidence I needed to be cast in other leading roles.
I knew a couple of people in the cast, but honestly, I only went to compare their show to the one I had been in. I had pretty low expectations going in, because I felt that our show 10 years ago had been excellent. But I was pleasantly surprised.
First off, the microphones kept cutting in and out. Luckily, the actors did a wonderful job projecting, and we were sitting close enough to hear them, but it was REALLY annoying.
A couple of times, the microphones were not muted once the actors had gone off-stage, so you could hear their conversations and laughter overlapping the stage dialogue. I know this sometimes happens, it's happened to me, but it seemed to go on forever. Nobody told the actors backstage that their mikes were on, and nobody in the sound booth realized they should mute their mikes.
The leading characters were very strong. I immediately liked Frank Butler when he came onto the stage. He commanded the stage with charisma and confidence, and had a strong singing voice. The actress playing Annie Oakley was adorable in the role. She was charming and lovable, and had very nice vocal control. And by the way, their kissing scenes were magnetic! They seemed very passionate, and in love, not awkward the way many stage kisses are.
I also really liked Chief Sitting Bull. He had a very strong stage presence. I thought my friend Brett did a fine job as Buffalo Bill. Initially, I couldn't see him in this role, but he really comanded the stage with his voice.
Early on, the character of Charlie Davenport, the Wild West show manager, would come on-stage and yell out to set up the next scene. It happened throughout the play between every scene. I had to ask my friend Mike, if that was something the director added, or if it was actually in the script. Since I learned that this was in the script, I feel confident saying how I felt about this, as it in no way relects upon the actor or the director.
I HATED it. I felt it pulled me out of the moment every time it happened. It was an unwelcome reminder that I wasn't watching someone's life unfold, but sitting in a high school auditorium watching a play. It really did not work for me. Sorry, Charlie.
The gal playing Annie Oakley had an excellent voice, which was really showcased by the song "Moonshine Lullaby".
I also enjoyed "My Defenses are Down" performed by Frank Butler and the men in the cast. It was a fun little number, and was the highlight of the first act.
I enjoyed the contrast in "An Old Fashioned Wedding" between Frank, who wanted a small little wedding, and Annie, who wanted what every girl wants, a grandios, over-the-top wedding. As they sung, Annie's wedding desires manifested onto the stage, which included bridesmaids, flowergirls, the whole ensemble as wedding guests, and at the very back were two stained-glass windows to represent a church. The funniest part was at the end of the song, when Frank told everyone to get out of there, and then added, "You too, windows!"
In the property room scene, Dolly is caught messing with Annie's guns in order to fix the contest between Frank and Annie. Charlie Davenport and Chief Sitting Bull tie her to a chair and threaten to choke her. I don't remember how the scene ended in the one I performed, but in this one, Charlie Davenport realizes how beautiful and vulnerable Dolly is all tied up, and decides he's in love with her. This was a twist in the story I did NOT see coming.
The best song of the show was "Anything You Can Do". I loved the back and forth banter and the one-upmanship. When Frank Butler said he could sing sweeter, his voice sounded a lot like Frank Sinatra. Annie could definately sing higher. She nearly shattered the glass in the room with the crystal clarity of her high notes.
I'm not sure of the character's name, but there was one gal during the ballroom scene who kept laughing this obnoxious laugh. She made me laugh every time she laughed. Her character was very fun.
I was a little underwhelmed by Dolly's costumes, because she's the original showgirl, so she's supposed to be flashy. I remember my costumes being much more elaborate, but I think the theatre was able to borrow some really high end costumes for our production.
I also didn't remember the character of Dolly being so racist, but perhaps I blocked that from my memory. Since it was one of my first supporting roles, and it was 10 years ago, I am unsure how good of an actress I really was, but I seem to remember getting a lot more laughs when I was on-stage, and several people told me afterward that I was the character they loved to hate.
Overall, I enjoyed the show. It was good to relive some memories and to notice the differences. Here are some pictures from my show.
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| Dolly with Mrs. Potter Porter |
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| Pawnee Bill and Dolly |
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