Annie Get Your Gun at the Empress Theatre

Last weekend, my friends Larissa, Megan, and Kristen invited me to see Annie Get Your Gun at the Empress Theatre. I know, I know, I just saw this play last year done by West Jordan Arts. It's not like it's my favorite show or anything, but it's a family friendly show, and I had several friends in it.

Kristen, Megan, Larissa, and I

I decided to invite Spitfire, and my sisters Skinny and Dreamer. Skinny brought along my nephew Chief.

 

Me, Skinny, Chief, and Spitfire
(I hate how fat my face looks in these pictures)

Right off the bat, I was impressed with this cast. I was immediately drawn in to the story of the play. The opening number was fun and engaging. I noticed that the ensemble were all smiling, present in the moment, and invested in the scene.

Immediately after the opening number is when the Charlie Davenport character announces the set up of scene one. In the production I saw last year, I had HATED this aspect of the play. It pulled me completely out of the scene, and was a blatant reminder that I was watching a play.

However, in this production, I found that it worked. This was in part due to the intimacy of the Empress' 3/4 thrust stage. I also believe it was because of the excellent direction of Nancy Jensen. The actors (who doubled as the stage crew) immediately flew into action setting up the scene, even before Charlie had finished his call to action. It made the awkward transition seem smooth and flawless.

In fact, all of the scene changes were executed very quickly and efficiently, utilizing the characters to carry out the transition into the next scene. This Charlie Davenport, (played by Perry Whitehair, Sr.), spoke confidently, and with authority. making it easy to see he was the "Stage Manager". 

I was particularly impressed with the children who played Annie Oakley's siblings. They spoke their lines with clarity, and you could hear them, despite not wearing microphones. They were in the right places at the right times. Very good casting choices.

I enjoyed all of the leads. Frank Butler, played by Eric Barney had a rich, wonderful voice. He didn't seem to be the sort of "Man's Man" physically that I picture Frank Butler being, but he won me over with his confident portrayal of Frank.  April Henderson, who played Annie Oakley, had a strong, impressive belt. There were a couple of times her pitch was off, but it happens to the best of us. She was likable as Annie, warm and funny. 

I enjoyed Erica Jones as Winnie Tate. She lit up the stage with her smile and personality. Skyler Bluemel was an energetic Tommy Keeler. Both made the silliness of young love fun, without being cartoonish. The musical number "I'll Share It All With You" was very entertaining, although pitch seemed to be an issue on the harmonies for Skyler.

Tim Frost did well as Buffalo Bill, though I wish his wig would have been fuller and longer below his cowboy hat! I enjoyed Thomas Gasu as Chief Sitting Bull. His headdress was awesome and in the front, it looked like he had long braids. However, when he turned around you could see his short, square haircut on his neck. It was distracting to me. John Lettelleir did a fine job as Pawnee Bill. Again, all of the lead characters were very strongly cast.

I saved my review of Dolly Tate for last. You may remember from my previous review of AGYG that I have played the part of Dolly before, 11 years ago. I had been very underwhelmed by the Dolly I saw in the production last year. In this production, the part of Dolly was played by Jamie Victor. She was fan-freakin-tas-tic! I found myself laughing out loud several times at her antics. I loved the villain in her. She brought a wonderful dramatic flair to the role that fit perfectly. She was mean, without being nasty. She completely lived up to my expectations. Well done!

The ensemble wasn't chopped liver either! Every member of the ensemble was energetic, had their own character. My friend Justina was a cute cowgirl and was beaming from ear to ear! I laughed when I saw her doing a head-stand during one scene, and wearing a french cabaret dress, doing the can-can in another.  17-year-old Perry Whitehair, Jr. got to kiss the leading lady (she mistakes him for Frank Butler) which tickled me immensely. Sasha Nutger looked gorgeous in her ballgown. I did not see ONE single member of the ensemble who looked bored. Every one was interesting to watch. SUCH a great ensemble.

Perry Jr., Perry Sr., me, and Justina

I was really impressed by the use of live instruments onstage. There was a member of the ensemble who played the guitar during "Moonshine Lullaby", which was very charming. She also played during "They Say It's Wonderful" along with a fiddle/violin player, which really brought a sweetness to the song.

The sound was done by Curtis Bailey, who made sure the actor's microphones were off when they needed to be, and most of the sound cues were perfectly timed. There was one little mishap during the sound cue for "Anything You Can Do", when the song failed to start. This is an actor's worst nightmare. I could tell the actors were a bit flustered at not having the song play when it should, but they all stayed in character, and covered it well by staring each other down, pacing, staying in the moment, and ad-libbing.

I was so impressed with the quality of this production in every aspect, from directing, to acting, singing, scene changes, ensemble, child actors, and sound cues. The Empress puts on a caliber show, and you do not want to miss this one!

Annie Get Your Gun plays Monday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. until April 7th. Tickets are $12.00 for adults, and $10.00 for children and seniors. Don't miss this very well done gem of a show!

After the show, my family went to Arctic Circle for shakes. Mmmm!