The Show:  

There’s No Business Like Show Business, and Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun is one of the classic shows in show business – a fun, lively, and romantic musical comedy about phenomenal sharpshooter Annie Oakley’s rise to fame, beginning when Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show rides through Cincinnati and Frank Butler (Buffalo Bill’s biggest star) gets outgunned by a young, unknown country gal by the name of Annie Oakley (1860 - 1926) who has been keeping herself and her little siblings fed through her pinpoint hunting. Frank and Buffalo Bill offer her a chance to join their tour and see the world, but she'll have to leave Ohio to do it.  

Completely smitten with Frank, Annie packs up her family and leaves Ohio in the dust. The rest of the tale follows their on-and-off-and-on-again romance amidst shootin’ duels and ego wars. In addition to its incomparable opening and closing number There's No Business Like Show Business, this musical features such hit songs as Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better), They Say It's Wonderful, Doin' What Comes Natur'lly, I’ve Got the Sun in the Morning, and You Can't Get a Man With a Gun.  

The Production:  

Director Diane Feldman leads her group at Children’s Civic Light Opera in Los Angeles in a big and vibrant production of the show. A couple of the roles were double-cast, with Benina Stern and Oliver Berliner playing Annie and Frank in this showing. Benina is an incoming high school senior with great vocals for the role and an easy, charming demeanor. Oliver is an up-and-coming twelve-year-old actor who sings well and has a good, natural understated humor about him.  

Young lovers Tommy Keeler (Sasha Markgraf) and Winnie Tate (Carly Besterman) infuse their lighthearted number with charm, heart, and hope. Winnie’s elder sister Dolly is played with great attitude and humor by Sarah Toutounchian. Arielle Singer kicks things off nicely as a good-natured Arta “Buffalo Billie” Cody, the owner of the Wild West Show. Other good performances include natural comedian Benny Pitt as Buffalo Billie’s right-hand man Charlie Davenport, Geoffrey Burton as the wise Sitting Bull, and a terrific little quartet of Oakley siblings (Isa Berliner, Alekos Tetradis, Zoe Wernik, and Caitlyn Turen) are a hoot Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly and in an amusing reprise of You Can’t Get a Man With a Gun.  

Elsewhere, the entire cast shines in the big opening of There’s No Business Like Show Business and the closing reprise of They Say It’s Wonderful with good charisma and choral work. And they look good doing it with an assist from Costume Designer Nicholas Hirata. While Scenic Designers John Ong, John Paul Luckenbach, and Miriam Dafford set the stage with a truly impressive set including a beautiful and posh train interior (for when show business was goin’ gangbusters) and a rusting cattle boat (for when show business ain’t so good). 

Performed August 6 - 7, 2011

Rob Hopper
rob@nationalyouththeatre.com
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~ Cast ~