By Richelle Sutton
The Old Barn Community Theatre hits it home with the great American classic Annie Get Your Gun showing this October in The Old Barn Community Theatre in Fielding, Utah. If you haven’t heard of Annie Oakley yet, here’s your chance to learn more about one of the greatest woman sharpshooters in the U.S.A. Annie Get Your Gun was originally written by Dorothy Fields and her brother Herbert Fields, with music and lyrics written by Irving Berlin. It premiered on Broadway in 1946 and ran for 1,147 shows. From there, like Annie herself, the musical travelled around the world and since its premiere has had many awards and revivals.
The musical features Annie Oakley (Angeline Winward) , a country bumpkin who happens to hear about a shooting contest against the best sharp shooter in the world – who also is handsome to boot. After winning the contest, she decides to follow her new love to Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. It doesn’t take long for this gun-toting female to outshine her male counterpart and he’s not happy about it. Can Annie win over her true love, or will she have to give up her knack for sharpshooting?
As I walked into the theatre I thought it seemed fitting to have an old American musical about the west in the Old Barn Community Theatre. The aesthetic of that excited me for the show. Right from the opening number, with Micah Coombs (playing Frank Butler) singing “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” I could tell that this show has amazing singers in the cast. Winward plays a wonderfully charming Annie Oakley and she shines in her character expressions with the song “Can’t Get a Man with a Gun”. I also fell in love with the characters of Winnie Tate and Tommy Keeler (played by Jayden Coombs and Jared Lewis) as they danced together in the song “Who Do You Love.”
Sometimes it’s hard to design in a small theatre-in-the-round space like the Old Barn Community Theatre boasts, but this production team is clever and efficient in their execution. I was impressed with the use of key set pieces to help portray each scene and how easily they are taken on and off stage, creating smoother scene transitions. I especially loved the light design (by Morgan Hawkes and Byron Okada) in the shooting contest scene where they actually represented the clay pigeons with colored lights. It was easy to see just when Frank Butler messes up.
Above all, the thing that impressed me the most about Annie Get Your Gun by the Old Barn Community Theatre staff and cast was the feeling of a tight community working and having fun together to create this lively piece. From the beginning number clear to the final song, each and every cast member is giving so much energy and joy into their part of the production. It creates such a feeling of familiarity and closeness to these people that I have never met before. To me, that’s the true magic of this show. I would recommend this production at the Old Barn Community Theatre in Fielding, Utah to any family that would like a feel-good musical and a chance to get closer to a friendly community of people here in Northern Utah.
The Old Barn Community Theatre presents Annie Get Your Gun, Book by Dorothy Fields and Herbert Fields, Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin.
Old Barn Community Theatre, 3605 Bigler Rd, Fielding, UT 8431
October 4-26 2019, 7:30 PM
Tickets: Adult: $9.00, Child (12 and under): $8.00, Family (up to 6 people): $35.00, Senior (65+)/Military: $8.00
Old Barn Community Theatre Webpage
Old Barn Community Theatre Facebook Page
Annie Get Your Gun Facebook Event
0 Comments