By Mark Nelson
Though Annie Get Your Gun has been performed many times, in Utah and all over the country, this is the first time High Valley Arts of Midway brought this fun show to their community. Annie Get Your Gun is the story of Annie Oakley, who catapulted to stardom with an amazing talent for sharpshooting and became the first American female international star in the early 1900s. Annie Get Your Gun is the musical story of Annie and Frank Butler, her manager, competitor, partner, and husband. The music for this Western-themed musical was written by the great Irving Berlin, and Dorothy and Herbert Fields wrote the book for the 1946 show. It was rewritten in 1999 by Peter Stone.
What a treat to be in Midway. The High Valley Arts outdoor theater is located in downtown Midway, with a spectacular view of the backside (aka the cool side) of 12,100 foot Mt. Timpanogos. The outdoor theater is in a bit of a temporary space, in a field behind the excellent Tarahumara Mexican Restaurant. The stage and back drops are simple but adequate, and seating is BYOC (bring your own lawn chair, or rent one for $2 from them.) Seats are arranged on a gentle grassy slope in front of the stage. A full house is about 300. The start time is 8:15 PM and includes a pre-show. Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic dinner and arrive early to enjoy the pre-show entertainment or just the cool air and spectacular awesomeness of Midway. Parking is free in a field just behind the seating area. There are portable toilet facilities on site. High Valley Arts also offers refreshments during their 15 minute intermission. It gets cool when the sun goes down in, so bring a jacket and/or blanket. The whole atmosphere for this wonderful community theater is informal and casual, but the setting and feel is pure Midway fun.
Lisa Blaser is Annie Oakley. She moves well and her petite frame is a perfect fit for Annie. Hers in the strongest voice in the cast, and she hits the notes with energy and looks like she is having fun and glad to be there. Her transformation from backwoods to star of the show is smooth and enjoyable. Frank Butler is played by Jake Jones. Jones has a great voice, but is sometimes overpowered by Annie in their songs together. He does a fine job as Frank Butler, with enough sweetness and rough and tumble to endear him to the audience. Gary Harter is a High Valley Arts veteran community theater performer and does a credible job as Buffalo Bill. His timing and expressiveness is top notch. Connor McMaster (Tommy Keeler) and Summer Luster (Winnie Tate) are teens whose youthful enthusiasm, smiles, and dancing are delightful. They almost steal the show. Both have good voices and chemistry on stage.
Director Sue Waldrip produces and directs the play, assisted by Kristen Hughes. These two women have taken this rather well-known play and brought fun, verve, and downhome appeal to Annie Get Your Gun. The overall performance is enjoyable and very good considering this is community theater. (For those of you who don’t know, that means the performers don’t get paid.) All of High Valley Arts’ productions include a range of age groups, from small children, to teens, young adults, and those more mature. They had their lines down, and the performance was smooth. They do have some slight sound problems, and occasionally miss a cue by just a bit – all to be expected in community theater. But overall the audience loved the performance. Some of the other actors: Pat Sweeney was great as the mature Hester Wilson, who discovers Annie Oakley. The Teen Ensemble, as they usually are with High Valley Arts productions, are happy and energetic and sing beautifully. A shout out to Hannah Lee, Gracie Neal, Kaylee Smith, Marianne Barrus, Audrey Burton, and Hanna Berrett. Brittney Reid as Dolly Tate and Daniel Clegg as Charlie Davenport carry off their often annoying characters well. Randy Birch as Chief Sitting Bull has perhaps the most difficult acting task – to be funny while sometimes walking near the line of our nation’s history dealing with Native Americans during this time period.
With minimal sets (Sue Waldrip) and props, the pressure is on the actors to deliver – and they almost always do. The costumes are great -especially Annie’s. High Valley Arts uses a real projection system to change back drops and once the sun goes down it really adds to the vibrancy of the scenes. Costume Designer Wendy Bolick and Costume Director Janene Zimmerman do a good job with a limited budget in making the costumes shine. Choreography is one of the areas where High Valley Arts shines. This production also adds the Wasatch Dancers, four teens from the Wasatch Dance Center in Heber City. With obvious ballet and classical dance training, Cassandra Boas, Ellie Russell, Lily Stone, and Maddelena Willlis ladies raise the level of professionalism, quality, and energy. They rock it. Music Director Lorraine Branham keeps her singers on pitch and sounding lovely. Overall, the spacing and singing are very good. Overall, the sound (Marvin Rust) was good, but as mentioned earlier, there were a few minor cue problems where music was cut off just a bit too early, or a mic turned on just a bit too late. The lighting (Kay Rust) is great for an outdoor theater. The show starts in the full evening light and ends in the full darkness, although the night I attended (July 5th), there was an almost full moon and a clear night.
Tickets are $14 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under. The front two rows are $17 for adults and $13 for kids. Tickets can be purchased online at highvalleyarts.org, or at the door (or in this case the table, because there is no door in the outdoor theater.) It’s bring your own chair, or rent one of their comfortable plastic ones for $2.
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High Valley Arts was formed 10 years ago and is a 501(c)3 volunteer organization with a goal of enriching lives through excellence in the arts. They perform each summer at their outdoor theater, and in the winter at the historic Midway Town Hall. I live in Midway and my wife, daughter, and I attended. We usually don’t miss High Valley Arts presentations. They are always entertaining and present a high level of talent and choreography and show. It’s a great reason to drive up to Midway on a warm summer evening and be entertained. You’ll be singing the songs and talking about your favorite scenes, and if you’re like us, watching some video of the original Broadway shows. Our playlists include songs from almost all of High Valley Arts recent performances.
We highly recommend this show for all members of your family. Grab your kids, your grandkids, your neighbors and friends and enjoy this wonderful production.
High Valley Arts presents Annie Get Your Gun. Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin. Original book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields, as revised by Peter Stone.
High Valley Arts Outdoor Theater, 400 East 250 South, Midway, Utah (turn South on 400 East Main Street, Midway, Utah (behind Tarahumara Mexican Restaurant),
Contact: 435-657-5007
Performances (remaining) on July 8, 10, 12-15, 8:15 PM
Tickets: $14 for adults, $10 for kids 12 and under. The front two rows are $17 for adults and $13 for kids. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. It’s bring your own chair, or rent one of their comfortable plastic ones for $2.
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Click HERE to see a clip from the show!
Brittany Reid and Daniel Clegg were accidentally combined under one tag in this review. Any chance someone could fix that?
Fixed it! 🙂