{"id":10299,"date":"2014-02-16T17:08:21","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T01:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=10299"},"modified":"2014-02-16T17:12:46","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T01:12:46","slug":"annie-get-your-gun-by-irving-berlin-spreckels-performing-arts-center-rohnert-park-ca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/annie-get-your-gun-by-irving-berlin-spreckels-performing-arts-center-rohnert-park-ca\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAnnie Get Your Gun\u201d by Irving Berlin, Spreckels Performing Arts Center, Rohnert Park CA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

R<\/strong>eviewed by Suzanne and Greg Angeo<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Members, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Photos by Eric Chazankin<\/em><\/p>\n

Annie Got Her Guy<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Considered by many to be one of the best musicals of all time, Annie Get Your Gun<\/em> premiered on Broadway in 1946 to rave reviews, starring Ethel Merman<\/strong> as the brassy backwoods \u201clittle sure-shot\u201d Annie Oakley<\/strong>. \u00a0One reviewer of the time said, \u201cNo use trying to pick a hit tune\u2026all the tunes are hits.\u201d It was produced by the legendary team of Rogers and Hammerstein<\/strong> with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin<\/strong>, arguably the greatest and most prolific of American composers. The show being presented at Spreckels is based on the successful 1999 revival starring Bernadette Peters, <\/strong>which netted Tony Awards for best lead actress (musical) and best revival. A notable difference between the 1946 and 1999 shows is the removal of three \u00a0songs: \u201cColonel Buffalo Bill\u201d, \u201cI\u2019m a Bad, Bad Man\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m an Indian Too\u201d.\u00a0 By 1999, it was felt that the songs were insensitive to Native Americans and women; times had changed.<\/p>\n

Besides packing fewer tunes, the Annie<\/em> revival was rewritten into a \u201cshow within a show\u201d concept, with the story more firmly centered on the romance between the real-life Annie <\/strong>and her husband Frank Butler<\/strong>. The wider context is the famed Buffalo Bill\u2019s Wild West spectacles of the 1880s. These traveling circus extravaganzas dazzled audiences with their re-enactments of cavalry charges, Indian raids on wagon trains and cowboys out on the range. They featured hundreds of performers on horseback along with stampeding herds of cattle and buffalo. Performed nationwide and before the crowned heads of Europe for decades, Buffalo Bill and his Wild West shows helped shape the nation\u2019s idea of life in the West for generations to come. Sharpshooting daredevils Annie and Frank were two of Buffalo Bill\u2019s best-known and most beloved performers.<\/p>\n

In Annie Get Your Gun<\/em> at Spreckels, Buffalo Bill (the always-wonderful Dwayne Stincelli<\/strong>) has left his buffalos at home. Also missing are the sights and sounds of galloping horses and whooping cowboys, and much of the excitement. The scaled down, intimate feel seems at odds with the Big-Top scope of a show like this. While it\u2019s true the intent is to focus on the love story between Annie (Denise Elia-Yen<\/strong>) \u00a0and Frank (Zachary Hasbany<\/strong>), what makes them \u00a0so special \u2013 the Wild West show \u2013 lurks mostly on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Dwayne Stincelli as Buffalo Bill<\/p><\/div>\n

Elia-Yen shines like the blazing sun as the rough-and-tumble but tenderhearted Annie, with a truly unique and thrilling vocal quality. She is radiant in a part that calls for her to be crude and funny, mellow and sensitive, and everything in between. \u00a0Of all the wonderful songs in the show, there is one number in particular where star, cast, crew, director and orchestra all combine in sheer perfection: \u201cMoonshine Lullaby\u201d with the Cowboy Trio. This number could be bottled and sold as an elixir, it\u2019s that good. Other standout performances are the iconic \u201cNo Business Like Show Business\u201d and the happy-go-lucky \u201dI Got the Sun in the Morning\u201d. Hasbany is a towering presence onstage, and not just because of his impressive height. He is magnetic in the role of Butler with a warm, mellow baritone and just the right amount of swagger to sweep Annie off her feet. (Makeup suggestion: A mustache would lend maturity to his very young face.) Hasbany skillfully shows how love transforms Butler\u2019s life. He opens the show with a slow but soaring a cappella version of \u201cThere\u2019s No Business Like Show Business\u201d and his sweet dueling duet with Elia-Yen, \u201dAnything You Can Do\u201d, is a sheer delight.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the requisite secondary romance, a standard in classic musicals, between bright-eyed youngsters Winnie (Brittany Law<\/strong>) and Tommy (Anthony Guzman<\/strong>). Winnie\u2019s vindictive and scheming sister Dolly is played by that powerhouse of versatility, Liz Jahren<\/strong>. Solid performances by Dan Monez<\/strong> as Chief Sitting Bull and Tim Setzer<\/strong> as Charlie Davenport round out the cast.<\/p>\n

Choreographer and performer Michella Snyder<\/strong> has staged some very good dance numbers, but at times they lack a certain energy and bounce, and also seem too formal in a few places. A free-wheeling style may be more in keeping with the setting. An inspired burst of tap-dancing, done really well, was a treat to see and drew appreciative applause. Perfect period costumes, especially the ball gowns, were beautifully done by Pamela Enz<\/strong>. Musical Director Janis Wilson<\/strong> did a solid job conducting, and the 17-piece orchestra was in excellent form with a lushly jaunty sound.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Zachary Hasbany, Liz Jahren<\/p><\/div>\n

Staging and direction is by Sheri Lee Miller<\/strong> in her Spreckels debut. Best known to North Bay audiences for her brilliant, sensitive realization of intimate shows, she has ventured into the realm of stage musicals recently with the hugely successful La Cage Aux Folles<\/em> at Cinnabar. Annie<\/em> is a pleasure to watch with a talented cast and unforgettable music, but it needs just a few more nods to its setting within the Wild West shows. After all, the setting is what makes Annie and Frank\u2019s love story so uniquely entertaining. \u00a0This could be accomplished with stronger use of sound effects and images alluding to the hundreds of livestock and performers, including Native Americans, and the vast roaring crowds reacting to them. \u00a0And while we are supposed to be seeing a show within a show, there are only a couple of places where this is effectively conveyed. Elizabeth Bazzano\u2019s<\/strong> flexible sets served the story well, but more of Spreckels\u2019 marvelous Paradyne projector system could have been used to enhance certain scenes without losing any period authenticity \u2013 for example, one scene on a train. And even though the show overall could also use more lively pacing, it\u2019s like a glass of day-old champagne: some of the sparkle may be missing, but it\u2019s still tasty.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Denise Elia-Yen as Annie Oakley<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Annie Get Your Gun<\/em> presented by Spreckels Theatre Company<\/strong><\/p>\n

When: Now through February 23, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

7:30 p.m. Thursdays <\/strong><\/p>\n

8:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays<\/strong><\/p>\n

2:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tickets: $22 to $26 (reserved seating)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Location: Codding Theater, Spreckels Performing Arts Center<\/strong><\/p>\n

5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park CA
\nPhone: 707-588-3400 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Website: <\/strong>www.spreckelsonline.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reviewed by Suzanne and Greg Angeo Members, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Photos by Eric Chazankin Annie Got Her Guy Considered by many to be one of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10299","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-greg-suzanne-angeo"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"