Our 91st Season: Annie Get Your Gun

Our 91st season membership drive is currently underway!  Next season is packed with five fantastic shows that will provide our community with music, laughs, and drama.  We hope that you will be a part of the excitement by becoming a member of our theater.  This week, we are showcasing the productions that will be hitting the mainstage for our 2022-2023 season.  Up first, we have Annie Get Your Gun in September.

The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley, a sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, and her romance with sharpshooter Frank E. Butler.  Familiar tunes in the show include “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun,” and the classic “Anything You Can Do.”

Rough-and-tumble Annie Oakley is the best shot around. A backwoods gal, Annie uses her skill to support her family by selling the game she hunts. When she’s discovered by Buffalo Bill and persuaded to join his Wild West Show, Annie is plucked from obscurity and becomes the toast of Europe. Annie meets her match in Frank Butler, Buffalo Bill’s leading man and star marksman. She falls head over heels for Frank, but soon eclipses him as the main attraction in the show. Her success with a gun makes trouble for Annie’s chance at romance. Annie Get Your Gun follows the journey of Annie and Frank, revealing their competitive natures as they vie for best shot – and each other’s hearts.

The musical premiered on Broadway in 1946.  Being a classic favorite, the show saw revivals in 1958, 1966, and 1999 where it won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.  A number of actors have portrayed the pair of sharpshooters since Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton originated the roles; most notably are Bernadette Peters (who won a Tony) and Tom Wopat in the 1999 revival.  Music and lyrics for the show were written by Irving Berlin, whose music forms a noteworthy part of the Great American Songbook.  Some of his most popular songs include “God Bless America,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” and “White Christmas.”

Annie Get Your Gun kicks off our 91st season and runs September 15-18 and 22-24.  Audition information will be announced this summer.  This production will lead an amazing season that you do not want to miss.  Support your local arts community by joining us as a member of Strauss Theatre Center.  You can save up to $50 with our Early Bird sale if you purchase a membership before July 1st.  Benefactors and Patrons exclusively get to enjoy the opening night production, which includes delicious food during intermission.