Thursday, March 15, 2012

Annie Get Your Gun: Empress Theatre

To all you Irving Berlin fans out there - the Empress Theatre has a treat for you! 
(If you are a Berlin fan, I'd also recommend these CD's.)

Annie Get Your Gun is gracing the stage every Friday, Saturday, and Monday until April 7.  You can purchase tickets here.

Why would you want to go?
  • April Hales Henderson belts her heart out in her dream role.  I've only ever heard April sing in a more classical style, so imagine my surprise when she first sang to the rafters in You Can't Get a Man With a Gun. I don't kid when I say this is her dream role.  She shared with me that every moment she has on the stage as Annie Oakley is another moment her dreams come true.  And you can tell! 
  • Moonshine Lullaby.  Perhaps the quietest, most tender moment of the show and my absolute favorite part.  April's lovely style comes out as she tends to the darling children.  My heart utterly melted. 
  • This production is much faster-paced and more enjoyable than the previous community productions of AGYG I've seen.  
  • The ensemble is strong - definitely stronger than last AGYG I saw.  You'll enjoy when the entire cast comes on stage to sing - there are so many of them, all being their own characters, and all singing full-out.  Because the cast members are so close to you on the Empress stage, you do tend to hear individual performers, but they are on key, I promise:-)
  • Dolly.  She will make you laugh.  Some shows make Dolly a sexy, snotty villain - this Dolly is more of a goofy treat of a bad guy.   Kind of like the robbers in Home Alone. 
  • If you liked the Empress's production of The Music Man, you'll find some of the same actors and actresses - all performing just as great, if not better.  
  • You WILL enjoy yourself. 

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