Annie Get Your Gun 1999 revival- Page 3

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/28/12 at 3:05am

If there was a revival of this, I would kill to see Lauren Ambrose take on the role.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 4/28/12 at 4:11pm

Wow I had forgotten how mind blowingly bad "My Defenses Are Down" was. Poor Tom Wopat!

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 8/29/12 at 8:13pm

Deborah Ann Woll, ammirite?

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 8/29/12 at 8:55pm

I've loved AGYG since I saw it in summer stock in 1956. I saw the Lincoln Center revival in 1966 several times and loved it b/c of Ethel Merman. The recording of that production remains, IMO, the best that the show has ever received. But the 1999 revival was God-awful, restoring Who Do You Love, I Hope, sung by the most faggoty-seeming actor I've ever encountered on the NY stage (and I'm gay, in case anyone hasn't noticed). AWFUL.

[ChiChi]

Posted: 8/29/12 at 9:04pm

Something tells me they would use Idina Menzel or Chenowith.

[zamedy]

Posted: 8/29/12 at 10:51pm

Ed_Mottershead: That's the recording I fell in love with in 1997 when I was in my high school's production (yes, I'm much younger than you :) ). I remember being upset when I heard we were doing AGYG. I was so young and ignorant. Then, of course, I heard.. and learned.. all the songs and completely fell in love with it. The '66 recording.. complete with "I'm An Indian, Too," remains one of my favorites. The overture is one of the best ever written for a musical. The nod to "I'm an Indian, Too" gives me chills. It's a shame that it was completely cut out of the revival.

And as a Merman fan, I'm jealous that you got to see her in one of her final Broadway roles.. an iconic role she made famous nonetheless. I remember reading how the production was nicknamed "Granny Get Your Gun" because of her age. But it sounds like she was stellar. What was it like to see her at this point in her life and career up on that stage as Annie Oakley??

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 8/29/12 at 11:11pm

Doris Day & Robert Goulet - Anything You Can Do

[justoldbill]

Posted: 8/29/12 at 11:17pm

People always mention Annie's "accent". Southern? Country-western? Annie's from Ohio. Midwest, no-nonsense, direct. Merman probably came the closest, simply by doing what came naturally.

Updated On: 8/29/12 at 11:17 PM

[Jon]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 6:31am

Just remember - Cincinatti is across the river from Kentucky.

[Comden Green]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 6:45am

That was the first broadway musical that i ever saw. bernadette just blew me away. after seeing many big shows in chicago i remember concluding that the difference between broadway and not broadway was enormous.
the lullaby was magical - perfect lighting and mood. i wanted that song to go on forever. incredibly beautiful.
my defenses were down- shockingly (and wonderfully) homoerotic. i didn't care then and i don't care now that the choreography didn't belong. it was fun and jaw dropping. wish i could see it again.
and, yes, i still listen to the cast recording -especially those two songs. wonderful
ok, so the secondary plot line and the songs that went with it were boring but overall some wonderful memories. and that's what i go to shows for.

[zamedy]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 5:47pm

"Merman probably came the closest, simply by doing what came naturally."

That's one of the reasons I admire her so much. She TRUSTED the material. She didn't feel she had to 'over-act' it just to pump herself up, as it seems so many actors do today. Merman mentioned this herself once, saying something to the effect of "so many actors search their lines like they're mining for gold" (or something to that effect).

[bk]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 6:01pm

The revival was dreadful. Peter Stone, a normally wonderful writer, ruined the show. Making it a show within a show was beyond stupid - how do you take anything seriously if you're watching something that's being "performed" - well, let me put it simply - sorry, boys, Annie Get Your Gun didn't need your help. It's a brilliant show just as originally written - it needs not one change. If you don't "get" the material, if you don't trust the show, don't do it. Leave it to those who can make it work.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 6:19pm

People always mention Annie's "accent". Southern? Country-western? Annie's from Ohio. Midwest, no-nonsense, direct.

PLENTY of Ohioans have twangy, southernish accents. There are many parts of the state that are deeply Appalachian (pronounced with a hard emphasis on the A) and that's how they talk.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 8:04pm

Maybe this revival sucked, but every clip I've ever seen of all of the different Annie's and Frank's is pretty delightful. Maybe it would have worked better as a tv movie.
Reba - I've Got the Sun in the Morning

[PitPro2004]

Posted: 8/30/12 at 10:05pm

I saw this show from two angles; the onstage band and the house! At the time, I was hoping to sub it and I had the good fortune of trying to hold in laughter as I sat in between and witnessed Cubby O'Brien and random bass player trade jokes in between songs.

Bernadette's accent was so thick I couldn't understand a word she said. Regardless, your eyes couldn't help but follow her all over stage every time she was on it. Twice she walked right behind me in the wings during the performance and I had to hold my breath! That close to a legend and ONSTAGE with her as well!!

I saw Reba and thought she was the real deal. Saw Cheryl Ladd and thought she tried hard but there was some charisma missing. I didn't think Wopat was all that bad, but I enjoyed Brent Barrett better.

[binau]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 6:53am

With the upcoming production I've found myself spending a lot of time listening to the recording of this show recently. Yes, Bernadette is 'miscast' and her accent is pretty bad. However, her casting is no where near as ridiculous or miscast as Ethel Merman, who does not attempt an accent and has zero vulnerability, making songs like "They Say It's Wonderful" or "I Got Lost In His Arms" pretty pointless. It doesn't seem like this show attracts realistic casting..(e.g., Peters; Merman; LuPone?). Megan Hilty is surprisingly appropriate. 

Anyway, I wish I could have seen Bernadette in the role. In addition to her signature vulnerability (They Say It's Wonderful; I Got Lost in His Arms), she is extremely funny (Doin' What Comes Natur'lly; Anything You Can Do) and her performance of "I Got the Sun in the Morning" just makes me smile!


 

Updated On: 10/26/15 at 06:53 AM

[aj88]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 8:41am

I saw the production with Bernadette Peters and I have always loved her and I still think she was good in the role but it was certainly in that same vain of being as good as you can be despite being miscast (a la Sutton Foster in Anything Goes). I didn't mind her winning the Tony but yes, Carolee Carmello should have won for PARADE. 

I had the opportunity to see Reba McEntire but passed it up since I wasn't the biggest fan of the production. I actually highly regret this decision to this day based on the legend that now surrounds her performance.

So that brings me to the show itself. Yes, the rewrite both cleared away the strange/offensive Native American dialogue but a lot of life seemed to be taken out of it simultaneously as someone pointed out. I have never been a big fan of the show as it is, rewrite or not aside from the lovely score. The score is one of the best from that era and is what makes the show bearable for me.

 

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 9:55am

Linda Eder did a question interview thing recently and said her biggest regret was turning down Annie to replace Bernadette Peters in Annie Get Your Gun.

[Brick]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 12:24pm

Interesting how you note the show invites miscasting. I hadn't thought about it, but it's true.

Reba was not only superb casting, but for the first time the show made sense at every turn. With others, it was like an extended skit, to watch someone play a country tomboy, and how cute that is. With Reba, all that was there, with a swinkle in her eye, a ton of charm, and vulnerability.