Theatr Moondance, Theatr Clwyd, Mold, Sept 3rd – 6th 2025
(3 / 5)
Tiptop Productions
Was this a musical or a concert?
The opening, show stopping number, ‘There’s no business like show business was lively, passionate and well coordinated and indicated that it was the former, a musical. One would then expect the stage to clear and the acting to start, but instead the ensemble sat down in serried rows and the action took place in front of them, indicating it was more of a concert. In this way the production was neither one nor the other.
The story of Annie is loosely based in history. Annie is a poor girl who traps and shoots animals to feed her siblings. She is set up to challenge Frank Butler, a sharpshooter in Buffalo Bills Wild West show and wins. She then joins the troupe and falls in love with Frank but he will not accept Annie’s new found fame and leaves for a rival troupe, run by Pawnee Bill. Buffalo Bill’s show tours Europe to great acclaim but little financial gain so has to come home and merge with Pawnee, thus bringing the two stars together again. When Annie loses a shooting match to Frank on purpose, they are reconciled and get married.
The company are enthusiastic in their endeavours despite being self conscious at times. Jade Pritchard is well cast as Annie and has a great voice. She has a good rapport with Gareth Hughes as Frank especially when they are acting as rivals. Their duet with ‘Anything your can do I can do better’ was memorable. Annie’s young siblings, Grace Hill as Jessie, Abigail Garner as Nellie and Arlo Lucas as Little Jake were a bundle of energy. The action though was static at times, limited by the staging where the action took place behind four microphones at the front of the stage. The production also lacked attention to detail especially in costuming, with some 20th Century shoes on show and the odd suit that seemed straight out of the 1970’s.
The musicals main characters in real life, Annie Oakley and Frank Butler were indeed natural sharpshooters. Annie came from an impoverished background until she won her shooting contest with Frank. They married and formed a performing partnership with great success. Annie, in a long career went on to support women’s rights and to teach self defence lessons. The Hollywood version is a more saccharine coated, sanitised version where Annie has to lose a second shooting match with Frank in order to win his heart, indicating perhaps that the male ego could not stand the prospect of being less successful than a female.
The musical raises a question, what does a man look for in a woman? According to the song, ‘The girl that I marry’ she will be ‘as soft and pink as a nursery’, wearing satin, laces and cologne and having polished her nails. And that is what Annie had to change to be in order to get her man. This seems a world away from the real life Annie, and out of kilter with many women today. However, this should not stop us enjoying what is a feel good show with great Irving Berlin songs and which was enthusiastically and competently performed by the company.