From left: Luqman Fulmer, Emily Flack, Thai Duong, Peter Scheible in Edison High production of ”Annie Get Your Gun.” Photo by Bruce Wenze
Shouts of "pull!" and rounds of rifle shots permeate the air. With a personable, pioneering feminist, competitions galore, and shooting champions running up and down the aisles of Thomas Edison High School's auditorium, the school's rendition of ”Annie Get Your Gun” hit the stage with all the right notes. Based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley, the 1946 Broadway hit follows rough tomboy, Annie, and her quest to capture the elusive Frank Butler's stubborn heart. Featuring beloved classics, "There's No Business like Show Business," and "Anything You Can Do," Annie Get your Gun accentuates and satirizes both the massive 20th century gender divide and love's fickle ways.
Emily Flack brilliantly portrayed Annie, strengthening and molding her character's personality and wit and allowing the audience to see visible and emotional transformations in her character, while keeping a consistent (though purposely fading) tangy southern accent until the curtain dropped. Flack's vocal prowess was brilliantly featured in her duet, "Anything You Can Do," with Peter Scheible (Frank). Flack and Scheible's chemistry was palpable, tense and strong, and they were able to show off the upper register of their voices, forming the most memorable and enjoyable number of the evening.
Frank's bosses, Buffalo Bill Cody (Luqman Fulmer) and Charlie Davenport (Thai Duong) were also an enjoyable duo to watch, and their voices, though only given minimal time to shine, rang beautifully with soft touches of vibrato. Duong's flawless, seemingly effortless accent and believably suave portrayal of Charlie was also commendable. Annie's three sisters, Jessie (Emma Cronnell), Nellie (Tianna Ayala) and Lil June (Kathryn Heislup) offered refreshing comic relief throughout the show and all made dedicated character choices.
Although the set itself was minimal, the stage crew executed quick stage changes with a few bumps in the road. Interestingly, the orchestra was placed on stage behind the set (or part of it, rather) and were dressed in 20th century-esque costumes. While this made it hard to hear the music at times, it was a refreshing change to their usually invisible roles in the pit.
The cast, crew, and pit of Thomas Edison's “Annie Get Your Gun” took on a hefty musical challenge but performed a memorable show, and the night ended with sweet silence as Annie got her guy, and got to keep her 'ole gun to boot.