Reba in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN

[gleek4114]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 1:37am

Did anyone on here get to see her in the show? I've always been a big fan and from the snipits on YouTube it seems like she was perfect for it and did a great job. Also is it true that they almost made a new cast recording with her as Annie?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 5:38am

Reba is a wonderful country singer and a very likable personality, but I didn't find her voice a good fit for Musical Comedy. Worse Actresses than her have played this role but if she was more versatile she would have fared better. She certainly was popular and was better in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN than she was in the concert of SOUTH PACIFIC. I do wonder how her Daughter-in-Law Kelly Clarkson would fare in the part. I believe there are recordings out there of Reba singing some of the AGYG score and you should judge for yourself.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 8:28am

I couldn't disagree more, and I imagine I'm not alone. I saw her twice as Annie and it remains one of my favorite performances in nearly thirty years of attending professional theatre. She sang the score well--of course, she brought a bit more twang than Ethel Merman or Bernadette Peters, but she remains true to the music. And she was a more than capable actress. She and Brent Barrett had great chemistry. Best of all, she was a shot of energy for a production that was on its last legs. She brought that show back to life.

Updated On: 12/18/14 at 08:28 AM

[Patash]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 11:12am

Annie Oakley was a backwoods hick who lacked sophistication but tried hard to overcome that. I saw Ethel Merman do Annie (when she was far too old), Bernadette Peters (who tried hard to play "hick" despite her clear sophistication), and then I saw Rheba -- absolutely perfect in the role.

If I'm going to concert to hear the wonderful score of Annie Get Your Gun, I'd vote for Ms. Peters hands down! But in the show -- character alone -- Rheba absolutely nailed it.

[LucyEth]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 7:07pm

Completely agree with LarryD2 -- it was one of the most perfect marriages of an artist and role that I've ever seen. A truly magical night in the theater. A shame that the proposed TV version was scrapped.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 5:54pm

I have a different viewpoint. I thought her singing was wonderful, but her acting was not good enough. She was really trying too hard. Rather than relax into the character, she was "performing". I was hoping for more from Reba than Bernadette's hokey cornpone act, but Reba just seemed to want to out-Hee-Haw Bernadette. Such a missed opportunity because if Reba had just played Reba, she would have been terrific.

However, Barbara Cooke orgasmed over the performance, so what do I know?

[canmark]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 7:32pm

I didn’t see her in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, but I thought she was great in the concert version of SOUTH PACIFIC (which I have on DVD and have watched more than a few times). She’s a terrific singer and capable actress – didn’t she have her own TV series? Her voice is very perky and country, which makes her well-suited to Annie. But not so much to someone like Norma Desmond, say, or Grizabella – roles for which she is age-appropriate but not voice-appropriate.