Brandywiners' ANNIE GET YOUR GUN Begins Tonight

The economy is the worst it's been in fifty years and a bunch of Delawareans decide to cheer things up by putting on a musical at Longwood Gardens. Sound familiar? This is how The Brandywiners got their start in the 1932 when Frances Tatnal and W.W. (Chick) Laird staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirate of Penzance way back in 1932. Of course it didn't hurt that Pierre du Pont, who owned Longwood Gardens at the time, was Liard's uncle and had just built the now world famous Open Air Theatre.

Now, 81 years later, and in the midst of another economic downturn, the Brandywiners are doing it again with Annie Get Your Gun one of the greatest American musicals of all time. Annie Get Your Gun opened at the Imperial Theatre on May 16, 1946. It was written specifically for Ethel Merman because playwright Dorothy Fields had felt that casting Merman as Annie Oakley would guarantee a surefire hit.

She was right because the New York production of Annie Get Your Gun ran for 1,147 performances and was the third longest running musical of the 1940s. It was the biggest Broadway hit of Merman's career. In 1966, she returned to the role for a revival at Lincoln Center. The 1950 screen adaptation starred Betty Hutton and Howard Keel.

The story revolves around Annie Oakley, an illiterate hillbilly with a knack for shooting guns. Persuaded to join Buffalo Bill's travelling Wild West Show, she soon falls hopelessly in love with Frank Butler, the show's featured shooting ace. But when Annie eclipses Frank as the show's main attraction, she realizes she'll have to make some hard choices if she wants to win the man she loves.

The 1999 Broadway revival showcased Bernadette Peters. While she lacks Merman's brass and crassness, Peters stands as the prettiest and sexiest Annie to date, not to mention probably the greatest singer of the bunch. The show was somewhat updated for modern times. Not only did Peter Stone make revisions to Herbert and Dorothy Fields's original book (the story is now a show within a show, namely Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show), but there have been revisions to Berlin's original score as well.

In true Brandywiners fashion, this production promises eye-catching costumes, a professional orchestra and cast of over forty talented performers singing and dancing their hearts out. Annie Get Your Gun is playing tonight, July 25-27 and August 1-3 at Longwood Gardens Open Air Theater. All shows begin at 8:30 pm. Tickets are available by calling 800 338 6965 or going to www.brandywiners.org. All ticketholders receive free admission to Longwood Gardens.

The Brandywiners are one of the oldest community theater groups in the country. Founded in 1932, they have performed every year to over a half a million people. They have given over $600,000 in grants to arts organizations in the Delaware Valley in the hopes of cultivating the kind of artistic energy that brought The Brandywiners Ltd. into existence.

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