Geoff Short - Annie Get Your Gun at Curtain Call Playhouse

Curtain Call Playhouse, Pompano Beach, Florida January 23rd - March 29th, 2015
Directed by Geoffrey Short
Music Direction by Jerry Berger
Choreography by Cameron Jordan
Stage Manager Cindy Parette
Costumes by Chuck Roeder and Josette Sitra
Set Design by Geoff Short & Cindy Parette

Starring
Jordana Forrest as Annie Oakley
James Skiba as Frank Butler
Kerry Sensenbach as Buffalo Bill
Larry Bressler as Charlie Davenport
Ellen Katz Murray as Dolly Tate
Cameron Jordan as Tommy Keeler
Del Marrero as Winnie Tate
Christopher Lam as Sitting Bull
Greg Ward as Foster Wilson/Pawnee Bill
Preston Howell as Little Jake
Madison Doss as Nellie
Sarah Lash as Jessie
Lisa Anthony as Daisy Rae Coffee
Samuel Colina as Skokie Two Blades
Sara Rose Finkelstein as Carla Cake
Jeremy Patterson as Poncho Waterfall
Chantal Deshaies as Hazel Singing Bird
Kaylor Green as Candy Stone
Carl Roberts as Sam Dandy
Fawn Allen as Penny Van Beaux
Dewayne Anthony as Boots

Director’s Note

I learned a long time ago from directors I respect very much that as a director if you can’t find a personal connection with a musical, don’t do it. I didn’t have to look too deeply to find my connection with Annie Get Your Gun because lurking just under the surface of this classic, familiar (euphemisms for “old”) musical are themes I identify very heavily with and have experienced in my own life. Racism, chauvinism, bigotry and the power of love to overcome and change it all. So it was important that I build a sort of mission statement to build our production on to make sure we all were focused on telling the story from the same perspective:

Annie Get Your Gun is a story that shows us even the simplest among us can be champions of powerful and positive change. The power of equality is a simple concept. So simple it’s fitting that a simple, unassuming backwoods sharpshooter is the one to inadvertently take aim at bigotry and chauvinism and hit a bullseye!

We can learn from Annie. She is wise even though she can’t even read.

So that’s our connection to AGYG. It’s also important that you have yours as well. Certainly most people are already familiar with this classic and probably already have memories and feelings about it. You may just be here because you have a friend in the show and that’s cool too. But I’d like to offer the thought that even though this revival version is based on an older musical, its themes are still very relevant today. For instance, Annie can’t understand why anyone would have a problem with a white girl loving a boy who is half Indian saying “They love each other. That’s the only thing that matters.” This should sound familiar even now as we continue to fight many of the same battles today. Gay, straight, black, white, red, purple. Love and equality should be the only things that matter. And yet just one look at current events like police shooting protests that bring larger racism issues back into focus and the on going fight for marriage equality shows us that the struggles continue and we still have a lot of work to do.

Another important thing to know about this revival version of the show is that it is presented as a show within a show. You will see Buffalo Bill’s troupe of actors preparing for the show they will present to you tonight. And of course, tonight’s show is the “tempestuous and romantic” story of Annie and Oakley and Frank Butler. As their show starts, the actors you see – each with their own name, identity and background - become the characters in the story of Annie & Frank, who actually retired from the show 5 years before tonight’s telling. We’ve tried to approach this material with respect. For example, we’ve adjusted some things to treat the Indian characters and culture, which were so critical to Buffalo Bill’s legacy with more respect. They are not caricatures or punch lines. Sitting Bull would not have walked around in daily life with a ceremonial headdress on just to indicate he’s Indian. But we have also stayed faithful to this beloved piece that so many have loved for generations. We hope you like it.

I have to thank the amazing cast and crew I have been blessed with on this production. We’ve spent a lot of time bonding and growing as a troupe, a family – no “leads”, no “ensemble”. Just a family. I think you’ll notice. Thanks so much to Cameron Jordan who continually goes above and beyond for our team. There’s nothing you can’t do. Thanks and love. But most importantly I have to thank my partner Cindy Parette who has built this production with me from the ground up every step of the way. None of this would be possible without you and I love you.

Peace and Love – Geoff Short

Video!

A video look behind the scenes of Annie Get Your Gun during rehearsals.
Video by Geoff Short

"Moonshine Lullaby" performed by
Jordana Forrest, Cameron Jordan, Larry Bressler & Christopher Lam
Video by Geoffrey Short

A fun montage of some of the clips and images from Annie Get Your Gun!

Annie Get Your Gun Preview Teaser Video. Video by Geoff Short

PHOTOS!

Set Concepts

The challenge with the set for this production of Annie Get Your Gun was that it had to move to 5 different venues of varying sizes over the course of its run. This means the set had to be mobile, light and able to fit into smaller spaces. I also wanted to build around the image of the totem because Native American themes were such a big part of Buffalo Bill's legacy and this show. The totems morphed over time into four mobile columns that had different images on each side representing different locales and moods. These could be moved and turned by the cast as needed throughout the show eliminating long and clunky scene changes which I hate. Because this was the revival version, the production is presented as a show within a show so everything was very presentational, whimsical, symbolic and minimal. This version also includes the character of Charlie calling for scene changes to the troupe between each scene further facilitating the cast making quick set adjustments. We designed this with the thought that his is the set that Buffalo Bill's troupe might have built and presented when they were telling the story of Annie & Frank.