Saddle Up for a Wild West Adventure

Goodspeed Musicals, the only two time Tony Award winning theatre in the country, is fired up to announce the cast of Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun. This wild west musical from the director who brought you Goodspeed’s 1776 and Camelot will run from April 16 – June 27 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. This production will be sponsored by Webster Bank and Comcast. [Official Press Opening will be May 12, 2010]

Saddle up for a Wild West adventure! Ride along with Annie Oakley, a backwoods gal with a sure-shot and quick wit, as she challenges dashing marksman Frank Butler to be the star of Buffalo Bill’s traveling show.  Sparks fly faster than bullets as the competition and romance heat up.  Featuring some of Broadway’s greatest songs:  “There’s No Business Like Show Business,”  “Anything You Can Do,” “ I Got The Sun In The Morning,” and “You Can’t Get A Man With A Gun.”  This Irving Berlin classic hits the bulls-eye every time!

Annie Get Your Gun features Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin and Original Book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields as revised by Peter Stone.

Broadway sensation Jenn Gambatese will return to Goodspeed Musicals as sharp-shooter Annie Oakley. Previously Ms. Gambatese performed in The Norma Terris production of All Shook Up. Her Broadway credits include Tarzan, All Shook Up, A Year With Frog and Toad, Hairspray and Footloose. Leading man Frank Butler will be played by Broadway’s Kevin Earley. Mr. Earley’s Broadway credits include A Tale of Two Cities, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Les Misérables.

Buffalo Bill Cody will be played by David McDonald whose Broadway credits include the revival of Bye, Bye, Birdie; Mamma Mia; Side Show and Les Misérables. Dolly Tate will be played by Rebecca Watson who performed in Goodspeed Musicals’ 1776 and Me & My Girl. The role of Tommy Keeler will be played by Andrew Cao.

Chelsea Morgan Stock from Broadway’s The Little Mermaid will play Winnie Tate. James Beaman will play Charlie Davenport, and Michael Nichols will play Chief Sitting Bull. Mr. Nichols’ Broadway credits include November and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Three Connecticut natives will join the cast; Joy Rachel Del Valle of Farmington will play Jessie, Marissa Smoker of Branford will play Nellie and Griffin Birney, also of Branford, will play Little Jake.

The ensemble will include Brandon Andrus from Goodspeed’s Camelot, Sean Coughlin, Orville Mendoza from Broadway’s Pacific Overtures and Pilar Millhollen from Broadway’s Chicago. Bill Nabel, whose Broadway credits include Beauty and the Beast, Ain’t Broadway Grand, The Most Happy Fella, Sweeney Todd and the original casts of 42nd Street and A Chorus Line, returns to Goodspeed where he previously performed in The Most Happy Fella and Hit the Deck.

Other members of the ensemble include Con O’Shea-Creal, Natalie Ryder, and Goodspeed favorite Dorothy Stanley. At Goodspeed Ms. Stanley delighted audiences in 42nd Street, High Button Shoes, Singin’ in the Rain, and George M!. Her extensive Broadway credits include Gypsy with Patti LuPone, Sweeney Todd, La Cage aux Folles, 42nd Street, Follies and Show Boat. Joining them will be Molly Tynes from Goodspeed’s Pippin, Amos Wolff and Aaron Young. The swings will be Noah Aberlin, Hartleigh Buwick and Jake Poulios.

Annie Get Your Gun will be directed by Rob Ruggiero whose work has been seen in award-winning regional theatres around the country. Mr. Ruggiero returns to Goodspeed where he directed 1776, Big River and last year’s sensation Camelot. His off-Broadway and tour credits include All Under Heaven and the world premieres of Ella and Make Me A Song, all of which he both conceived and directed. His newest production, Looped starring Valerie Harper, is currently running on Broadway. Choreographer for this production will be Noah Racey who thrilled Goodspeed audiences as Charley Wykeham in Where’s Charley? . Mr. Racey served as Associate Choreographer of the Broadway sensation Thoroughly Modern Millie. Other Broadway credits include Curtains, Never Gonna Dance, and Follies.

Returning to Goodspeed Musicals is the design team that brought you last season’s hit Camelot, 2008’s Big River and the inspiring 1776. Scenic designs will be by Michael Schweikardt whose designs have been seen off-Broadway in Golden Boy, Waiting for Lefty, and The Seagull, among others.  Costumes will be designed by Alejo Vietti who also designed the 2006 production of Meet John Doe at The Norma Terris Theatre. Lighting design will be by John Lasiter who designed the Broadway production of A Grand Night for Singing  and the off-Broadway productions of The Seagull, Common Vision, and Make Me A Song.

The Music Director for Annie Get Your Gun is Michael O’Flaherty. He is in his 19th season as Goodspeed’s Resident Music Director.  William J. Thomas is assistant music director. Orchestrations will be provided by Dan DeLange, who provided the orchestrations for Goodspeed Musicals’ 42nd Street, Half a Sixpence, High Button Shoes, Singin’ in the Rain, The Boy Friend, Red Hot and Blue, Call Me Madam, and Babes in Arms.   Annie Get Your Gun is produced for Goodspeed Musicals by Michael P. Price.

Annie Get Your Gun will run April 16 through June 27, 2010 [Official Press Opening May 12, 2010]. Curtain times are Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (with select performances at 2:00 p.m.), Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (with select performances at 6:30 p.m.).

Tickets are available through the Box Office (860.873.8668), open seven days a week, or on-line at www.goodspeed.org.  For show highlights, exclusive photos, special events and more visit us at goodspeed.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theatre, Goodspeed Musicals produces three musicals each season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn., and additional productions at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals.  The only regional theatre to receive two Tony Awards (for outstanding achievement), Goodspeed also maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in the Musical Theater.  Goodspeed gratefully acknowledges the support of associate sponsor Webster Bank; corporate supporters Comcast and Hoffman Audi; and Sennheiser, the official audio sponsor of Goodspeed Musicals. Goodspeed Musicals is supported in part by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Background: Annie Get Your Gun was first staged on Broadway at the Imperial Theater on May 16, 1946 and ran for 1,147 performances. It was directed by Joshua Logan; Ethel Merman starred as Annie Oakley, and Ray Middleton played Frank Butler.  A year later the show opened on the West End at the London Coliseum on June 7, 1947 and ran for 1,304 performances. Mary Martin starred as Annie Oakley in a U.S. national tour that started on October 3, 1947 in Dallas, Texas.

Synopsis:        The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley (1860-1926), a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler. When the traveling Buffalo Bill's Wild West show visits Cincinnati, Frank Butler, the show's handsome, womanizing star challenges anyone in town to a shooting match. While Annie waits for the match to start, she meets Frank and falls instantly in love with him, not knowing he will be her opponent. At the shooting match she wins and is invited to join the Wild West Show. While working together, Frank becomes enamored of the plain-spoken, honest Annie.  Buffalo Bill finds out that the rival show, Pawnee Bill's Far East Show, will be playing nearby. He asks Annie to do a special shooting trick in order to draw Pawnee Bill's business away. Annie agrees, eager to surprise Frank. But when he sees Annie perform Frank is hurt and angry, and he walks out on Annie and the show, joining the competing Pawnee Bill. Over time both shows go broke. Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill plot a merger of the two companies, each assuming the other has the money necessary. Frank and Annie agree to one last shooting duel. Annie deliberately loses to Frank to soothe his ego, and they finally reconcile, deciding to marry and merge the shows.

Dates:                                     April 16 – June 27, 2010

Performances:                       Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m., (with select performances at 2:00 p.m.), Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (with select performances at 6:30 p.m.).

Tickets:                            $27.50 - $71.00

Goodspeed Box Office (860.873.8668) or on-line at goodspeed.org

Special Events:                

Girls’ Night Out: Friday, April 16, 7:00 pm. Come celebrate Opening Night in style! Gather the girls for glitz and glamour Broadway-style with our Ticket ‘n’ ‘Tini special. Package includes one ticket to the 8 pm performance and a specialty martini.  A hot deal at $44 per person.

Wine Tasting: Sunday, April 18, 5 pm.  Treat yourself to a sampling of fine wines, compliments of Shore Discount Liquors of Deep River, and complimentary hors d’oeuvres provided by the Gelston House of East Haddam.  Only $10 with your ticket to the 6:30 pm performance.  Reserve in advance through the Box Office.

First Friday Happy Hour:  April 23, 7 pm.  Join us for a pre-show happy hour in the lobby.  Features free appetizers from La Vita Gustosa of East Haddam; a discussion with a member of the creative team; and wine, beer and cocktails at special prices.

Kids Nights: April 21 & 22, 7:30 pm; April 23, 8 pm. Introduce your favorite young person to the magic of musical theatre. Each adult who buys a regular-priced ticket on the specified dates may purchase a $15 ticket for a child age 5 to 18. Meet the cast after the April 23 performance for autographs.

Backstage at Goodspeed

Take part in a lively post-show discussion with the cast . Offered after the Thursday evening performances on May 13 & 27 and June 10.

Backstage at Goodspeed events are free with a ticket to that evening’s performance.

Goodspeed Dinner Cruise/Theatre Package: Enjoy springtime on the Connecticut

River. Includes a leisurely cruise and sumptuous buffet dinner aboard the Lady Katharine

and ticket to the show. $99/person. Friday 4/30, 5:30 pm cruise, 8 pm show; Sun

5/2, 4 pm cruise, 6:30 pm show; Thurs 5/20, 11:30 am cruise, 2 pm show.