Annie Get Your Gun - 2

One of our range of cartoon cards

One of the fun things (and perhaps also the most awkward from a health and safety point of view) is that doing this show is like playing cowboys and indians, with lots of gunplay and dressing up. Depending on your wardrobe capability you can include full native American chieftain head dresses, medicine man costumes, squaws and braves etc as well as cowboys with chaps, buckskins, and six shooters with gunbelts and holsters. 

Gunshot sound effects and sharp shooter targets, trick knife throwing targets, all things to give your stage crew nightmares or lots of fun depending on their mindset! How to shoot the bird from Dolly Tate's hat without being able to actually shoot it? To make it look real? Or perhaps for her to exit into the wings in order to react as though it has happened.....how inventive can you be?

There are also many opportunites for tricks to be played (a last night tradition in some companies, and one that can be great fun as long as they don't interfere with the action or detract from the audience's enjoyment)

Annie Get Your Gun

The story of Frank Butler and Annie Oakley, how they met and joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. This musical features the songs “There's No Business Like Show Business”, “ Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better” and “ You Can't Get A Man With A Gun” among others.

The Wild West Show gives opportunities for demonstrations of sharp shooting, rodeo lassoing and ropework, and knife throwing. Whatever skills your cast can muster can become part of the “Show Business” juggling, balancing, dancing girls; the Wild West Show made the most of all kinds of spectacle, almost like a circus with added gunfire.

Set in the latter part of the 19th Century the costumes range from the backwoods of the American West to the European court balls when Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show goes on tour and Annie Oakley is feted by the aristocracy of Europe.

Oklahoma - (4) Gifts

Finale. Gift ideas for Oklahoma!

Lots of ideas for this show;

Cowboys : toy guns, rope lariats, western shoelace ties with decorative fasteners, cowboy hats, boots etc.,

from The Drama Queen's Drawers you can get pin badges and keyrings in the shape of guns and boots, along with more ideas in our Oklahoma!Category.

Keyring

Pistol Pin Badge

For the ladies; gift baskets (related to the Box Social) and anything that might have gone into them, such as gooseberry pies, sweet potato pie, or plain old American Apple Pie. Straw hats and bonnets, tarot cards, smelling salts (or perfume), gingham ribbons or lavender sachets.

For Laurey and Curly ; wedding charms, love tokens, corn dolly.

For Jud ; “French” postcards, a toy kaleidoscope, or perhaps a coffin shaped keyring (Pore Jud is Dead)

Will Parker ; Sweet kisses ( or jelly lips), fifty dollars (monopoly money perhaps), rope lariat, toy cow or bull.

Ado Annie ; toy cat ( persian?) lip gloss (cherry or berry) sweet kisses, 

These are just a few ideas for you. Please visit our website to find all kinds of gifts for those who tread the boards, or help behind the scenes. 

Oklahoma - (3)

I have been fortunate to take part in this show twice, the first time taking the cameo role of Gertie Cummings – the girl with the grating laugh; and both times getting to dress up as one of the grotesque dancers (Jud's French postcard girls who come to life in Laurey's dream) enjoying portraying the vastly different characters.

We had great fun with the variations of barn dance in “Territory Folks” (otherwise known as The Farmer and The Cowman) incorporating some acrobatic lifts and cartwheels before the choreographed fight that ensued until Aunt Eller took charge. This was a really cheerful contrast to the dream ballet at the end of Act One, which turns into Laurey's nightmare of being subjected to Jud Fry's attentions.

The power of the story is contrasted by the comedy from Will Parker and Ado Annie, and the audience is encouraged to laugh and cry in turn. Curly and Laurey's wedding is the climax of Act Two, featuring the outstanding Oklahoma! song, followed by Jud's appearance and subsequent fight with Curly which results in his death. When Curly is declared Not Guilty of killing Jud, the whole town unites in a big send off for Curly and Laurey on their honeymoon. With an appearance of the Surrey with Fringe on Top as a final triumph, when space and availability allow. We found that the presence of the surrey meant the chorus were squashed in very close proximity for the finale, and the fight for space meant some of us were at least halfway into the wings. Fortunately our director decided the surrey wasn't required for the final walkdown, so we got a second shot at singing “Oh What A beautiful Morning” in clear sight of the MD, much to the relief of both the chorus and the conductor. (Singing in the wings seems to be fraught with danger, being behind the beat, or racing the music, being common problems when you cannot see the beat but only hear it.)

Oklahoma - (2)

Oklahoma the state

Oh What A Beautiful Morning!

What a fantastic song to start a show.....an empty stage and a lone voice. 

It's also a favourite for singing in the car as I set out in the morning, cheers me up for the whole day.

The music from Oklahoma! stays with you long after you leave the theatre, there are so many clever lyrics and catchy tunes that it almost impossible to pick out a single one. “The Surrey with a Fringe on top”, “Many a New Day” “I Cain't Say No” “Kansas City” and Oklahoma! Itself . I will end up listing them all if I carry on.

It is the show that for my society brought the most people ever to audition for roles, with as many going for Ado Annie as for Laurey, The audition committee had a whole day of auditions to judge for these two parts alone.

The setting is 1906, the year before Oklahoma became a State of the USA, and costumes are traditionally gingham dresses and checked cowboy shirts, which makes life a little easier for the wardrobe department, although there are many possible variations on this theme.

Musical for September - Oklahoma

 Oklahoma!

Now an evergreen classic musical with something for everyone, when it was written this was a ground breaking innovation. Its strong storyline, memorable music and the ballet at the centre of the story, were a revelation to post war audiences.

It is still one of the most popular shows for amateur societies to produce, and for audiences to attend.

The love story of the cowboy and the farmer's girl, epitomising the larger story of the territory folks learning to live together in harmony in their brand new state is recognisable to all.

This isn't an easy show. It is big in its setting, requires a lot from its cast, needing strong singing leads, strong dancers, and a chorus that can do both. It is, however, a joy to perform.

Oliver! - (4)

Last blog of this month : Gift ideas for Oliver!

To start at the very beginning – Food! All kinds of foods that are mentioned in the song, pease pudding (can be bought in tins), mustard, custard, cakes or sweets made to look like their savoury counterparts, strawberries (also mentioned in “Who Will Buy”). Perhaps even “Rennies” or similar indigestion remedies. These can be offered for all the children in the cast, whether they double as workhouse children and Fagin's gang or not, with the addition of sausages and fake gin (or ginger beer) for Fagin's boys.

For Fagin's boys too, wallets, handkerchiefs and coins, sweet watches and “jewellery”.

And for Dodger a top hat charm or phone charm, a lockable box (possibly also for Fagin) or if feeling really generous – a gold watch on a chain.

Mr and Mrs Sowerberry – again a top hat, with the addition of some black fabric as a mourning hat, or some Victorian mourning jewellery, possibly jet, depending on your budget.

Mr. Bumble and Widow Corney like their gin, so miniatures of London Gin might make good presents. And Widow Corney keeps a basket of kittens, so a little figurine of a cat, or a soft toy, for her.

The Drama Queen's Drawers has some horse brasses depicting the characters of Fagin, Oliver, Nancy and Mr Bumble, these are vintage items to be found in the Bottom Drawer category.

For Oliver whatever his gift, the wrapping and presentation could be “put in a box and tied up with a ribbon”, just as the lyric in “Who will buy?” suggests. A locket, books, friendship bracelet, strawberries and cream, or a love token.

For Nancy – small pleasures.