Pages from the souvenir program for the original London production of Annie Get Your Gun, 1947. Broadway Collectibles.
The London run exceeded New York’s—1304 performances at the cavernous Coliseum, with Dolores Gray as Annie, her first starring role. The 19-month US national tour provided Mary Martin with a valuable boost to a sagging career. Her performance so impressed Rodgers and Hammerstein that they chose her for the lead in South Pacific. Annie went on to get her gun in Kuala Lumpur, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Japan and throughout Europe. There was an Annie du Far-West in Paris and a Annie, Schiess Los! in Berlin. There were many revivals – including a 1966 Music Theater of Lincoln Center production with Miss Merman, for which Berlin wrote a brand-new show-stopping song, ‘An Old Fashioned Wedding’. Suzi Quatro starred in a notable remounting in London in 1986.
Playbill for the 1966 revival at the Broadway Theatre—signed by Ethel Merman
Frank Van Straten collection
Ethel Merman and Bruce Yarnell in the 1966 Broadway revival. Photo by Friedman-Abeles.
New York Public Library, New York
In 1999 Broadway welcomed a sparkling new Annie Get Your Gun. The book was considerably reworked, placing the show’s central plot within the context of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. The score was re-orchestrated, and a couple of the songs were dropped—including ‘I’m an Indian Too’, which was deemed so politically incorrect as to be unsalvageable. First with Bernadette Peters, and later with Reba McEntire, the show lit up Broadway for over two and a half years, won two Tony awards, and spawned a successful national tour.
Playbill for the 1999 revival at New York’s Marquis Theatre starring Bernadette Peters
playbill.com
Poster for the 1950 MGM film
www.imdb.com
The $3 million MGM film version had a difficult gestation—the original director, Busby Berkeley, his replacement, Charles Walters, and the original star, Judy Garland, were all sacked, and Frank Morgan, who was cast as Buffalo Bill, died after shooting started. Garland’s replacement, the zany Betty Hutton, and the new director, George Sidney, managed to resuscitate the ailing production. It premiered triumphantly in 1950 and went on to collect over $8 million at the box office. After many years in copyright limbo, it has been re-restored and released on DVD.
