So much of successful community theatre is matching the right show with the right company. This is true both on a talent and casting perspective but also from the point of view of the audience and what they are primed to appreciate and enjoy. A great example of the right show for the right venue is Annie Get Your Gun at Westgate Theater in West Yellowstone. Everything about the town of West Yellowstone screams Annie Get Your Gun and I can’t think of anything better on a Yellowstone vacation than seeing this classic musical in their newly renovated intimate thrust theater space.

Truth is I’m not sure why more community theaters don’t do Annie Get Your Gun more. I know it has some outdated elements (much of which were eliminated in the 1999 revival and the current book/songs) but it isn’t any more outdated than The Music Man and that’s done all the time (I love both for the record, but I’d love to see Annie Get Your Gun more.)

Anyway, it was so much fun to see Annie Get Your Gun in a western town in a theater with a western aesthetic to the front. Isn’t this just the perfect show for this venue? They are going to have a hard time finding another show that so fits their aesthetic!

Of course it’s not all about looks- the show still has to be good and this is. I had a ton of fun with this energetic romantic comedy classic. Cam Carter was my favorite part of See How They Run playing the maid Ida and she’s given the starring role here as Annie Oakley. I particularly loved her in Act II as the rivalry between Annie and Frank Butler heats up. Jacob Reinhart is charming as Frank and the duo have sparkling chemistry together. I also really enjoyed Malorie Grace and Parker Smith as Winnie Tate and Tommy Keeler respectively. “Who Do You Love, I Hope” and “I’ll Share it All With You” are two of my favorite songs of this musical and they are very cute here.

The songs in general are a delight. One cannot find better music than Irving Berlin (music and lyrics.) What a treat to hear “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “I Got the Sun in the Moring,” and “My Defenses are Down” to name a few. I also love “Old Fashioned Wedding” with its duet between Frank and Annie that Reinhart and Carter sing together well. The space at the Westgate is small but they make the most of it with choreography from Parker and Malorie Smith.

I also really enjoyed the way director Lisa Burton-Carter staged the various shoot-outs and carnival antics of the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. They had balloons popping when a target is hit and one character would “throw” a knife at the same time another would “catch.” This is all coordinated well and a lot of fun.

My least favorite part of Annie Get Your Gun is the character of Dolly. This is no shade on the actress Abby Huff who does all she can for the role. It’s just one of those characters from the 40s and 50s who’s only joke is ‘I’m racist. Isn’t that funny?’ You see the same thing with the Mother in Bye Bye Birdie and a little of those characters goes a long way.

Still if you have a trip to West Yellowstone planned a trip to Westgate Theatre is a definite must see. I had a great time with both of the shows I saw and they have an additional one called The Great Western Melodrama which sounds like a lot of fun. Annie Get Your Gun is playing until August 26th and tickets can be purchased here.

Annie Get Your Gun has music and lyrics by Irving Berlin with a book by Dorothy and Herbert (brother and sister) Fields. It is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley and Frank Butler who starred in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. It first premiered on Broadway in 1946 with a film version in 1950. The show won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 1999

I would love to be the theatre critic for all of Southern and Northern Utah (and in this case Montana) but these areas require travel which can be very expensive. I know many of you really appreciate those reviews but I can’t do them alone. I need your help! If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.