Liverpool Empire Theatre Presents: Annie Get Your Gun (5th - 9th August)

Liverpool Empire is proud to present the Irving Berlin classic musical Annie Get Your Gun.

It is a major new six month UK tour of the Tony award-winning show – from the producers of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, West Side Story and South Pacific – based on a true story of Annie Oakley, who was an incredible sharpshooter, and her competitive romance with rival marksman Frank Butler.

They both worked for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Circus. Buffalo Bill was an American soldier, bison hunter and showman. Hence the song. And this production of Annie Get Your Gun is also a ‘show within a show’ as the centre of the stage is the Circus Big Top where the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show takes place, while the remainder of the action takes place on the rest of the stage.

Director Ian Talbot OBE says, ‘It’s also got the most wonderful score with one hit after another. Incredible to think that Annie was a real person, so ahead of her time.’

Annie, who sings Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better, was a 19^th Century proto-feminist. She is played by the equally gutsy Emma Williams. 

Says Talbot, ‘Emma’s got all the right qualities to play the role of Annie Oakley. She’s feisty and has a voice to die for. She’s so conscientious she’s gone off and had trapeze lessons to give her a head start. It’s a hugely demanding role.’

Frank Butler is played by Jason Donovan. ‘The characters have a special chemistry,’ Emma says. ‘We have been having an absolute blast. I have an array of weaponry in the show – rifles, pistols and I’m having a whale of a time playing with them. I don’t know if I’d trust myself with any real ammo.’

With Annie Get Your Gun being a Western themed musical, there are plenty of dance numbers in the show, meaning that Jason will be dancing as well as singing, which does not faze him as much as it would have done in the past. ‘I am more relaxed about choreography than I’ve ever been thanks to Strictly.’

Buffalo Bill is played by Norman Pace, known to many as half of the successful TV comedy duo from the late 80’s and early 90’s, Hale and Pace. Director Ian Talbot confirms he is an absolute perfectionist. Norman laughs it off by saying, ‘My biggest contribution to the entire show is that I’ve managed to grow my own facial hair for the part. I’ve got one of those moustaches that you have to twiddle at the end and a long thin beard that is somewhere down to my knees.’

Annie Get Your Gun started a six month tour on 16^th May at the Opera House in Manchester and travels around the UK until 4^th October. For information and tickets go to www.anniegetyourgunthemusical.com