Another Musical

[drcpunk]

mnemex and I just saw the movie version of Annie Get Your Gun. It's shorter than the stage version, and has the same uncomfortable parts, e.g., "I'm An Indian Too" and the fact that, ultimately, it's about a woman who is willing to be less than she could be because she's in love with a man who is a generous winner, but a very poor loser. Even though two of the male characters in the show tell him what a jerk he is, this one's more dated than any of the musicals we've yet rented for the upcoming larp, though it's still very watchable. It's energetic, and the only reason I think of the musical numbers as looking obviously staged is that The Music Man is superb and fresh in my head.

The real Annie Oakley, if wikipedia can be trusted on the subject, was amazing, and the real Frank Butler a much nicer guy than the Butler of the musical. When he realized that Annie was the better shooter, he became her assistant. He died soon after she did, because he stopped eating when she died.

Comments

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

He's correct: the film, being subject to the standards of the time, had far less innuendo and outright suggestive lyrics than the staging.

The actress is Ann Miller, of the million-dollar legs, and her performance is terrific. But the song belongs in the production, and the staging in the modern version was pretty damned spectacular.

Vice versa, did you know about the board in the onstage spanking scene? Apparently Kathryn Grayson (Lilli) worked out with the stage manager (or the props guy or the director, I forget which) that she would have a board over her bottom, under her costume, during that scene. Without telling Howard Keel, who was to spank her onstage. I understand he got away without breaking his hand, and was understandably less than happy about it.

Good luck finding someone with serious cojones for Lilli; she's going to need them to bring it off correctly.

[drcpunk.livejournal.com]

If Lise wanted to play, I think she'd do fine, but I've not heard back from when I asked her. Also, last I heard, Sky Masterson, Lucy, Charlie Brown, Adelaide, and the mayor from The Music Man are open.