Milledgeville Players prep for ‘Annie Get Your Gun’

The Milledgeville Players came into existence in 2001 following a production of “Oklahoma” sponsored by the GCSU Department of Continuing Education. That show brought together many folks from the community who discovered they shared a common interest in theater. And with that, Milledgeville’s community theater group was born.

In the years since, the Players have presented numerous musicals, comedies, and mysteries including “South Pacific,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Arsenic and Old Lace,” “Harvey,” “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” “You Can’t Take It with You,” “H.M.S. Pinafore,” “The Pajama Game” and “And Then There Were None.” In addition to major plays, the group also presents at least one murder mystery dinner each year as well as many smaller productions and cabarets.

Everyone in the central Georgia community is welcome to try out for productions put on by the MVP and Georgia College students are often involved. You do not need to be a theater major, or even have a background in theater, to try out. It is community theater and everyone is welcome.

The next production of the MVP is Irving Berlin’s “Annie Get Your Gun.” It tells the tale of Annie Oakley, the best shot around, who manages to support her younger siblings by selling the game she hunts. When she’s discovered by Buffalo Bill, he persuades her to join his Wild West Show where she quickly falls in love with shooting ace Frank Butler. Annie soon eclipses Frank in popularity, however, and a classic battle of the sexes ensues. In addition, this version of the play, updated by Peter Stone in 1999, includes a secondary romance between the younger sister of Frank’s bothersome assistant and a boy who is part Native American.

Often considered Irving Berlin’s greatest achievement in the theater, the play features such timeless songs as “Doin’ What Comes Naturally,” “An Old Fashioned Wedding,” “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better” and of course the song that has become something of an unofficial theme for theater: “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” The play features many Georgia College students (and former students), including Meghan Fleming as Dolly Tate, Mary-Katherine Schapp as Winnie Tate, Jeremy Skidmore as Frank Butler, Mathis Wilkens as Tommy Keeler and Robyn Eckenroth as Annie Oakley.

Performances will run from Aug. 19-23, starting at 8 p.m. each night, with a Sunday matinee on Aug. 23 starting at 2 p.m. All performances are in Russell Auditorium on the Georgia College campus. General admission is $15. In addition, there will be an opening night reception at the Antebellum Inn at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are limited for the reception and must be purchased in advance. Call the Milledgeville Players/Buffalo Bill hotline at (478) 314-4054 to reserve tickets for the reception, any of the shows or for more information.

To find out more about being involved in future productions of the MVP, contact Dr. Tom Toney in the Biological and Environmental Sciences department at tom.toney@gcsu.edu.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Aug 7 2009. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry