Click here to return to the main site entry page
Click here to return to the previous page
Transcribed and Presented by Greville Watson, 2014

Rushden Operatic Society

'Annie Get Your Gun' - 1967


Programme Cover, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967



ANNIE GET YOUR GUN


Entire Production and Choreography
under the direction of
Edward Royce Jnr. (London)


Music under the Direction of
Oswald L. Lawrence, L.R.A.M., A.R.C.M.


Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin

Book by
Herbert and Dorothy Fields


By arrangement with
Emile Littler and Chappell and Co. Ltd.


The President's Message
W J A Peck, Chairman, Operatic 1967
It is my pleasure once again to write a short message for inclusion in the Programme of our 21st Birthday Production “Annie Get Your Gun”, which I am sure needs no introduction from me to secure your full support and enjoyment.

I can assure our patrons that the Society has every confidence that this will prove another very attractive and happy Show and as President I can assure them that, with the continued loyalty and enthusiasm of our members under the able and professional direction of our Producer, Mr Edward Royce Jnr, and following the long line of very successful Productions over the past twenty years, this will prove another vintage year to add to the Society’s high reputation.

As in the past we shall strive not only to give our patrons another first-class Show to be remembered, but with the excellent patronage and financial support of our Vice-Presidents, we hope once again to fulfil the Society’s ambition to give a generous sum in support of our local charities.

The Society will always welcome applications from anyone interested in joining the Society.  Applications should be made to the Secretary, 135 High Street, Rushden.

My personal thanks and appreciation to all concerned.

W. J. A. Peck
President


Beryl Rowe
whom we are delighted to welcome as our Dancing Mistress.
Edward Joyce Jnr,
who makes a most welcome return to Rushden to produce "Annie Get Your Gun" after his very successful production of "The New Moon" last year. Once more we look forward to a most happy and successful production.

Pauline Wildman, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Pauline Wildman
(Annie)

Peter Carpenter, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Peter Carpenter
(Frank)

"Annie Get Your Gun" Story of the Play

With the arrival of Charlie Davenport, manager of Buffalo Bill, the serenity of Cincinnati, Ohio, is shattered.  Charlie heralds the arrival of the famous wild west show, and announces that Frank Butler, the champion sharpshooter, will challenge their local shot to a contest for a prize of 100 dollars.  Foster Wilson, proprietor of the Wilson Hotel, protests when Charlie monopolises his lawn, and he orders him to move the show.  Despite all Charlie’s entreaties, Wilson is adamant in his refusal to allow the show the use of his Hotel.  Even the arrival of Frank Butler cannot dispel his objections.

One by one we meet the Buffalo Bill company.  Dolly Tate with her daughter Winnie, and Tommy Keeler.  Winnie and Tommy provide additional love interest.  From the start Dolly is clear in her objection to Tommy as Winnie’s husband.  It is while Dolly sits alone we hear the crack of a rifle and we see for the first time the fabulous Annie Oakley.  Wilson, impressed by Annie’s shooting, conceives a plan of winning the 100 dollars from Charlie.  He offers Annie a niggardly five dollars to beat Frank Butler.  She accepts, predicting that she cannot lose.  It is here that Annie meets Frank.  Annie is overwhelmed by the handsome, debonair Frank Butler, but he tells her she is not woman enough for him.  Plaintively Annie examines her dress.  Laughter greets Annie’s challenge, but she amazes the crowd and annoys Frank by beating him in the contest.  Annie receives her baptism into show business when Frank reluctantly accepts her as his assistant.

On their way to Minneapolis Buffalo Bill leans that his old rival Pawnee Bill will be opening his Far East show in St Paul, a town close to Minneapolis, and that as a special attraction he has signed up Chief Sitting Bull.  Frank finds he can no longer resist Annie, and Annie finds she is unable to resist helping Winnie and Tommy to get married.  Charlie and Buffalo Bill in their determination to counteract Pawnee Bill’s move, induce Annie to do a spectacular trick on their opening night in Minneapolis.  Pawnee Bill and Sitting Bull with the object of seeing Annie, present themselves to Buffalo Bill, who invites them to the show.

Frank is dismayed by Annie’s sensational appearance.  But Sitting Bull tells her he wants her to be his daughter, and at the same time he consents to put money in show business.  At the end of the Indian ceremony Annie, now daughter of the Sioux, learns she has lost Frank.  Frank Butler has joined Pawnee Bill’s show in a fit of jealousy at Annie’s success.  Returning from a tour of Europe, successful in prestige but not financially, Annie and the Company are invited to meet Pawnee Bill, who has been playing successfully as they believe, at Madison Square Garden.  In this proposed meeting they see a chance to merge the two shows, and Annie of regaining Frank.  But Pawnee Bill, while entertaining at the opulent Hotel Brevoort is also contemplating a merger, apparently for the same reason.  Frank and Annie meet again, but find their old rivalry still exists and a shooting match is arranged.

Charlie Davenport and Sitting Bull find Dolly Tate tempering with Annie’s guns.  Sitting Bull threatens to scalp her and a horrified Dolly runs from the scene, but Sitting Bull and Charlie realise that only if Annie is beaten, can she hope for a reconciliation with Frank.  It is with this object they twist the sights of Annie’s gun.  It is at Governor’s Island that Frank Butler beats Annie Oakley in the contest.  Frank tells Annie that they are partners and they will combine the shows.  Annie has lost a shooting match, but won her man.


The Orchestra
under the direction of
Oswald L. Lawrence, LRAM, ARCM

Violins


Viola
Cello
Double Bass
Flute
Clarinet
Alto Sax

Tenor Sax
Trumpets

Trombone
Percussion
Piano

Tina Faulkner, (Leader)
Yvonne Bowness
Elsie Bridges
S. Seamarks
C. Cook
E. Allen
R. Pettitt
J. Hornsey
R. Pettitt
J. Hornsey
W. Coleman
E. Denton
M. Chamberlain
R. Benning
J. Miles
Joan Hart


Oswald L. Lawrence
who has been our Musical Director
since 1947.
He has given most distinguished service to the Society.


Don Fulcher, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Don Fulcher
(Charlie)

Robert Hart, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Robert Hart
(Buffalo Bill)

Christine Carter, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Christine Carter
(Dolly)

Phyllis Clarke, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Phyllis Clarke
(Sylvia Potter-Porter)

Cicely Langley, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Cicely Langley
(Winnie)

Cast
(in order of appearance)
Small Boy
Charlie Davenport
Mac (Property Man)
Foster Wilson (Hotel Proprietor)
Dolly Tate
Winnie Tate (Her Daughter)
Tommy Keeler
Frank Butler (Champion Sharpshooter)
Annie Oakley
Minnie (Annie's Sister)

Jessie (Annie's Sister)

Nellie (Annie's Sister)

Little Jake (Annie's Brother)

Col. Wm. F. Cody, Buffalo Bill
Mrs. Little Horse
Mrs. Black Tooth
Mrs. Yellow Foot
Trainman
Waiters

Porters

Riding Mistress
Major Gordon Lillie, Pawnee Bill
Chief Sitting Bull
Pawnee's Messenger
Sylvia Potter-Porter
Another Small Boy

Peter Brown
Don Fulcher
Keith Green
Allen Goulsbra
Christine Carter
Cicely Langley
Graham Ward
Peter Carpenter
Pauline Wildman
Ann Dickens &
Ruth Campion
Gill Clarke &
Christine Yeomans
Margaret Osborne &
Linda Alderman
Mark Coleman &
Keith Smith
Robert Hard
Rose Drage
Connie Holt
Margaret Coleman
Geoffrey Sanders
Philip Smith and
Reg Hirons
Frank Wilmer and
Jim Southam
Christine Redden
Phillip Maddams
Clive Durrant
Colin Sly
Phyllis Clarke
David Coleman

Synopsis of Musical Numbers

ACT I
"Buffalo Bill"
"I'm a Bad, Bad Man"
"Doin' What Comes Natur'lly"

"The Girl That I Marry"
"You Can't Get a Man With a Gun"
"Show Business"

"They Say It's Wonderful"
"Moonshine Lullaby"
"I'll Share It All With You"
"Ballyhoo"
Reprise : "Show Business"
"My Defences Are Down"
"I'm an Indian Too"
"Adoption Dance"

Charlie and Ensemble
Frank and Girls
Annie, Sisters, Brother and
Foster Wilson
Frank
Annie
Buffalo Bill, Charlie, Frank and
Annie
Frank and Annie
Annie and Trio
Winnie and Tommy
Danced by Show People
Annie
Frank and Boys
Annie
Annie and Braves

ACT II
"Lost In His Arms"
"Who Do You Love I Hope?"
"Sun in the Morning"
Reprise : "They Say It's Wonderful"
Reprise : "The Girl That I Marry"
"Anything You Can Do"
Reprise : "Show Business"

Annie and Ensemble
Winnie and Tommy
Annie and Ensemble
Annie and Frank
Frank
Annie and Frank
Entire Company


Synopsis of Scenes
ACT I

ACT II
Scene 1.

Scene 2.

Scene 3.
Scene 4.
Scene 5.

The Wilson House, a summer hotel on the outskirts of
Cincinnati, Ohio. July.
A Pullman Parlour in an Overland Steam Train.
Six weeks later.
The Fair Ground, Minneapolis, Minn. A few days later.
A Dressing Room Tent. The same day.
The Arena of the Big Tent. Later that night.

Scene 6.
Scene 7.

Scene 8.

Scene 9.

The Deck of a Cattle Boat. Eight months later.
Ballroom of the Hotel Brevoort, New York, N.Y.
The next night.
The Governor's Island Ferry.
Next morning.
Governor's Island. Near the Fort.
Immediately following

Clive Durrant, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Clive Durrant
(Chief Sitting Bull)

Keith Green, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Keith Green
(Mac)

Graham Ward, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Graham Ward
(Tommy)

Phillip Maddams, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Phillip Maddams
(Pawnee Bill)

Allen Goulsbra, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967
Allen Goulsbra
(Foster Wilson)

Ladies Chorus, Annie Get Your Gun 1967
Ladies of the Chorus
Margaret Ambury, Gillian Brown, Phyllis Clarke, Margaret Coleman,
Rose Drage, Anita George, Connie Holt, Caroline Hulbert,
Christine Hunt, Jeanette King, Eileen Mack, Janet Mould,
Mary Quartermaine, Josephine Sharp, Angela Wilson.

Gentlemen's Chorus, Annie Get Your Gun 1967
Gentlemen of the Chorus
Robert Atkinson, Frank Baish, Ken Fulcher,
Reg Hirons, Harold Hulbert,
Claude King-Underwood, John Pack,
Colin Sly, Philip Smith, Karl Zaremba.

Welcome and Thanks
Bill Clarke, Chairman, Operatic Society
Well, here we are again with another Show for your entertainment and on this our 21st Anniversary, as Chairman of the Society, I would like to say welcome and express a sincere thank you to our President, our Vice Presidents and to you our Audience for your continued support.

With your help we have been able to continue our Productions over the past 21 years and to donate to local Charities and Organisations over £1200.  This, thanks to you all, has brought Comfort, Help and Enjoyment to many people.

This year “Annie Get Your Gun” is a change from our usual trend of Show, but we hope you will enjoy it and help us to make it a financial success.

To the Officers, Committee and Members of the Society and to everyone who has helped over the past 21 years to keep our Society a Successful one, I say a Big Thank You.

Wishing you a happy evening.
Bill Clarke
Chairman, Rushden Amateur Operatic Society

Our 1968 Production

Subject to final confirmation of availability, we hope to present ”Pink Champagne”, an Adaptation by Eric Maschwitz and Bernard Grun of the original Vienna Production of “Die Fledermaus”, composed by the Waltz King, Johann Straus.  This is indeed a Champagne Show and it has often been said, no doubt with every justification, that the Original from which the Adaptation for Amateur Production has been made, is one of the finest, if not the finest Operetta yet written.

The Show is just full of the most lovely and sparkling music.  It is set in the Vienna of 1874 and the Story bubbles over with fun and good humour.

If you enjoy hearing “The Blue Danube” then you must enjoy “Pink Champagne”.  Indeed a Blue Danube Ballet has been introduced.

Make a note of the date and place: Week commencing April 29th, 1968, at the Ritz, Rushden.


The Dancers, Annie Get Your Gun, 1967





Dancers

(Trained by Beryl Rowe, ARAD, ANATD, IDMA)

Carolyn Abbott, Ann Brown, Pam Fulcher, Angela Hobbs,
Susan Horne, Maureen Morris, Jenny Murphy, Mary Painter,
Janet Penn, Jenny Porter, Christine Redden, Diana Smith.

John Beeden, John Gudgeons, Martin Jackson, Alan Keech,
Michael Mills, John Rowlatt, David Watson,
Michael Whipp, Frank Wright.

The Junior Members

Acknowledgments
The Committee and members of the Society wish to offer their very sincere thanks to the following whose assistance and co-operation have made this production possible.

The President and Vice-Presidents for their continued interest and support.
The Northamptonshire Education Committee (Mr. G. E. Churchill, MA, Chief Education Officer) and Mr. W. J. Monck, Head of the Rushden Evening Institute who has given every help in the arrangement of rehearsals.
Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Goulsbra who have once more been responsible for the essential but sometimes unnoticed chore of organising the booking arrangements.
Mr. H. W. Catlin, Headmaster of Rushden Secondary Modern School for Boys, and the Caretakers for their help.
The local traders who have taken advertising space or donated pages in this programme.
The Stewards and Programme Sellers.
The Nursing Sisters and St. John Ambulance for attendance at the Theatre.
Mr. Knighton the Manager and all the Staff of the Ritz, Rushden, for their continued assistance.
The Stage Staff and all others who have worked behind the Scenes, each one of whom has contributed so much to the success of this Production.
Everyone who has assisted the Society in presenting "Annie Get Your Gun" whether or not mentioned in these pages.

Programme Sellers:
(Arrangements by Rose Frost)

Audrey Annies, Nancy Bailey, Elizabeth Elliott, Rose Frost, Frances Gore, Gwen Hardwick, Dorothy Head, Hilda House, Sally Massom, Susan Massom, Ann Noble, Gwen Southam, Irene Warr, Judith Walker, Rita Yeomans.



Stewards:
(Under the Direction of E. Wadsworth)

J. Barker, A. Binder, H. Binder, E. Clark,
P. Cuthbeth, L. Darnell, A. Frost, A. Gibbs,
S. Godfrey, P. W. House, H. V. Ingram,
M. Knight, I. Lawrence, W. D. Perkins,
D. Reeves, E. A. Strickland, D. Webb.




Click here to return to the main index of features
Click here to return to the Leisure, Clubs & Societies index
Click here to e-mail us