REVIEW: Annie Get Your Gun, Churchill Theatre ✭✭✭✭

Jonathan Wilkes and Emma Williams in Annie Get Your Gun Annie Get Your Gun Tuesday 15th July 20144 Stars

There’s No Business Like Show Business and this new production of Annie Get Your Gun (currently touring the UK) certainly delivers a cracking night’s entertainment in the theatre.

There are those that may remember Annie Get Your Gun as a show whose time had come, due to political correctness, but thanks to a major revision by the late award-winning writer Peter Stone, we’ve been given an Annie that is sure to endure and entertain.

Like Kiss Me Kate, Stone has set Annie Oakley’s story within the confines of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. It’s a simple device that allows the story and Irving Berlin’s score full of classic songs to take centre stage.

As Annie, Emma Williams is a one-woman tornado. She has an infectious stage personality that has the audience on-side from her first moment on stage. Her co-star, the dashing Jonathan Wilkes shines as Frank Butler and their love/hate relationship had the audience wanting more.   Wilkes is every bit the musical leading man, all swagger with a voice to melt hearts.

Berlin’s score includes classics like There’s No Business Like Show Business, Anything You Can Do I can Do Better, They Say It’s Wonderful and I Got The Sun In The Morning, all accompanied by a nine piece band that keep the pace of this Annie firing from both barrels. Director Ian Talbot has kept this production light and fun and the audience were cheering and stomping by the rousing finale.

This is first-rate family entertainment. This Annie is a great night in the theatre and comes highly recommended.

Annie Get Your Gun is currently touring. Visit the Annie Get Your Gun website.