Annie Get Your Gun at the Sunderland Empire Review
Annie Get Your Gun
Sunderland Empire
3-7 June 2014
Reviewed by Diane Wilkinson
On the evening of Tuesday 3rd June, my partner and I went to see a production of “Annie Get Your Gun” starring Jason Donovan at the Sunderland Empire in Sunderland city centre.
Once we’d found the theatre and got our bearings parking was fairly easy in the nearby shopping centre multi-storey, just a short walk to the theatre. The theatre itself is relatively small, compared to say the Theatre Royal in Newcastle, but is a lovely building which retains many of its original Victorian features. There was an atmosphere of quiet excitement and a buzz of anticipation in the entrance and around the theatre as we arrived. We were greeted by friendly staff. Everything seemed clean and well-maintained, including the toilets, although there was a bit of confusion as there was an entrance at each end of the ladies. Two queues meant that we weren’t sure who was next to go! This oddity didn’t detract from the rest of the evening.
We were seated in the Grand Circle with a great view of the stage. There is ornate decor in the main auditorium, which gave us lots to look at as we waited for the performance to begin.
The show itself was originally produced by the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein with music by Irving Berlin in 1946 but has stood the test of time, as proved by the packed house. The story is set around a Wild West touring show starring sharpshooter Frank Butler, who is brought down a peg or two during a shooting challenge by local uneducated woman, Annie Oakley. The pair begin an on-off relationship characterised by the conflict between maintaining their own identities and compromising their behaviour to please each other.
In this production the fine musical score was brought to life by the brilliant on-stage orchestra and the strong voices of the cast. Leading man Jason Donovan as Frank Butler was, however, overshadowed by the wonderfully entertaining Emma Williams who played Annie Oakley. They belted out classics such as “There’s no Business like Show Business” and “The Girl that I Marry.” Emma was particularly impressive during “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better” in which she held a note for so long I lost count of the seconds!
The stage was lively with action, even between scenes, as scene changes were integrated into the storyline. One element which made it visually pleasing was having the orchestra on-stage throughout. There was also some fantastic choreography from the entire cast, who all looked to be enjoying themselves immensely!
Apart from the leading lady, stand-out cast members included Ed Currie as Chief Sitting Bull, William Oxborrow as Charlie Davenport and Lorna Want as Winnie Tate. The accents of the Wild West of America were believable apart from the odd once or twice, and the often-humourous dialogue was very entertaining.
We would recommend this theatre and this production for a night of easy entertainment with a nostalgic feel-good factor.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £13.40 to £39.40 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).
Annie Get Your Gun is at the Sunderland Empire until 7 June 2014. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 3022.
Sunderland Empire, High Street West, Sunderland, SR1 3EX | 0844 871 3022
