Show Synopsis:
Annie Oakley enters a sharpshooting competition and beats the famous Frank Butler, who is amazed to be beaten by a girl. Buffalo Bill asks her to be an act in his traveling circus, and Annie and Frank fall in love on the road. Annie becomes a bigger star than Frank, which hurts his ego and their relationship. They meet after Buffalo Bill's show tour Europe, and decide to get married, but Annie's medals and accolades are too much for Frank. They have one final shooting match to determine the best sharpshooter, which ends in a tie.
Character:
Annie Oakley, a young woman who has grown up in the country with her family and is exceptionally talented at shooting; she is rough, uneducated, and naïve about most things in life.
Song Context:
Annie has just met Frank Butler and she's instantly attracted to him, but after he describes his ideal woman to her, she believes that her best qualities - including her talent for shooting - will never be enough to win his heart.
Fun Facts:
1) The role of Annie Oakley was written for Ethel Merman, who was passed over for the role when it was adapted to film. The role eventually went to Betty Hutton.
2) This musical is based on real life accounts of Annie Oakley, a female sharpshooter who toured with Buffalo Bill's show and married her costar Frank Butler.
3) This musical had the longest Broadway run out of any of Irving Berlin's musicals.
"Oh, my mother was frightened by a shotgun, they say
That's why I'm such a wonderful shot.
I'd be out in the cactus and I'd practice all day,
And now tell me what have I got?
I'm quick on the trigger with targets not much bigger than a pinpoint
I?m number one, but my score with a feller
Is lower than a cellar. Oh, you can't get a man with a gun.
When I'm with a pistol, I sparkle like a crystal -
Yes, I shine like the morning sun.
But I lose all my luster, when with a bronco buster,
Oh, you can't get a man with a gun.
With a gun, with a gun, oh, you can't get a man with a gun .
If I went to battle with someone's herd of cattle,
You'd have steak when the job was done.
But if I shot the herder, they'd holler bloody murder
And you can't shoot a male in the tail like a quail,
Oh, you can't get a man with a gun.
I'm cool, brave, and daring to see a lion glaring
When I'm out with my Remington.
But a look from a mister will raise a fever blister.
Oh, you can't get a man with a gun.
The gals with umbrellas are always out with fellers
In the rain or the blazin? sun,
But a man never trifles with gals who carry rifles.
Oh, you can't get a man with a gun.
With a gun, with a gun. Oh, you can't get a man with a gun.
A man's love is mighty - he'll even buy a nightie
For a gal who he thinks is fun.
But they don't buy pajamas for pistol packin? mamas,
And you can't get a hug from a mug with a slug.
Oh, you can't get a man with a gun."