NORWICH – Formed in September of 2010, the Norwich Theater Company will present its first-ever fall production – Irving Berlin’s classic “Annie Get Your Gun” – at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Chenango County Council of the Arts, 27 West Main St.
According to director Carolyn McMaster, auditions for the musical began in late April. In mid-July, rehearsals for the show got underway and now – after two months of hard work and dedication – the group is ready to hit the stage.
“This is one fabulous show,” said McMaster. “We were fortunate enough to have a lot of people audition, which enabled us to cast exactly the right people in exactly the right parts.”
With such a strong cast, she added, all that’s left is to sit back and “watch the magic happen.” In addition, much of the cast put in the extra time and effort to learn their parts outside of rehearsal, stated McMaster. This, she added, gave everyone involved an opportunity to “really polish the show” and “we weren’t struggling to make it work at the last minute.”
The cast – led by Sheila Geer as Annie Oakley and Mike Gray as Frank Butler – is extremely talented, said the director. Geer, she added, has “a wealth of experience,” not to mention that “sweetness combined with brassiness” needed to portray the title character. Gray, said McMaster, also brings a lot of talent to the table, with a “great voice that’s impossible to describe, you have to see him on stage.”
McMaster also praised supporting cast members Patti Carnrike and Steve Emmons – who portray Winnie and Tommy respectively – and called them “just about the sweetest young couple you’ve ever seen.”
Carnrike, also a member of the Norwich Theater Company’s Board of Trustees, said the show has progressed quickly since rehearsals first began.
“We have a great cast,” she added. “I think that the biggest effect that helped bring the show to life for all of us was definitely the costumes. You really begin to feel like your character once you put on his or her clothes and Carolyn was a stickler for getting costumes that fit the time period.”
According to McMaster, set design for the production was headed-up by Matt Grenier, who also did sets for last year’s Norwich High School performance of “The Phantom of the Opera.” Carnrike said Grenier’s hard work paid off in the end and called the sets “incredible.” Choreography for “Annie Get Your Gun” was led by Kristin Miller with musical director Carl Pickett leading the band, added McMaster.
It’s the combination of all this talent, said the director, that “makes the stage come to life,” a comment she called “an understatement if there ever was one.”
As for the rest of the supporting cast, McMaster said many of its members have performed in past productions in a lead role. Having such a strong cast all around “really lights up the stage,” she added.
Carnrike said her favorite part of any production is meeting and bonding with all of the new people throughout the rehearsal process.
“When you’re in a show, you become a family because you spend so much time together and work so closely together,” she added. “I’m glad that the production is nearing its end but I will definitely miss my new ‘family.’”
Tickets for “Annie Get Your Gun” are $14. For more information on the Norwich Theater Company and its fall production of “Annie Get Your Gun” visit www.norwichtheatercompany.org.