STAGE REVIEW : ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ Works Like a Charm in Santa Barbara

During the curtain call for “Annie Get Your Gun” at the Santa Barbara Theatre Festival, a portrait of Irving Berlin descends from the grid. The actors sing “Happy Birthday” to the centenarian and recite a list of Berlin song titles.

It isn’t the only way they honor Berlin. They also serve him by demonstrating that his most popular show isn’t as much of a relic as we might have thought.

True, “Annie Get Your Gun” won’t win any awards from women’s or American Indian groups. Annie finally gets her man, rival sharpshooter Frank Butler, by pretending to be second-best. And Sitting Bull is primarily used as comic relief.

But then the entire show might well be characterized as comic relief. The book, by Herbert and Dorothy Fields, aims only to entertain, with a legendary story about legendary show people.

At least within the context of the gracious old Lobero Theatre in palmy Santa Barbara, it works like a charm. Annie’s final about-face may be unlikely, but the show has already won us over by then.

Besides, it’s easy to imagine that Annie will blurt the truth to Frank at the first opportunity. She isn’t someone who dissembles easily. The book’s treatment of Annie or Sitting Bull may seem retrograde, but at least they’re not weak or dishonest.

Donna McKechnie looks and sounds virtually invincible as Annie. Who would have thought that the woman who played the nervously aging dancer Cassie in “A Chorus Line” 13 years ago could play a naive, round-faced hillbilly and make it look as if she’s just “doin’ what comes natur’lly”?

Although this Annie may dance more than most, the singing is the top priority here. McKechnie’s voice carries and her phrasing makes every word count. She handles the unsung comedy with equal aplomb. Watch the wind go out of her at her first glimpse of Frank.

As Frank, Laurence Guittard has the voice and intermittent smile of a romantic lead, yet the way he carries his neck and flashes his eyes is ideal for someone who’s described as “a big, swollen-headed stiff.” The supporting cast is uniformly fine: George D. Wallace’s Buffalo Bill, Jm J. Bullock’s Wild West Show manager, Peggy Pope’s Dolly Tate.

And then there’s Alan Sues as Sitting Bull, alternating between a deep, gruff voice for his more serious pronouncements and a nasally whine for occasional afterthoughts and punch lines, which bring down the house. The good-humored hokum is disarming.

So is the big “I’m an Indian Too” number, choreographed with a wink by Murphy Cross. “There’s No Business Like Show Business” achieves a much higher level of magic. Elsewhere the dances mingle spontaneity and grace in balanced proportions; the male chorus is particularly winning in “My Defenses Are Down.” Musical director Harper MacKay maintains a sprightly beat.

The scenic side of this “Annie,” designed by Robert Fletcher, isn’t as accomplished as the aural. Although Annie’s big stunt, which temporarily drives away the envious Frank, is described as “the damnedest bunch of fireworks I ever saw,” here it looks mild enough to reassure Frank rather than scare him off. Likewise, when the Wild West Show circulates a big poster of Annie, it’s so crudely drawn that one wonders why Frank would be jealous of it.

Finally, the props department must fix the guns used in the final shooting match. The gun that was supposedly rigged against Annie wouldn’t fire Saturday night. An understudy gun quickly took over, but it would have been enough to turn the entire plot around if this had been real life. Fortunately, it wasn’t, nor is this a production that encourages nit-pickers.

(The production is moving to San Francisco’s Geary Theatre for the month of June.)

Technical problems were even more severe a couple of blocks away, at the Sunday matinee performance of “Ulysses in Nighttown” by the Ensemble Theatre. The sound system collapsed shortly before showtime; the lighting board broke down soon thereafter. One scene was played in complete darkness.

Under the circumstances, it’s impossible to offer a fair assessment of the company’s handling of this Classics Illustrated adaptation of James Joyce’s “Ulysses.”

Performances of “Annie Get Your Gun” continue at 33 E. Canon Perdido, Santa Barbara, today at 2 and 8 p.m. with the final performance Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets: $14.50-$20.50; (805) 963-0761.