Annie gets her gun

Annie Oakley wears rags and carries a rifle upon her shoulder. When she spots a small bird flying above her head she quickly twists her rifle and aims. With a single shot the bird careens into the ground. An onlooker disgustingly remarks about Annie’s filth and unwomanly nature, and Annie, with her quick wit, holds up her kill and says “She looks better than you do, and she’s got a bullet through her head!” I had the privilege of going to the closing performance of Annie Get Your Gun this past Saturday at the Calumet Theatre in Calumet. The performance was put on by the Calumet Players. Annie Get Your Gun is a musical about Annie Oakley, a riflewoman who engages in a shooting contest with Frank Butler, known as the sharpest shooter in the world. When Annie wins the contest she also wins a spot in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show with Frank. Despite the fact that Frank claims to only like women who “wear satin “¦ and smell of cologne” he falls in love with plain, tomboyish Annie, and by the end of the musical they are engaged to each other. The Calumet Players put on a wonderful rendition of this classic Irvin Berlin musical. Sara Perfetti, a fifth through 12th grade band and seventh through 12 grade choir teacher at Lake Linden-Hubbell Schools, stole the show with the part of Annie Oakley. She had the entire audience rolling on the floor in laughter with her witty lines and displayed an incredible musical talent in the songs she sang. Other notable performances were those of Ross Coltman (Frank Butler) and Molly Trewartha (Dolly Tate). The whole ensemble was outstanding. Michelle Foy, a junior at Michigan Tech, had these words to say, “I was very surprised at the quality of the performances. I wasn’t expecting much from such a small town, but the performances resembled that of a larger city.” If you have never been to the Calumet Theatre to see one of the productions by the Calumet Players, I would strongly encourage you to. The historical theatre is beautiful, the performances are worthwhile, and the atmosphere is outstanding. In the words of Chief Sitting Bull, “I’ll squeeze your neck until your eyeballs fall to the floor like grapes” if you miss the next performance by the Calumet Players.