1975-1976 - Annie Get Your Gun was selected as the GP’s seventh musical, and for the first time, the staff was composed entirely of veterans. The only change from the previous year was the return of Ted Vickery to design the sets. Annie Get your Gun displayed other signs that we were growing up. Scott Armstrong graduated from rolling trucks in the aisles to performing onstage as Little Jake. Leslie LaGuardia (no more ace bandages for this girl!!) metamorphosed from little boy (Winthrop) through girl (Princess Ying Yaowlak) to leading lady (Annie Oakley). Being a veteran performer was no help, however, when it came to rehearsing her kissing scene with Fran Thomas (Frank Butler). It took almost 30 minutes to accomplish the actually touching of lips in the mood indicated by the script. The time prior to that was spent in explosions of laughter, some of which occurred mid-kiss.

I have not mentioned the orchestra (fondly known by one and all as the “Pit”) much in this history. The GP have always been blessed with wonderful and dedicated musicians who work long hours by themselves before mid February when they join the cast for rehearsals. It is always an exciting time when the actors work for the first time with the Pit. The appeal was usually to the senses of sight and sound, but during Annie Get your Gun the appeal was also to the sense of smell. The smell of cheese fondue spreading throughout the auditorium was a cause for concern until we discovered the percussion section, Messrs. Merrill and Jiusto, cooking lunch behind the pit barrier. Fondue never became a GP tradition due totally to the danger it presented. I remember it was quite delicious. Mentioning the Pit brings to mind graffiti, since the inside of the pit barrier is the only place where graffiti has been allowed and where it remains since the founding of the GP. The old “dressing rooms” used to be covered with graffiti, some of which was saved on broken plasterboard and stored in the new “prop” room. (Are they still there, and would a current Player send me a list of the names and quotations?)

One “technical” problem in Annie Get Your Gun was the problem of the bird “flying” from Dolly’s hat when Annie mistakenly shoots it. Not being able to discover how it was done on Broadway, I rigged up a large woman’s hat with the bird (borrowed from The Carl Co.) held in an armed mouse trap which could be fired by means of Dolly pulling a string. It worked fine if it didn’t go off prematurely, and if Susan Churchill (Dolly) had the courage to pull the string. She was always afraid that she would be snapped on the side of the head. As I recall, the bird “flew” about half the time.

Another technical problem in Annie Get Your Gun could have been much more serious. We were experimenting with new ways of moving scenery and decided to fly the facade of the Wilson House Hotel which was the largest piece of scenery we had flown up to that time. One Saturday very close to opening we had a meeting on stage at the end of rehearsal. Everyone left almost immediately after the meeting, and as I was locking the auditorium doors, I heard a very loud noise coming from the stage. I opened the door to discover the stage was covered with bent pipes and shattered wood. The entire facade and the battens holding it had failed and crashed to the stage. I and several others learned a lot that day about safety, and the phrase “never saddle a dead horse” has never left me. I will not explain that saying here but will leave the explanation to a stage crew person (if any are reading this).

It was during this year that we started renting a large amount of lighting equipment, a practice which was to grow for many years. However, it was the costume rental which caused the greatest adventure of the year. A large number of costumes were ordered from The Atlanta Costume Company, and they were shipped by air from the company’s Minneapolis office for arrival Friday, March 5. At this time in our history there was no costume director, per se. That duty was performed by the student director (Liz Barhydt) , the assistant student director (Sue Kamp), the director, and anyone else who either volunteered or was entrapped. The costumes left Minneapolis on time. However, the plane was on the ground in Chicago when a severe snow storm struck and O’Hare Airport was closed. When we discovered the delay, we were assured that the costumes would continue their journey as soon as the airport was reopened. On Saturday the airport was reopened, and we waited during the run-through rehearsal for a call saying the costumes were at the airport. No call came. After rehearsal, I made some calls and discovered: 1- the costumes had been removed from the airplane in Chicago to make room for “priority” shipments, 2- the costumes were in storage, 3 - the costumes would be shipped “soon”, and 4 - we should call the airport after each arrival of that airline to find out if the costumes were on that flight. It is here that my memory becomes a little muddled. As I I recall the events, a group of us decided to stay at school until the costumes arrived, were picked up and cataloged. We had a list of flights, and after each arrival we called only to be told that their were no shipments for the GP. I remember calling the airline and suggesting that there were few things in the world which could have more “priority” than costumes for a Guilderland Players’ production and that I fully intended to inform our huge audiences that the cause of our costume deficiency was an uncaring airline which was holding our costumes hostage in Chicago. I don’t believe we stayed at the school all of Saturday night, but it was very early Sunday morning when we left. It was during that night that the stories of the ghosts in the auditorium gained momentum. We all heard strange creaks and groans from the catwalks, but I’m sure the sightings were caused by weariness and stress. (I was always tempted to install a ghost light on the stage, but the powers that be would not have understood.) Sunday’s rehearsal was also without costumes. It was not until Sunday evening that the costumes arrived. This left Monday (dark house) for checking fit and doing alterations. Dress rehearsal would be the time to work out difficult changes, a sort of theatrical “flying by the seat of one’s pants”. (pun intended) As a result of all this, the dress rehearsal of Annie Get Your Gun was possibly (probably?) the worst dress rehearsal in our history. Actors missed scenes; ad libs flew like the snow that delayed the plane; lines were dropped; actors appeared in incorrect and/or incomplete costumes, songs were forgotten, and actors grew frustrated enough to exit well before the script called for an exit. As Liz said in her journal, “They say that a bad dress rehearsal means a good show, If this is true, our show will be terrific. It’s really disappointing to see something that bad when you know they can do much better.”

The adage held true: Annie Get your Gun was a terrific show. Patty Ferraioli (‘74), a GP alumna, wrote in a letter to the staff and crew, “ As I sat in the audience and watched Annie Get Your Gun” unfold, I was overwhelmed by its total quality. It was the best all-round show I think I had ever seen.” Some memorable moments from Annie Get Your Gun include the wonderful “Wild Horse Ceremonial Dance,” “Moonshine Lullaby”, which always got an “aww” from the audience for the cuteness of the children; and that famous phrase, “Un Dah.”

The program for Annie Get Your Gun was 28 pages. The cast numbered 62. The orchestra numbered 26. Leslie LaGuardia went on to make a career of dance and presently operates the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Latham. Susan Churchill became a radio personality. Dave Canavan can be heard singing with the Guilderland Town Band in its summer concerts.

Since writing the section on Annie Get Your Gun, I had the pleasure of talking with many of the cast members at a class reunion for the class of 1976. One of the people in attendance was Myrlin Valerio whose only GP performance was as a singer in Annie Get Your Gun. What is remarkable about Myrlin is that she had one of the most memorable auditions in our history. After failing to summon the courage to audition in previous years, she signed up in the Fall of 1975. When the time came for her to sing (“Misty”, I believe), she took a deep breath and then, instead of singing, said, “I can’t do this.” We talked to her for awhile and convinced her to start again. Again, a deep breath followed by, “I can’t do this.” Getting her to sing became a project. The process was repeated “several” more times until she finally sang and sang beautifully. This would be memorable in and of itself, but the fact that she went on to become a successful theatre major in college makes the story even better, and also leads me to believe there is a lesson in it.

In the summer of 1976 the GP performed its second summer theatre production, Four African Folk Tales. More than 25 students participated, and several changes were made in our production methods. We decided that the auditorium was not the proper venue for these productions, and we decided to use the cafeteria in order to achieve a more intimate relationship with the kids in the audience. Since the performances were given in the afternoon, the use of lighting was eliminated. A rope across the floor separated the audience from the players. The children sat on the floor with the parents in chairs behind them. This led to interesting situations when enraptured children decided to join the action. The sets and costuming for this production were much simpler than those of the previous summer, and this made for a more relaxed atmosphere. Four African Folk Tales proved to be an excellent vehicle for our second summer presentation. It demanded many choreographed movements, the use of masks and creative costuming since many of the characters were animals. The plays were a great success with more than 450 people attending the three productions. At least one actor, Craig Shave, still remembers all his lines. What is even more amazing is that I also remember all his lines! They were, “corn, corn, corn” and “rope, rope, rope.” In addition to putting on the play, the cast went to SUNY to see three different productions.