Honestly, if you ask any theater nerd to hum a few bars of a classic showtune, they’ll probably land on "There’s No Business Like Show Business." It’s basically the national anthem of Broadway. But most people forget—or maybe just don’t realize—that this legendary anthem didn't come from some generic revue. It’s the beating heart of Annie Get Your Gun Broadway, a show that has been making audiences cheer, cringe, and think for nearly eighty years.
It’s a weird one, right? You’ve got a rough-and-tumble girl from the woods, a massive ego-driven sharpshooter in a snug vest, and a bunch of songs that have outlived almost everyone who originally heard them.
The Birth of a Powerhouse
Back in 1946, things were different. Dorothy Fields had this crazy idea to write a musical for her friend, the powerhouse Ethel Merman. She wanted something that captured the grit and glory of Annie Oakley. At first, they had Jerome Kern lined up to write the music. But tragedy struck when Kern collapsed and died shortly after arriving in New York.
Enter Irving Berlin.
Berlin was hesitant. He wasn't sure he could write "hillbilly music." But the man was a genius. He went home and basically churned out "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" and "You Can't Get a Man With a Gun" over a weekend. It was magic. The original Annie Get Your Gun Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on May 16, 1946. It didn’t just open; it exploded. 1,147 performances later, it was a certified titan of the Golden Age.
Ethel Merman was the soul of that first run. Her voice was like a trumpet—bold, brassy, and impossible to ignore. She played Annie as a woman who could skin a deer and outshoot any man but didn't know the first thing about "civilized" romance. Ray Middleton played Frank Butler, the man who was both her rival and the love of her life. The chemistry was competitive, loud, and exactly what post-war Broadway wanted.
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The Plot (Basically)
Annie Oakley is a "backwoods gal" who supports her siblings by selling game birds. She’s discovered by Buffalo Bill Cody after she outshoots the local hotshot. She joins the Wild West Show and falls head-over-heels for the star attraction, Frank Butler.
The problem? Annie is better than him.
Back then, a woman being better than a man at his own game was a recipe for a lonely life. The show follows their rocky romance through Europe and back, culminating in a final shootout where Annie has to decide: her pride or her man.
The 1999 Revival: Changing the Game
If you saw the show in the late 90s, you saw a very different version. Times had changed, and frankly, the original 1946 script had some major issues. It was—to put it bluntly—pretty racist toward Native Americans. The song "I'm an Indian Too" and some of the dialogue involving Chief Sitting Bull were... uncomfortable.
Peter Stone was brought in to "fix" the book for the 1999 revival. He turned the whole thing into a play-within-a-play. Suddenly, we were watching Buffalo Bill’s troupe putting on the story of Annie and Frank. This "distancing device" helped, but Stone went further. He cut the offensive songs and reworked the ending.
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In the original, Annie misses her shots on purpose to make Frank feel like a big man so he'll marry her.
Yikes.
The revival made the ending more of a mutual draw, a "we’re both great" moment that felt much better to a modern audience. Bernadette Peters took the lead, bringing a softer, more vulnerable "dolly-like" quality to Annie that was a total 180 from Merman’s brassiness. Then, Reba McEntire stepped in and blew the doors off the place. Reba was Annie. She didn't have to fake the accent or the attitude; she just lived it.
Why We Still Talk About It
You can’t talk about Annie Get Your Gun Broadway without talking about the music. It’s one of the few shows where almost every song is a "standard."
- "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)"
- "I Got the Sun in the Morning"
- "They Say It's Wonderful"
- "Moonshine Lullaby"
It’s a hit factory. Even if you’ve never stepped foot in a theater, you know these tunes. They’re baked into our culture.
But it’s also a fascinating look at gender dynamics. Is it a feminist story? Some say yes—Annie is an independent breadwinner who is the best in the world at what she does. Others say no—the fact that she even considers dimming her light for a man is infuriating. It's a debate that still rages in theater departments and over post-show drinks.
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What Most People Get Wrong
People often think Annie Oakley was a purely fictional character created for the stage. Nope. Phoebe Ann Mosey was very real. She was a superstar. She really did join Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. She really did marry Frank Butler. And honestly? Their real-life romance was way more stable than the musical suggests. Frank actually became her manager and was her biggest fan. He didn't have the "fragile ego" the musical gives him for dramatic tension.
Actionable Insights for Theater Lovers
If you're looking to dive into the world of Annie Get Your Gun Broadway, don't just stop at the movie. The 1950 film with Betty Hutton is fun, but it's sanitized.
- Listen to the 1999 Revival Recording: Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat are great, but try to find the tracks with Reba McEntire. Her "I Got the Sun in the Morning" is transformative.
- Read Up on the Real Annie Oakley: Visit the National Cowgirl Museum or check out actual footage of her shooting. Understanding the real woman makes the musical’s choices much more interesting.
- Compare the Scripts: If you’re a real nerd, look at the 1946 libretto versus the 1999 Peter Stone revision. It’s a masterclass in how to modernize a "problematic" classic without losing its soul.
- Watch for Local Revivals: Because it has a large cast and familiar songs, community theaters love this show. However, notice which version they’re using. Most modern productions stick to the Stone revision to avoid the controversies of the past.
The show isn't perfect. It's a product of its time that has been poked, prodded, and polished for the modern era. But at the end of the day, when that orchestra starts the overture and those horns hit the first notes of "Show Business," you can't help but feel the spark. It's loud, it's messy, and it's quintessentially Broadway.
To truly appreciate the legacy of this show, start by comparing the vocal styles of Ethel Merman and Bernadette Peters on Spotify or YouTube. The difference in their interpretations tells the whole story of how Broadway's leading ladies evolved over fifty years. After that, look up the tour dates for any upcoming regional productions to see how 2026 directors are handling the Annie/Frank rivalry in a post-modern world.