annie, get your gun

Our local church is going to do "Annie, Get Your Gun." Coincidentally, we had the opportunity to see a production of it when we were in Utah last month. I dragged everyone there to try to drum up enthusiasm because I have fantasized about being in a play as a whole family. I wanted all of us to try out together.

Although I am a huge fan of theater, I have limited acting experience. In high school I played Ado Annie in "Oklahoma!" She's the girl who "caint say 'no'"--the hilariously dim strumpet who gets kissed a lot before settling down with one lucky farmer.  As opening night approached, I talked it up to everyone: friends, my teachers, grocery store clerks... I remember one teacher looking me right in the eye and saying he would not be attending because he was opposed to the gender stereotypes perpetuated in plays like "Oklahoma!." Um, yeah. That was me--Ado Annie--one of the worst female stereotypes on stage. I was self confident enough to go on with the show, but his comments stuck with me.

As we watched "Annie, Get Your Gun" last month, I squirmed a little at the end. I forgot that she has to fake incompetence to win the man of her dreams. He loves her and she loves him, but her talent gets in the way. The production was great, the music is so fun, and being in a musical is a magical experience. So magical it's hard to see straight. My girls were entranced...here they are with the spunky sharpshooter herself.

Annie Oakley is a much better role-model than Ado Annie, and YES, we're going to be in the play (just the girls and I, just as "townspeople.") Hopefully my girls will not get sick of me whispering to them my own editorial in the wings: Annie didn't have to sell herself short. A girl shouldn't have to apologize for being better. (But she probably doesn't need to rub it in a guy's face, either.)