Song: You Can’t Get a Man With a Gun

Show: Annie Get Your Gun

Composer: Irving Berlin

Show Premiere: 1946

Synopsis of show:
A traveling show (Buffalo Bill's Wild West) goes to Cincinnati Ohio. Foster Wilson (the hotel
owner) is bad about how crazy and disruptive the performers are. We Meet Frank and Dolly.
(Frank is the leading man of the show. He is known as a ladies man) (Dolly is the sister of the
show’s own, she also has acted in the show) Frank leaves and Dolly is the only one left on
stage. The bird on her hat is shot off by someone off-stage. We find out that that person was
Annie Oakley. Annie meets Frank and is immediately smitten with him. But Frank thinks Annie is
too wild. Annie is sad and sings “Can’t get a man with a gun”. Wilson finds out that Annie is a
great shot and enters her into the competition of the traveling show.
We cut to the competition where Annie competes against Frank. She wins that shooting
competition. Buffalo Bill, Charlie (the show's manager), and Frank invite Annie to join the show
and travel with them. Annie doesn’t know what “show business” is so they explain it. She agrees
to join them on the road.
They travel to Minnesota by train. We get a scene of Annie and her siblings, learning to read
and her singing them to sleep. Buffalo Bill and Charlie ask Annie to do the new trick they were
talking about when they discover that their rival performance group will be close to their new
location. Frank starts to fall for Annie. (Even though he said he thought Annie was not lovely
enough.) He asks Annie if she has ever been in love before. She says no but that they say it’s
wonderful. She clearly would like to be in love.
Annie likes becoming a start. Frank does not like that Ainne is becoming a star. But he does
love her. She is planning on presenting to her after the big show. (where she is going to do her
big trick) Annie does her trick and becomes a start. (Franck feels blindsided and tricked and
runs away to the opposite competing show) Annie gets adopted by a Native American chief (this
part aged so poorly it’s hard to watch) This is the end of Act 1.
Start of Act 2. Annie finds out that the show has lost all its money on the way back to New York.
They Come up with a plot to merge their show and the competing show to help get them out of
debt. Annie got a makeover to get ready for this party but now that she is lovely she still loves
Frank. They discover that the other show is also out of money. Annie decides to sell all the
medals that she got from touring Europe to finance the merger between the two shows. She’s
okay with losing it all because she had nothing so she still has more than what she had before.
She sees Frank for the first time in a long time dressed well and smells good. They confess their
love for each other. Then immediately get into a fight about who is the better shot. Frank says
that Annie is still not enough of a lady. (just because she is a better shot than him.) Annie’s gun
gets tampered with right before a match with Frank. They argue about who is better at
everything. (anything you can do I can do better. A super cute song got to love.) Frank gives
Annie one of his guns for luck. Bull convinces Annie to throw the match so that Frank will love
her. She does (ew) and they fall in love and live happily ever after.

Character: Annie Okaly

Age of character: She gets older as the show goes on but she starts in her late teens early
20’s

What is the general musical style of the show (Traditional musical theater, pop, operetta,
etc.)?
Has a very classical rock and roll sound. (it is one of the first golden age shows.)
How is the show typical or atypical of the work of the composers/ creators of the show?
I think it is very much the sound of that old-school
How is this show typical or atypical for the time period of the show’s premiere?
It was one of the first of its kind but It was not crazy out of the ordinary.
What historical events do you think may have influenced the show?
This show takes place over Annie Oklayl’s life (1860–1926) so lots of things happen
The only thing that stands out to me as being affected by the period is how everyone in the
show treats Annie. Because she is a woman and especially because she is a woman that is not
dainty and delicate they all treat her like she is crazy and kind of stupid. They all treat her like
she is less than and no one ever talks about it but it was just part of the time.
Complete character analysis of the character who sings the song:
● I am a woman in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s
● I am a sharpshooter
● I am the best one in the world. Better than any man
● I can not read or write
● I am bad with men
● I am not a dainty and delicate women
● This is part of the reason that I am bad with men
● I am an orphan (or if not might as well be)
● I am the caretaker for my three siblings.
● I am headstrong, energetic, loving, trusting, and talented
Character’s objective:
Overall
My objective is to be the best start shooter and Mary Frank
In this song
My objective is to decipher why I am bad with men (or to complain about it)
Context of song; at what point does this song take place in the show?
This song happens early in the show. Right after Frank meets Annie for the first time and is
disgusted by her. He talks about how the girl that he marries dresses night and smells good and
is clean and well-spoken and says that Annie is not these things. I am still immersed with him
and am frustrated that I spent all my time working with a gun instead of learning to be a lady.
To whom is the character speaking and why?
I am speaking to the audience and also to Frank. (Frank is not there but that is who I am singing
about)
Where does the scene take place? (Detailed description)
This song takes place in Ohio outside.
How does the song contribute to the character’s objective?
It is one of the main objectives of Annie to get Frank to fall in love with her. This step is me
expressing my frustrations with how I am perceived because of my abilities and the first seeds
of doubt are planted that I can be a sharpshooter and be in love with a man.
What purpose does this song serve in the dramatic structure of the show as a whole?
This shows the audience that my confidence is not unwavering and that there are things hat I
feel staring about.
How are you going to rehearse the song and why? (Answer the 4 questions)
1. When was the show written
a. 1946
2. When does this show take place
a. (1860–1926)
3. How old is the Character
a. At the time of the song late teens or early 20’s
4. What style is the song
a. Uptempo
This is 2 votes ohs and 2 votes zee’s so both
List any other information that you think may be important to your character or you as
the artist.
I can’t read or write and neither can my siblings
● It is a struggle to count and even the best of us can’t count higher than 20
I have three younger siblings
Annie Oakley was a real person
● She was born in 1860 and died in 1926
● She developed her shooting skills to help her impoverished family.
● She was the highest-earning person in her performance group except Buffalo Bill
Being a woman doing something masculine and doing it better than most men in the 1800s is
crazy.
Because her parents were out of the question her options were to stand up and take care of her
siblings or the children would be sent to orphanages or workhouses depending on their age and
region.
● A workhouse was not a place that anyone wanted to be. The women men and children
were all separated. The living space was cramped most people shared a bed with at
least one other person. Disease rain ramped. Food was terrible and often not enough
was given. The work was hard boring and often dangerous. They worked long hours with
few if any days off.
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