Finding aid to PROMPT holdings for Annie Get Your Gun

AUSTRALIAN EPHEMERA COLLECTION FINDING AID

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN - AUSTRALIAN SEASONS, 1947-1963

PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAMS AND EPHEMERA (PROMPT)

PRINTED AUSTRALIANA

JANUARY 2015

Annie get your gun

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin

Book by Herbert and Dorothy Field

The J.C.Williamson production of Annie Get Your Gun heralded the arrival of the new post-World

War 2 Broadway musical on to the Australian theatre scene. The show had opened on Broadway

in May 1946 and was an instant hit starring Ethel Merman. Just over twelve months later the

Australian production opened in Melbourne, the traditional location for J.C.Williamson to premiere

their latest musical offering.

As was common practice for J.C.Williamson they had endeavoured to find a leading lady overseas

to play the role of Annie Oakley. Instead they found the right person in Australia, local vaudeville

personality Evie Hayes. Born in America, Evie Hayes had been in Australia since 1938 with her

husband Will Mahoney performing in vaudeville on the Tivoli Circuit. Together they had

established the Cremorne Theatre in Brisbane as a famous variety venue. Her success in Annie

Get Your Gun was instant and she went on to play the role for 6 years and over 3500

performances, a world record for an actress in a lead role in a musical.

Other leading roles in Annie get your Gun were cast with imported actors most of whom returned

home to America. One major exception was Hayes Gordon who was imported for the 1952-3 tour

of “Annie get your gun” in the role of Frank Butler. Hayes Gordon remained in Australia and

founded an influential school of acting and the Ensemble Theatre in Sydney, which is still a major

player on the theatre scene.

With Annie Get Your Gun a success, J.C.Williamson soon ensured that more Broadway musicals

were produced for eager Australian audiences. Oklahoma”, Brigadoon, South Pacific, Kiss me,

Kate, and Call me Madam followed in quick succession over the next six years. Towards the end

of the 1953 tour of Annie get your Gun, the Firm staged Kiss me, Kate starring Evie Hayes which

meant she was playing the two musicals almost in repertory. When both Kate and Annie finished,

Evie Hayes took on the lead role in Call me Madam, again to great popular acclaim.

The National Library acquired a major collection of programs, manuscripts and music from the

J.C.Williamson organisation in the 1970s. The documentation of J.C.Williamson is of prime

Australian Ephemera Collection Finding Aid (PROMPT): Annie Get Your Gun 2

importance in Australia’s theatre history. ‘The Firm’, as it was known, dominated Australian theatre

going habits and tastes of the public for nearly 100 years. A comprehensive program collection is a

major component of that historical record. For example, it enables the unravelling of the complexity

of a long running touring show such as Annie Get Your Gun. Additions are constantly being made

to the collection of J.C.Williamson programs to ensure that the Library has a comprehensive

record of all attractions and tours produced by The Firm in all Australian cities. There are still gaps

remaining to be filled in the collection as evidenced by the list which follows.

Printed materials in the PROMPT collection include programs and printed ephemera such as

brochures, leaflets, tickets, etc. Theatre programs are taken as the prime documentary evidence of

a performance.

The list is based on imperfect holdings, and is updated as gaps in the Library’s holdings are filled.

Unless otherwise stated, all entries are based on published programs in the PROMPT collection.

The Annie Get Your Gun PROMPT files may be accessed through the Library’s Special

Collections Reading Room by eCallslip request: http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2634965

Programs in the National Library’ PROMPT collection are arranged chronologically / by

entrepreneur and/or management company name, etc.

1947-1950 Tour

1952-1953 Tour

1963 Season

Location and Footnotes

Other Finding Aids for the J.C.Williamson files in the PROMPT collection are :

A listing of programs for opera seasons mounted by J.C.Williamson 1901-1967 is available at:

http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3666467




J. C. Williamson production

Director - Carl Randall

Musical Director - Leo.Packer unless otherwise noted

Scenery – Geo. Upward, J. Alan Kenyon and assistants

Wardrobe - by ‘Henry’ (JCW Modes)

1947-1948 Opened 19 July 1947. Closed 12 May 1948.His Majesty's Theatre. Melbourne.]

2 copies of 4p.

Advertising brochure held.

1 copy program held.

Issue of standard JC Williamson’s Magazine program.

Principal cast:

Annie Oakley Evie Hayes

Frank Butler Webb Tilton

Charlie Davenport l Carl Randall

Dolly Tate Marie La Verre

Winnie Tate Elizabeth Gaye

Tommy Keeler Billy Kershaw

Buffalo Bill Claude Flemming

Pawnee Bill Charles Crawford

Chief Sitting Bull Sydney Wheeler

1948 Opened 15 May 1948. Closed 10 July 1948. Theatre Royal. Adelaide

2 copies of program held. As above.

Principal cast:


Frank Butler Webb Tilton

Charlie Davenport l Peter French


Winnie Tate Elizabeth Gaye

Tommy Keeler Billy Kershaw





1948 Opened 13 July 1948. Closed 21 August 1948. Her Majesty's Theatre.

Brisbane

No program held.

1948 - 1949 Opened 27 August 1948. [Closed 31 August 1949. Theatre Royal. Sydney]

4 copies of variant programs held.

Cover features American Indian headdress, black on blue background.

1. [August 1948?]

Principal cast:

Annie Oakley

Evie Hayes

Frank Butler

Webb Tilton

Charlie Davenport

Carl Randall

Dolly Tate

Marie La Verre

Winnie Tate

Ann Donald

Tommy Keeler

Billy Kershaw

Buffalo Bill

Claude Fleming

Pawnee Bill

Charles Crawford

Chief Sitting Bull

Sydney Wheeler

2. Duplicate copy

3. [later 1948 ?]

Cast as above

4. [1949?]

Cast as above except for minor cast changes:

Donald Kirk replaced Billy Kershaw as Tommy Keeler

Robert Smith replaced Dal Riddle as Little Jake

Souvenir program. Third edition. Sydney [1949?].

Cover features full length photo of Evie Hayes as Annie Oakley on purple

background. 2 copies held.

1963 New Zealand

8 month tour - Wellington Opera House, Timaru, Oamaru, Christchurch, Dunedin,

Invercargill, Masterton, New Plymouth, Napier, Gisborne, Hamilton, Auckland*

1963 S/C Wednesday May 29 1963. Grand Opera House. Wellington

Anne Hart as Annie Oakley and Mav Chadban as Frank Butler

1950 Opened 3 March 1950. Closed 1 April 1950. His Majesty's Theatre. Brisbane

No program held.

1950 Opened 10 April 1950. Closed 20 May 1950. Empire Theatre. Perth

No program held.


1950 Opened 25 May 1950. Closed 8 June 1950. Theatre Royal. Adelaide.

Program held.

Cover is Indian headdress silhouette on brown background.

NB. Musical Director - Carlo Briglia.

Principal cast:


Frank Butler Earl Covert



Winnie Tate Ann Donald

Tommy Keeler Donald Kirk




1950 Opened 10 June 1950. Closed 11 July 1950. His Majesty's Theatre. Melbourne

2 copies of program held.

Cover is American Indian head dress, black on brown.

NB Musical Director – Carlo Briglia

Principal cast:










1950 Opened 13 July 1950. Closed 23 August 1950. Empire Theatre. Sydney

1 copy “Souvenir program” held. Cover is cartoon of vaudeville stage on pink background.

Principal cast:









Pawnee Bill Frank Martin

Chief Sitting Bull Charles Crawford

J.C. Williamson production

Director - John Casson

Musical Director – Leo. Packer unless otherwise noted

1952 Opened 5 July 1952. Closed 31 July 1952. His Majesty's Theatre. Melbourne

3rd Melbourne season


Cover is American Indian headdress, tan on yellow.

Principal cast:


Frank Butler Hayes Gordon

Charlie Davenport l Robert Healey




Buffalo Bill Graeme Bent


Chief Sitting Bull Alec Kellaway

1952-1953 Opened 5 December 1952. Closed 28 January. Theatre Royal. Sydney.

2 copies program held with minor differences in advertisements.

Cover is American Indian headdress, purple on pink background.

Principal cast:











1953 Opened 19 March. Victoria Theatre. Newcastle

1 copy program held. Cover is American Indian headdress, purple on pink

background.

Principal cast:




Dolly Tate Shirley May Donald

Winnie Tate Maggie Fitzgibbon





1953 Opened 28 April 1953. Closed 5 May. Theatre Royal. Adelaide

3rd Return Season


Cover is American Indian headdress, black on orange.

Principal cast:




Dolly Tate Shirley May Donald

Winnie Tate Maggie Fitzgibbon





1963 SEASON

J.C. Williamson production

Director - Betty Pounder

Musical Director – Ralph Mace

1963 Opened 5 October 1963. Closed 9 November . Her Majesty's Theatre. Sydney

3 copies program held.

Cover is montage of banners with details of show, pink and white.

1 brochure held, with booking arrangements.

Principal cast:

Annie Oakley Anne Hart

Frank Butler Mav Chadban


Charlie Davenport l Alton Harvey

Dolly Tate Mora Dean

Winnie Tate Gillian Hough

Tommy Keeler Jon Dennis

Buffalo Bill Ken Fraser

Pawnee Bill Larry McKeever

Chief Sitting Bull Dennis Glenny

Location and Footnotes

The programs and ephemera for Annie get your Gun are located in the J.C.Williamson sequence

of the PROMPT collection in folders under the title of the show. Readers should complete an

electronic call slip for the following catalogue record, specifying the name of the show required:

[J. C. Williamson (theatrical productions) : programs and related material collected by the National

Library of Australia]

All season dates have been taken from programs except those found in newspapers which are

indicated in square brackets

*Details of New Zealand tour taken from:

Crampton, John. Evie Hayes: "And I loves ya back!"

Sydney : Angus & Robertson, 1992

NLA Call no. NL 792.028092 H417C



Documents

Finding aid to PROMPT holdings for Annie Get Your Gun