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This 1999 revival of Irving Berlin's timeless 1946 musical fantasy depicting the love affair between Wild West sharpshooting stars Annie Oakley and Frank Butler has been somewhat updated for modern times. Not only has Peter Stone made revisions to Herbert and Dorothy Fields's original book (the story is now a show within a show, namely Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show), but there have been revisions to Berlin's original score as well. Some of it relates directly to late-'90s political correctness--"I'm an Indian, Too" joins "Colonel Buffalo Bill" and "I'm a Bad Bad Man" among the exclusions. But the tunes that made the cut remain some of the greatest moments of American musical theater, which is especially ironic when one considers that Berlin had to be coaxed into writing the show after original composer Jerome Kern suddenly died. Many of these songs--"They Say It's Wonderful," "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly," "I Got the Sun in the Morning," "The Girl That I Marry," "Anything You Can Do"--have become standards on their own, and the revival thankfully retains the wonderful "An Old Fashioned Wedding," which Berlin wrote for the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of the show, with original Annie Ethel Merman reprising the role. Years after the fact, Merman remains a tough image to follow. But while she lacks Merman's brass and crassness, Bernadette Peters stands as the prettiest and sexiest Annie to date, even in the shadows of Mary Martin and Betty Hutton (the latter in the 1950 film version), not to mention probably the greatest singer of the bunch--her "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun" is an instant Broadway classic. They overdo "There's No Business Like Show Business" just a tad in this new version; it's seemingly reprised endlessly early in the CD. But, hey, if you're going to overdo it, what a song to overdo it with. --Bill Holdship

Rating : - Not Your Daddy's "Annie..."
This production of Annie Get Your Gun is tailor made for the legion of Bernadette Peters fans in the world. And only those fans. Peters made another misguided foray into the repertoire of the Musical Theater legend: Ethel Merman, when she attempted Gypsy. The results here are the same. Peters wan and light weight instrument simply do not suit the character or the vocalism. Her fans will argue that she "humanized" Annie in much the same way as she "humanized" Mama Rose. Neither character stand for this kind of adaptation. Both women are larger than life examples of distinctly different types of women that roam the land and the characterizations, and voices, demand a certain heft and explosion. Ms. Peters manages lilt and the explosion of a champagne cork from a bottle gone bad. Tom Wopat manages a charming Frank Butler. The new orchestrations and vocal arrangments pale next to the original. If you want a "real" Annie, get either Merman's original studio recording or her recording from the Lincoln Center revival. You'll be glad you did.