Leechburg Area High School students set to perform the musical 'Annie Get Your Gun'

Prepare to be taken back to the Wild Wild West as Leechburg Area High School students perform the musical “Annie Get Your Gun.”

The two-hour musical is a loose fictional adaption of American sharpshooter Annie Oakley’s life and her romance with Frank Butler. It made its debut on Broadway in 1946.

Musical director and drama club sponsor Alyssa Bruno Walls aims to expose students to musicals from different periods. She said it normally takes a while to choose a musical each year, but this year took less than 15 minutes to choose because of the musical’s recognizable score.

Walls read six books to prepare for the show.

“Her real story is much more tragic and wonderful,” she said.

Because of questionable and inappropriate content, Walls said, the musical was reworked and revitalized in 1999. The musical has become much more respectable for audiences, she said.

The preparation process has been a learning curve for Walls, who said the cast of 28 students is young this year: There is only one senior in the cast.

“We have a very young cast. Kids either took a break due to the pandemic or are doing it for the first time,” Walls said.

Izabella Reed, the senior, has taken everything she has learned from upperclassmen over the years to her leadership role this year. Reed has the lead role, Annie. She is excited to be able to ride a prop horse for her part.

“I don’t think we have had a life-size prop in a show before, so riding it has been so fun,” she said.

Lucas Hilty, a junior, will be playing Frank Butler. Going from playing a smaller role to a bigger role has been rewarding and challenging.

“It takes a lot of confidence to play roles,” Lucas said. “Frank is such a confident, straightforward role.”

Stress and excitement fill the room as students approach the final days of rehearsing before this weekend’s shows. The shared nerves have brought the cast together to become a support system.

“Having friends in this is helpful,” said freshman Connor Duff. “You can walk off stage, and someone will be there for support.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit leechburgdramaclub.com.