Above are some scenes from "Annie Get Your Gun," the latest production by A.C.T., which opens April 25. At top left, Annie Oakley (Maggie Heffernan) discusses her plans to impress Frank Butler with Wild Bill Cody (Ben May), manager Charlie Davenport (Brian Ricker), and Sitting Bull (Saad Al-Ameri). At top right, Dolly Tate (Rachel Brown) protests after Annie mistakenly shoots the bird decoration from her hat. Frank Butler (Patrick Brown) talks with some of his female admirers (middle left), and Wild Bill and Sitting Bull talk, at middle right. Above, Butler aims during a "shooting match" with Oakley.

Musical opens April 25 in AHB Auditorium

High school students in A.C.T. (Actors Coming Together) have literally learned "there is no business like show business" in their latest production, opening April 25.

"There's No Business Like Show Business" is just one of the tunes audience members will recognize in "Annie Get Your Gun," the latest production for A.C.T., a program of Tusculum College's Arts Outreach that brings students together from different high schools to stage a major theatrical production.

"Annie Get Your Gun" will open on Friday, April 25, with a 7 p.m. performance in the auditorium of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building on the Tusculum College campus. The timeless musical features some of the most famous music and lyrics written by Irving Berlin and a story based on the book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields.

Additional dates include 7 p.m. performances on April 26 and May 2-3, and 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays, April 27 and May 4. The performances will all be in the auditorium of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building.

Students from several area high schools have been working for months learning their lines, building colorful sets, and practicing dance steps, including an intricate Indian tribal dance, to bring to the stage the story of sharp-shooting Annie Oakley.

"Colorful" and "fun" are two of the ways the production is described by the playÕs director, Marilyn duBrisk, artist-in-residence at Tusculum.

The play opens with the arrival of Wild Bill Cody's Wild West Show. In each town the show visits, a challenge is issued to match Frank Butler, the star attraction of the show, against the top local marksman.

Enter Annie Oakley, a backwoods gal full of grit and a knack for shooting guns. The local innkeeper, who at first is not interested in finding a local sharpshooter to challenge Butler (and gain a share of the show's profits), sees his chance to earn some extra money when Oakley offers to sell him game birds she has hunted. When she bests Butler, Oakley gains a spot in Wild Bill's show and a chance to be near Butler with whom she is smitten.

Leads in the play are all portrayed by high school students. The 67 cast members include students from Science Hill School, all five high schools in Greene County, and those who are home-schooled.

Annie Oakley is portrayed by Maggie Heffernan, and Frank Butler is portrayed by Patrick Brown, both students at Greeneville High School. Rounding out the principle characters are Brian Ricker as show manager Charlie Davenport, Matt Ripley as Pawnee Bill, Ben May as Buffalo Bill, Rachel Brown as Dolly Tate, and Saad Al-Ameri as Chief Sitting Bull. Annie's younger siblings are portrayed by Rachel Randles, Josh Tillery, Whitney Ward, Stacey Robertson, and Kayla Berry.

The responsibility of changing the colorful, but sizable sets has been ably taken by a stage crew of about 25 high school students, who are serving as the stagehands.

Tickets can be bought in advance at Arts Outreach from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday or at the door. For more information, contact Arts Outreach at 798-1620 or its Web site at http://arts.tusculum.edu.