Annie Get Your Gun
Opera House, Manchester

Runs until Saturday

FORMER Neighbours star Jason Donovan is the headline name in this revival of Irving Berlin's classic musical - but it was his opposite number Emma Williams who stole the show.

That's mainly because the character of feisty but good-hearted sharpshooter Annie Oakley is hard to upstage, with her Wild West drawl and dogged determination to be better with a gun than any man.

But Frank Butler (Donovan) is not a particularly well fleshed out role and although the Australian heartthrob still possesses some boyish charm it's a difficult hurdle to overcome.

Songs wise, there are some crackers. The audience clapped along with There's No Business Like Showbusiness and Doin' What Comes Natur'lly and You Can't Get a Man With a Gun are very good numbers.

The standout of the evening by far though was Anything You Can Do, a beautifully performed verbal duel between Donovan and Williams, that she, with her stronger theatrical singing voice, was never in danger of losing.

Norman Pace, half of the comedy duo Hale and Pace, made an effective Buffalo Bill, who tried to make a living from presenting his sharpshooting cowboys and girls in tours, impressing audiences across the US.

A nice added touch was having the orchestra on stage as part of the action, which is effectively a show within a show and although the first half was somewhat lacklustre, things certainly livened up after the interval, making this production definitely on target, if not hitting the bullseye dead centre.

Ian Savage