A student production of Irving Berlin’s "Annie Get Your Gun" opens Thursday, March 4, in Leach Theatre of Castleman Hall on UMR’s campus.

The UMR Theatre Players will present performances at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 4, through Saturday, March 6, with a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 7. Tickets may be purchased from the Leach Theatre Box Office and are $8 for adults and $5 for UMR students and youth 18 and younger. For more information call (573) 341-4219.

"’Annie Get Your Gun’ is the musical story of Annie Oakley, the best shot around, and how she manages to support her younger siblings by selling the game she hunts," says John Woodfin, instructor of philosophy and liberal arts at UMR and director of the play. "She is discovered by Colonel Buffalo Bill and joins his Wild West Show. It only takes one glance for her to fall head over heals for dashing shooting ace Frank Butler, who headlines he show.

"Annie soon eclipses Butler as the main attraction which, while good for business, is bad for romance," Woodfin explains. "Butler high-tails it off to join a rival show, his bruised male ego leading the way, but is ultimately pitted against Annie in a final shoot-out. The rousing, surefire finale hits the mark every time in a testament to the power of female ingenuity."