Tuesday, August 1, 2006

'Squirrel choreography'

Quite an adventurous opening night last week for "Annie Get Your Gun" at Foothill Music Theatre...

Here's sharpshooter Annie on stage, talking about all the game she has shot. Suddenly a real-life squirrel takes a swan dive out of the theater lights and into the audience. A few minutes later, the squirrel vaults onto the stage and goes jumping across it.

Oh, can you imagine the beauty, the critter flying into the air, silhouetted against the set's orange sky? (Director Jay Manley reportedly called it "squirrel choreography.")

No one shot the squirrel, fortunately. In fact, several in attendance began calling him Irving, after "Annie" composer Irving Berlin. After the show, Manley and friends were able to shoo the dear thing back out into the wilds of Foothill College.

Pictured: Jessica Raaum as Annie. Photo by Nancy Fitzgerald.

No comments:

Post a Comment