Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities opened a blazing new production of Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun" on Saturday at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, with Misty Cotton's bulls-eye-perfect performance as Little Sure Shot, Annie Oakley, leading the way.

This is not the original 1946 version of the Irving Berlin musical that starred Ethel Merman. That version has been judged (and perhaps rightly so) too offensive in its stereotypical treatment of American Indians to be performed for contemporary audiences.

In its place, the company is presenting the 1999 Broadway revival that features a substantially rewritten book by Peter Stone ("Titanic," "1776," "The Will Rogers Follies"). Politically correct in its point of view, Stone's script derides the stereotypes while adding a distinctly feminist air of self-assurance to the role of Annie.

It's a hybrid that, while a great deal of fun to watch, at times seems to be at odds with itself.

The real-life bullets-and-beaus love story of Annie Oakley and Frank Butler (Kevin Bailey) is performed here as a play within a play -- a Wild West Show spectacular presided over by Buffalo Bill (Jeff Austin). It's a rags-to-riches tale laced with an abundance of humor, extensive dance numbers and one hit tune after another, whether it's the comic "Doin' What Comes Naturally," the plaintive "You Can't Get a Man With a Gun," the romantic ballad "They Say It's Wonderful," or the show's recurring theme song, "There's No Business Like Show Business."

Directed and choreographed by longtime CLOSBC pro Jon Engstrom, "Annie Get Your Gun" represents the company in top form with the "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better" competition between Annie and Frank headlining.

Bailey is very much at home in the role of Frank, and he should be, having played the part of the matinee-idol sharpshooter on Broadway to Bernadette Peters' Annie. The uncredited costumes, however, make him look more like Curly in "Oklahoma!" than the elegant star of the Wild West Show. Of more importance is the sense of wounded male ego that Bailey brings to the part -- that and his fine crooning baritone voice.

But when it comes to the question of who can do what better than whom, nobody comes close to outgunning Cotton, who fits the role of Annie like a Winchester in a well-oiled scabbard.

The pinpoint accuracy of her characterization is remarkable, especially when you consider that she's performing the part for the first time. Her comic timing and vocal inflections, thunderstruck passion for Frank, spunk, spine and songbird singing style make Cotton's performance irresistible.

There also are several subplots that swirl around the saga of Annie and Frank. Heather Lee does a wonderful job making Frank's assistant, the brassy Miss Dolly Tate, into a nasty (though sympathetic) rival. And it is through Dolly that we get a taste of the 1946 version's stereotypes and racial prejudices.

Austin stands tall and magnificent as a poster boy, Buffalo Bill. But the most significant American Indian character in the musical, Sitting Bull, is played by David Kirk Grant with little, if any, sense of American Indian identity. He does, however, serve a comic function as the company's most savvy of businessmen.

Travis Davidson (a superb dancer) and Lisaun Whittingham (his excellent partner), play the young lovers, Tommy and Winnie, whose match is threatened because he is half-Indian. Annie's tuneful, exceedingly cute siblings are played by Chloe O'Shannon, Sarah Brown and Brendan Brady. The Wild West Show's huckster, Charlie Davenport, is played by Doug Bilitch, who is backed by a strong all-singing, all-dancing ensemble.

Saturday's musical performance, led by Dennis Castellano, was solid for the most part. But there were a few notable exceptions when the fabric frayed, possibly from fatigue.

Win, lose or draw, "Annie Get Your Gun" is a lot of fun, an ideal show for kids and their parents. And Cotton's performance should not be missed.

Stage review

"Annie Get Your Gun" plays at 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through May 20 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd. Tickets are $45-$60. Information: 310-372-4477 or www.civiclightopera.com.