'Annie Get Your Gun' offers fully loaded fun

“Annie Get Your Gun” has been packing heat since 1946. On the upside, this ode to America’s favorite sharpshooter has a lot going for it, including a long list of hits by Irving Berlin, and a snappy script by Herbert and Dorothy Fields. On the downside, there’s a heaping helping of racism and misogyny played for laughs.

By the end of the 20th century, those laughs were starting to feel uneasy, unkind and ugly. Then Peter Stone revised the script in 1999 — and stripped it of cringe-worthy caricatures. That’s the version on stage at The Players Centre for Performing Arts.

Stone’s changes don’t cut to the bone. Aside from a show-within-a-show framework, the basic narrative remains the same.

Annie Oakley (Eliza Morehouse) experiences a rags-to-riches story worthy of “The Beverly Hillbillies.” One day, she’s shooting game for food. The next day, she’s the main attraction at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Her character’s an improbable mix of competence and innocence. Annie’s probably the best shot in the world, but she doesn’t fit the feminine ideal, and she knows it.

When Annie falls in love with sharpshooter Frank Burns (Mark Athridge), that’s a problem. What with the male ego and all, it’s a safe bet Frank won’t be happy being the second-best shot in the world. He isn’t. Their romance ricochets — and Frank leaves Annie and the show. In the second act, the musical frets over whether they’ll get back together.

This unfolds with a few subplots. Frank’s former assistant Dolly Tate (Amanda Heisey) still carries a torch for him. When her sister Winnie (Belle Babcock) falls for a Native American lad (Mick Mazaeda), Dolly tries to squelch it. There’s also the burning question of whether Buffalo Bill’s show will go on. This love letter to Annie Oakley is also a love letter to show biz. (As you can tell by its most famous number: “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”)

Athridge and Morehouse deliver excellent performances in the lead roles — and they can sing, too. They’re backed up by a massive (and massively talented) high-energy supporting cast. You can tell they all had a great time.

Director Kathy Junkins’ aim is true. The core material is strong, and he doesn’t overplay it. Charlie Logan’s old-school choreography perfectly fits the old-school story. Musical director Alan J. Corey leads the orchestra in lush renditions of Berlin’s classics. (“You Can’t Get a Man With a Gun," “I Got Lost in His Arms,” and “Anything You Can Do,” to name a few.)

It’s a fun, warm-hearted show — and not mean-spirited, thanks to Stone’s changes. They’re minor changes, don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a revisionist, PC equivalent of Arthur Kopit’s “Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson.” Frank is less of a heel. Annie doesn’t hide her talent to win a man’s heart. The Indians don’t rip the springs out of the train seats and turn them into jewelry. Small stuff like that. But small changes have a big effect.

Without all that racism and sexism, the laughs are guilt-free.

You’ll have a great time, too.