The production originated in 1966 as one of the series of summer musicals then being presented at Lincoln Center. It subsequently moved to Broadway before being videotaped in a 90-minute version for television. It is the only one of the series of Lincoln Center musicals presented at that time (the others were "The Merry Widow", "The King and I", "Carousel", "Kismet", "Show Boat", "South Pacific", "West Side Story" and "Oklahoma!") to have been adapted for television and presented in that medium with its stage cast.
The original Broadway show "Annie Get Your Gun" opened at the Imperial Theater on May 16, 1946 starring Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton and ran for 1,147 performances.
This production introduced one last number written by Irving Berlin ("An Old Fashioned Wedding")
Both Ethel Merman (as Annie) and Harry Bellaver (as Sitting Bull) reprised their original 1946 stage roles in this production.