This was the most popular single musical special of the season for NBC. It raked in a total of 60 million viewers. The show had a two-hour average Trendex rating of 35.1 and a 57.4 percent share of the total TV audience.
Unlike the Mary Martin Peter Pan (1960), this special was performed in front of a live studio audience. Applause can be heard after each of the musical numbers. Mary Martin always said that she felt more comfortable performing in front of a live audience; this was why she did not make many theatrical films.
The initial success of Mary Martin's performance of the 1955 Broadway musical "Peter Pan," with Cyril Ritchard in his dual role as Mr. Darling and Captain James Hook, telecast on NBC's "Producer's Showcase," airing on 7 March 1955, repeated 9 January 1956 as a NBC "Producer's Showcase" Color broadcast special event, was the basis for NBC Events Division's production of the Irving Berlin musical "Annie Get Your Gun." The aim of the "Producers' Showcase" was to broadcast expensive color spectaculars to promote the new color television system developed by NBC's parent company RCA. "Peter Pan" was the first major telecast of a Broadway musical for any network broadcasting company. The NBC Network's "Producer's Showcase" Color special "Mary Martin starring in Irving Berlin's Broadway musical 'Annie Get Your Gun' " was telecast live to New York from the NBC Burbank television facility, from color studio #2 and adjacent studio #4, a live studio audience seated on both stages . The production was expanded to incorporate actual horses on stage, with the studio's central hall stage access corridor floors covered in a cushion of dirt, the hallway corridor dressed with trees, and shrubs, the walls hung with landscape and mountain scenic backings. The corridor ceilings were rigged with pipes enabling stage lighting rigged to focus on the live action of performers, on horseback, staged in the 100 foot long access stage hall corridor. The television studios #2 and #4 each had an audience, who could watch overhead monitors of the staging when performers were on either stage and in the studio corridor located at the back-end of the adjacent stages. The large elephant stage doors on both adjacent studio-stages were open for the corridor access. The 1957 NBC color telecast of the Broadway musical "Annie Get Your Gun" was the second Broadway stage musical production for an NBC Color Special event.
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.
Mary Martin recreated her role as Annie Oakley that she played in the national tour of "Annie Get Your Gun" while Ethel Merman was performing the role on Broadway 1946-1949.