Annie

‘Annie’, the well known and much loved musical tells the story of a young girl, who lives at the municipal orphanage in New York. Annie escapes from Miss Hannigan, the nasty orphanage manager in search of her parents. On her quest, she brings hope to those living broke, in the great depression with her bright outlook on life. When she was caught and taken back to the orphanage, she escapes once again and her life changes when she enters into the life of billionaire Mr ‘Daddy’ Warbucks. This show has something for everyone and is the perfect choice to celebrate the 80th year anniversary of the society.

The opening of the show was extremely strong, it had the required punch and was very well acted and sung. Characterisations from all principal cast were very well acted, and the children were enthusiastic and disciplined while on stage. However, on occasion the chorus didn’t seem very animated and were out shone by the children. The cabinet scene was very well delivered, the section of the show can be flat and uninteresting, but this was actually a highlight of the show captivating the audience and having the required comical twist. The show was cast superbly, with people who were demographically suitable playing each role. This helped to make the show more believable. Mr Warbucks, having a full head of hair, was different to what many people visualise for this character, it obviously this doesn't effect the storyline and probably helped with the characters development as the show progressed. The use of spectacles worn at the start, that were then occasionally removed was also a great way to show the development from a hard faced businessman to a softer father figure.

Direction managed to bring life and meaning to some of the lines that are usually just spoken without much thought behind them. The narrative was put across well with the story evolving through every scene and the audience being able to see the purpose of each section of the show. The emotional context of the show developed suitably throughout and relationships between the characters could be seen to change and grow. This was down to the well acted story and persona changes that were brought across. Choreography on a whole was well executed and it was set to the capabilities of those on stage - this said, especially for the adult, chorus was quite static with limited content.

The orchestra produced a nice sound from the offset, and were well controlled - the drummer in particular who, on occasion, can overpower some of the detail in the score. The stand lights in the “pit” were very bright and completely illuminated stage right causing distractions to the main focus at times. We both found ourselves watching the musicians due to the clear view we had of them. At times it was a struggle to hear some of the chorus vocals due to unbalanced ensemble singing.

The lighting seemed to have limited variation, we presume there was a technical issue towards the end of the show as part of a scene was delivered in very dim lights, that quickly changed to a very brightly lit stage, this was not to depict a progression in time of day and happened mid scene. There were a couple of sound issues with microphones being left on and the odd late sound cue.

Scenic Projects set was suitable, managing to portray different locations for different scenes but has clearly been well used as it is looking slightly tired. Some scene changes seemed to take a very long time - particularly the change from ‘Bert Healey’s Lively Hour of Smiles Radio Show’ back to the orphanage in Act 2 completely disrupting the flow of this changeover with a lengthy pause before progressing onto the orphanages response. This said, they were all done quietly and during complete blackout which at the same time is no easy undertaking so credit where credit is due. No stage crew were visible throughout the duration of the show which was noted and appreciated.

In summary, this was a very enjoyable production and we are sure the whole audience left the Waterside Theatre feeling impressed by what they had seen. Acting and singing were both delivered well and this combined with the orchestra, costumes and detailed direction made for a very fulfilling show. We are sure every member who has performed with the society over the last 80 years, will be proud by the standard of production that the society had managed to achieve with this show. We would like to thank the society for their hospitality and wish them well for their next production of ‘The Vicar of Dibley’.

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