Annie

It was very evident there was a huge amount of work put into the production by cast and crew; hopefully all enjoyed the experience as much as the audience did.

I was pleased to hear the society wanted to enter the programme into the N.O.D.A competition. It is noticed that some named characters as in the White House and Radio Station are not mentioned individually, presumably because of space, cost etc. this should be understood.

The concept of the set was modern and looked good. Unfortunately due to the stage area at the Beehive being large, square and empty it needs a little more than usual to allow some intimacy with the audience. The platforms were utilised appropriately, depicting the offices but the positioning of the Warbucks space, behind the band, created a void between the actors and the audience. I am unsure of the technicalities behind this decision but actors were obscured to a section of the audience despite acting their socks off.

You chose to keep stage dressing to a minimum, obviously for a minimal amount of fuss. This is most acceptable, with the props and furniture used well within the set time of the story, however, the mansion would definitely have benefitted from a few ‘rich’ touches to give a stronger visual contrast from the orphanage.

Costumes were well chosen and of excellent quality and fit. I really liked the orphan’s outfits, all different and very on–the-button for the character. Grace wore her costumes extremely well and looked very elegant. Miss Hannigan’s look was most acceptable, looking stylish and sitting well within the era. Annie’s wig was lovely; it looked natural and fully suited her. It is well worth going the extra mile and paying a little more for quality.

The six piece band, as is usual with Mr Crew in charge, managed to sound twice as large without drowning cast voices. I particularly enjoyed the violin pieces which sounded as having beautiful, haunting voices of their own when played.

Chorus numbers were a definite high spot of the show, particularly the young chorus. The songs were balanced, clear and sharp with all parts defined. Intonation and strength was consistent and all cast are to be congratulated for achieving this. Bringing a few more house staff into the mansion would have added strength and bulk to the stage, making ‘I Think I’m Gonna Like it Here’ a larger number with added impact!

Principals, as a whole, showed musicality and the ability to deliver a song with feeling.

The ‘Hooverville’ scene stood out visually, with its lovely pictures created by the distinct cast levels used, which brought a great deal of ‘eye’ interest to the scene. ‘Easy Street’ saw some seasoned movement and was another particularly pleasing moment of the production for me! A more relaxed approach by principals, allowing individual character traits to come through, would have raised the bar even higher. ‘N.Y.C’ definitely had the ‘big number feel’ with singing balanced and clear however, movement appeared inconsistent! An ideal, building of pace and purpose was seen, but intermingled with a smattering of static moments which resulted in a loss of momentum.

Company and principal cast members all made their part an individual performance, while continuing to work in unison. I particularly liked the idea of the young person behind the newspaper in the President’s office, an excellent way to incorporate younger cast into the scene. This and the radio station scenes flowed well with a good pace.

There were without any doubt many things to speak highly of in this production. The musical aspects were considerable on every level, as was cast ability and potential. Annie is a difficult and expensive show to stage, taking that into consideration what you all as a society achieved under many restrictive conditions is a truly admirable triumph.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.