Annie

I’ve always had a soft spot for ‘Annie’. It’s one of those shows which seems to have been around for ever, mainly because it’s based on the 1920s and ‘30s comic strip ‘Little Orphan Annie’ and concerns the politics, society and upheavals of Depression era America. In fact, the musical is a creation of the 1970s and treats the often weighty subject matter with a fairly light touch. I’m rather fond of the way in which the musical fuses elements of a Dickensian ‘orphan made good via a rambling set of trials and tribulations’ sort of tale, with a more hard-headed ‘anything is possible if you put your mind to it’ attitude typical of our colonial cousins across the pond. On that note, I think it’s interesting to ponder on the differences between this show and ‘Oliver!’: in that show, Oliver has things happen to him as he bobs along through the narrative and is blown along by the fates - Annie in contrast makes things happen and is a much more proactive little battler. It’s also always a popular choice for an amateur society as it doesn’t half drag in an audience and so it was canny of PHYT to turn their considerable talents towards this jolly story, providing a solid evening’s entertainment along the way.

‘Annie’ is a show packed full of memorable tunes and there can’t be anyone in who doesn’t know what happens to our titular heroine, so I shan’t bother you with a plot rundown here dear reader. Suffice to say that our favourite battling orphan comes good in the end and not only that, she manages to inspire President Roosevelt’s New Deal programme via the medium of song, something the history books have strangely neglected to mention. Seriously though, the show leans heavily on the talents of the leading lady as she completely dominates the show from start to finish and fortunately, in Grace Mumby, we were graced with a first rate Annie. Grace was a tireless little dynamo throughout the show and mercifully, managed to avoid the unfortunate  stagey ‘showbiz’ portrayal which can often afflict the role. Grace’s characterisation was confident, tireless, three dimensional and made a refreshing change from the frequent excursions into cloying ‘child star’ territory which sometimes From her first appearance to the final curtain, Grace was a pleasure to be with all evening.

The rest of the orphans were all incredibly feisty and likeable too, really throwing themselves into the show and providing some memorable moments with their dance routines which were impressively choreographed. Each of them brought an individuality to their characterisations which was nice to see. I also really enjoyed Maddie Redman’s interpretation of Miss Hannigan, the orphans’ nightmare matriarch. There was a twinkle in her eye and a humorous curl of the lip which suggested that she hadn’t quite had her spirit completely quashed by the pesky brats. This was a performance in which she made the character very much her own and I enjoyed this diversion from the norm enormously. Ella Thompson was a very mature and sympathetic Grace, with Lewis Gorton providing strong support as a Drake, the butler. Dale Blackburn was a dependably solid Oliver Warbucks (I didn’t care for the ponytail though - a little more 1983 than 1933 I thought: definitely more ‘Wall Street’ than ‘N.Y.C.’!) He scored in getting across his feisty Republican leanings - and he melted to Annie’s charms incredibly quickly too - but I think I would have liked to see a bit more controlled authority in his portrayal of the no-nonsense billionaire. 

George Bailey and Mollie Thompson played the pesky pair of Rooster and Lily, shady characters both. I’m not sure that ‘Easy Street’ was the musical triumph it might have been (and it didn’t get much better with repetition) but George and Mollie had a good stab at playing the villains nevertheless. Oliver Cordeaux was a charming President Roosevelt and if I would have liked to have seen a little more of FDR’s flinty determination in the characterisation, Oliver more than made up for it with his charm and good humour. James Crickmore was a very jolly Bert Healy and Oliver Burnett and Shaun McMillan did sterling work as bewildered cabinet members, Morgenthau and Ickes, having much fun with the reprise of ‘Tomorrow’ in particular!  Caeragh McCloy also impressed as Mrs Pugh, leading the army of ‘below stairs’ servants at the Warbucks mansion. It was also great to see the stage teeming with life with young performers playing a host of different roles throughout, obviously enjoying themselves and giving their all.

A good deal of thought had obviously gone into scenery and staging with some very lavish sets on display. The Warbucks mansion in particular was opulent in the extreme and dressed to perfection too. I liked the use of the slightly old fashioned painted drop cloths to facilitate scene changes - thoroughly appropriate and well used - and I thought the Hooverville scene in particular was very well realised. Swift and seamless changes of scene really helped the narrative to bounce along and the stage team are to be congratulated for their sterling work. It was also nice to see in the programme that there were some youthful faces in the backstage crew learning the ropes: Grace Hall and Olivia Riley, take a bow! Something for other youth societies to consider perhaps?

Musically speaking, ‘Annie’ is a reasonably simple show which relies on character and interpretation rather than aural fireworks and complexity: it’s therefore important to have a cast who can really shake the life out of their characters and throw them out into the auditorium and or the most part, that’s exactly what happened here. There were a number of solid musical numbers peppered throughout the evening with chorus numbers being particularly strong, with nimble  choreography to match. ‘Hooverville’ was very well done; ‘You Won’t be an Orphan for Long’ was lively and colourful; ‘Hard Knock Life’ was full of energy; Grace brought a strength of character to all her scenes as Annie and led from the front in every respect; the festive finale looked a treat and Maddie Redman’s sly take on ‘Little Girls’ was very different from the norm and all the better for it. The odd bum note here and there was unfortunate but didn’t detract from the overall impression of a lively and enthusiastic cast having a whale of a time on stage. It would be remiss of me not to mention that the Hippodrome sound gremlins seem to have returned for a visit, with quite a bit of dialogue and music getting lost along the way: this wasn’t helped by a good bit of gabbling and mumbling from one or two of the cast members clouding the issue too. Clear diction is just as important in the songs as with the dialogue. 

Overall however, this was a first rate production which scored on a number of levels. It looked sumptuous - costumes and lighting were both first rate - and the lasting impression was one of a stage filled with with energy and enthusiasm from all the young performers. Of course, in productions of ‘Annie’, the real star of the show has to be Sandy and here we were blessed with a wonderful - and unfortunately all too brief - appearance from the marvellous Phoebe Elanmore. Cute as a button and with an assured stage presence, she naturally stole the show (which is just as it should be!) A good deal of thought and care had obviously been lavished on this production by Vicky and her team and the result was a solid and well crafted evening’s entertainment. My thanks to all the Hippodrome for yet another thoroughly pleasant evening at the theatre: keep up the good work! 

 

 

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