Annie
Information
- Date
- 8th May 2019
- Society
- Broxbourne Theatre Company
- Venue
- Spotlight Theatre Broxbourne
- Type of Production
- Musical
- Director
- Scott Welch
- Musical Director
- Mark Smith
- Choreographer
- Sarah Welch
Because it is a perennial favourite with societies to boost their income from time to time, Annie has become somewhat iconic and you mess with it at your peril. This production had all the essential elements; a beguiling Annie, a well behaved dog, a disgruntled Miss Hannigan and more.
The young lady playing Annie, Emma Franklin was an absolute delight, only having performed in one show prior to this, she was, quite simply, outstanding. She had a level of empathy in the early scene with Molly that was an absolute joy to watch. I didn’t see her put a foot wrong in the show and she is on stage for a significant part of the show. Her handling of the dog was effective and the way she subtly fed him his favourite titbits was beautifully done. Seldom do we see a young performer of such stature and I am sure that she will go a long way with her performances.
The featured children, Molly (Siobhan Welch) Pepper (Holly Cawsey) Duffy (Evie Hayter) July (Ruth Pennant) Tessie (Leah Darrington) and Kate (Tamsin Southall) were all very good. They and the other children brought a lot of energy to the production.
Andrea Pollington rather underplayed Miss Hannigan. It was a nice characterisation, but I would have liked to see her much drunker! And, what a shame she only had one costume through the show. She should have had a negligee set on at least once and surely, she would have put another dress on to go to see Daddy Warbucks?
Sarah Earl was very good as Grace Farrell, every bit the efficient secretary, but we saw the softer side of her as the show progressed, which was just as it should be. Andrew Frost was terrific as Daddy Warbucks, just irascible enough to start with and then, as he got to know Annie, his warmer side came to the fore.
Drake (David Cousins) was a hoot, a delightful characterisation. Graham Duncan played Rooster Hannigan and, again, I think this was underplayed. But Carly McHugh was totally right in her portrayal of Lily St Regis. Daniel Goode (Bert Healy) and Andy Kirtley (Franklin D Roosevelt) completed the Principal line up.
The ensemble worked very hard and performed all their numbers very well, they were cohesive and worked well as a group. The dancers were strong and the choreography, generally worked well.
I do, however, have a few issues with the staging of the show. Bundles came in through the front door (and we saw him standing there with his hand raised for a while before he knocked!) he then left, with the hamper, stage left. If he was a tradesman, he would come in by the tradesman’s entrance which is, presumably, the way he left.
When Miss Hannigan’s office was used, there was the front door at the back of the stage and then a second door onto the office truck. So, it seems sensible to block the stuff inside the office in front of the office truck and not melt it into the rest of the stage which is supposedly outside her office. There was a lack of clarity on stage, when the scene was inside her office and when it was outside in the main hall. On one occasion, the actors who were supposed to be in the office, waved and spoke to the orphans who were supposed to be in the hall outside, it was very confusing.
The mics were not well managed at all, there were many (I lost count) times when the mic was not turned up in time and occasionally when they were turned down unnecessarily. I particularly felt for the young actress singing Cecile’s lines in the song as, by the time her mic was turned up, she had finished singing!
Such technical mistakes are not really acceptable, the cast are working hard to give good performances, and this just hinders our enjoyment of it. The costumes were good as I would expect from a professional costume supplier and they were well accessorised. The scenery was a bit of a disappointment, I have not seen many Proscenium sets but this seemed to be lacking some pieces. I don’t know if there was a problem with getting it all on stage, but the lack of ‘dressing’ was noticeable. A few more statues or displays of flowers or even some Christmas decorations for the last scene, would have made a better impression.
Overall, though, the audience enjoyed the production as did I. My thanks for the hospitality shown to us in the interval and for the warm welcome when we arrived.
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