Annie

What a fabulous, feel-good, high-energy show by Ellesmere MTC!  Annie is a well known and popular musical and the enthusiastic audience were in for a treat.  We start with Annie and the orphans sharing their plight and Annie reassuring them all that things are going to get better.  This group of girls, Team Sandy, were absolutely on top of their game.   Every number and particularly ‘Hard Knock Life’ were superbly choreographed and excellently delivered.  The girls were in time and fabulously energetic.  All of the orphans were a real joy to watch.  Mabel Nix as Duffy, Bethany Tanner as July, Sophie Tanner as Kate, Bella-Maria Minichiello as Pepper and Evie-Rose Drake as Tessie didn’t miss a line, a beat or an opportunity to entertain the audience.  The production had two teams of orphans, and I am assured that Team Mush were equally as strong as Team Sandy.

The adult cast had a lot to live up to, but they did a great job.  Natalie Hides Coward as Lily St Regis and Jonathan Bates as Rooster were an entertaining double act and both captured the essence of these characters with a great rendition of ‘Easy Street’.  Gina Holmes as Grace Farrell was a lovely calming presence on stage amongst the larger-than-life characters.   The ‘I Don’t Need Anything But You’ routine with Drake, Annie, Warbucks and Company was really joyful.  Warbucks was minus the bald head that we’ve come to expect and I think it was a great move.  Craig Lawton was a commanding and entertaining Warbucks and allowed the audience to feel some emotional connection with the character through his explanations of Warbucks’ own challenging upbringing and his growing love of Annie.  He definitely gave Grace a reason to fall in love with him (which isn’t always evident in some productions where the role  is played as a caricature).

Leah Rhodes-Burch as Annie’s nemesis, Miss Hannigan was quite appropriately horrid – not over played, but still hugely entertaining with great vocals and fabulous comic timing.  Sandy the dog was played by Callie – who managed to win the audiences’ affection.   Ani Athi as the youngest orphan Molly was totally infectious throughout her performance – a real delight. 

The title role on Friday evening was taken by Francesca Hinde for whom the wardrobe team had taken the clever step to dispense with the red curly wig and show both Annies in this production with their natural hair.  This was an inspired decision because it very much allowed Francesca to make the part her own - showing her strong vocals, her excellent characterisation and her enchanting personality on stage without the distraction of the comic strip image.  Francesca was an incredibly strong performer and I hope to see lots more of her on stage. 

There was a great cast of supporting actors who all played their roles eloquently including Sam Wood as Bert Healy, Philip Smith as LT Ward, Simon Wright as Drake, Andrew Coan as both Bundles and Roosevelt and Annabel Woolhouse as Star to Be.  The Boylan Sisters: Holly Hopkins, Lucy Lithgow and Annabel Woolhouse were super – they looked fabulous and brought some funny comic characterisation to the roles.  The ensemble members were strong and confident in their routines and songs – they moved set and helped to ensure the pace of the production.  Four featured dancers Sophie Colton, Jess Hinton, Ruby Leach and Mia Roy high- kicked their way through the routines.  Creative ideas from Carolan Copley Tucci and Kate England as Choreographers with Carolan also being Director and Katie Co-director.

From the fabulous overture, through the many great songs to the final bows the nine-piece band, led by Musical Director Anna Wright, were upbeat and in tune – wonderful numbers played to perfection.  All the music in the show was a delight and the cast sang their hearts out.

The whole production was full of pace, vocal clarity, wonderful choreography and great singing.  The stage set was simple and scenes were quickly and effectively changed by cast.  The costumes were perfect with great attention paid to shoes, hats, gloves and accessories.  Wigs were also to a high standard and very appropriate for the period. Props were spot on and the stage dressing for the Christmas scene a triumph.  Lighting and sound were great and it all added to a fabulous production.

Congratulations to everyone involved, the crew and cast, particularly the youngest members deserve all the applause that came their way.

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