Annie

This brilliant production of “Annie” was performed on a village hall stage with one set of curtains and an extended stage area in front of it. This particular arrangement facilitated very slick scene changes with just wires to hang pictures, flags and ornamentation on – simple but very effective. The music was provided by just the musical director (Richard Barnes) on piano with a percussionist (Tim Spencer).This was just the right balance for the songs in that we could hear every word that was sung. The dancing was choreographed by Emma Wynter and the director extremely well and was executed effectively throughout by both children and adults. The title role of Annie was played beautifully by Georgia Hunt. The first and third songs in this show, “Maybe” and “Tomorrow”, were solos by Annie and were sung to great effect. For the second song, “Hard Knock Life”, she was joined by the seven other children who were also a wonderful asset to the production. As we met the adults, Miss Hannigan (Lizzie Gibson), Grace Farrell (Justine Potter), and the two fraudsters, Rooster and Lily (Bill Adams and Charlotte Neaves), they all played their characters with plausible belief. When we encountered Oliver Warbucks (Tim Kimber) the pairing between him and Annie was delightful – their dance was just so charming and heart-warming. There were lovely cameo performances at the beginning of act 2 by Bert Healy (David Fido) and the Boylan Sisters (Katharine Horwood, Christina Blakey and Andrea Adams) with “Fully Dressed”. The part of Franklin D. Roosevelt was played with absolute conviction by Christopher Doman. This was a most enjoyable performance throughout and the appreciation of the audience was obvious at the final curtain.     

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