Annie

Lowestoft Players never fail to amaze me with their very professional and very high standard of show, and ‘Annie’ was no exception to this expectation.   With the Marina Theatre as a professional venue and Scenic providing the staging and sets, the show is set off to amazing advantage, with lighting and costumes to high standard.

 A large cast, well positioned and grouped, fully energised in movement, and in great vocal stakes, filled the stage with the big ‘company’ numbers.  There were also some very nice cameo roles, such as the Drake of Peter Simmens, to compliment the major players in the show.

 The ‘Buckets’ team of children were well drilled, full of great energy and vitality, great on the dance movement and ‘giving their all’ singing; and I am certain that the ‘Mops’ were great on the alternate nights.   Some really good character performances from these youngsters in the team-work, I particularly liked the Duffy from Emily Takman, and that very strong performance with timing from the tiny Molly of Polly Scoggins, what a mischievous imp.   Leading this team with great professionalism, appealing looks, good vocals, and, especially, the acting ability to pull on heartstrings was Kitty Taylor, and how well she worked with both her fellow youngsters and the adult team.

 The relationship which developed throughout the action between Annie and the strong business tycoon Warbucks (Craig Cameron) was impressive as the blustering ‘what does one do with a child’ just crumbled in the face of her hopes, and the shy tender smiles exchanged  when they realised the feelings in Act 2 said it all, this was real.    This was an excellent portrait of the role by this Warbucks, and a lovely voice for the singing of his numbers.

 As Miss Hannigan, Harriet Shields really enjoyed her antipathy to children, the acting stylish and bringing out the comedy, a very polished performance with excellent vocals and the relationships throughout were well thought out and exploited.

 Rosamund Payne’s portrayal of Grace was exemplary; all that one could hope to see and hear; quiet elegance, efficiency, empathy for the child, excellent vocals; definitely a role to relish in her almost unnoticed running of the whole sequence of events.

 The comedy and song and dance team of Rooster (Craig Loxton) and Lily St Regis (Suzie Kingston) came over well in their links with Hannigan to bamboozle all; a good routine and clever character changes.

 Terry Rymer as Roosevelt led a strong sequence in the White House with his fellow Members of the Cabinet.  ‘Tomorrow’ is always a rousing and spirit-lifting number. The whole company rose to the occasion with vibrant rendition of all the big show numbers.

 Once again, another success story for The Players.

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