Annie

Too few societies are wanting to perform the ‘older’ more traditional musicals these days, so I am always pleased to attend and review a ‘time-honoured’ classic such as Annie!

This musical particularly never fails to gather a keen audience and indeed Cockett AOS played to a packed house! The set was very good and the lighting was sublime which really added to the production. There were some good costumes and the choreography was often excellent. The ensemble supported the principal cast well and never faltered on stage.

Finding a convincing ‘Annie’ is never easy and I saw the talents of Emma Kennedy on the stage in this role. She had a powerful voice and lovely stage presence and worked well with her co-star Dexter as Sandy. Dean Walker never fails to impress and was a great Daddy Warbucks with just the right amount of awkwardness and eventual fatherliness. Cath Fraser played the role of Miss Hannigan with drunken flare and there were good performances from Daniel Moses as Rooster and Ken Thomas as Roosevelt.

The performances that particularly shone for me involved the vocal talents and outstanding stage presence of the ever-talented Sarah Clatworthy as Grace. I was also delighted with the performance of Rachel Clee as Lily. Rachel demonstrated an excellent voice and clever characterisation, reminiscent of the great Bernadette Peters in the film, but bringing so much more of her own ideas and twists to the part too.

Many thanks indeed to Cockett!

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