Annie Jr

Annie JR.

Hoylake & West Kirby

The Gladstone Theatre

15/5/26

Set in 1930s New York during the great depression, Annie is, without doubt, one of the most popular musicals of its time. Based on the book written by Thomas Meehan about the children’s favourite redhead orphan Annie, with lyrics and music by Martin Charnin and Charles Strouse. Annie is a mix of brilliant songs with well scripted characters that takes you through the full range of emotions. The songs are well known tracks such as "Hard Knock Life", "Never Fully Dressed without a Smile" and the instantly recognised "Tomorrow", all beautifully sung by an extremely talented cast. 

Eleven-year-old Annie (Holly) lives at the orphanage, with many other girls her age Duffy (Marley Mae Lynch), Pepper (Elif Demirer), Kate (Millie Bradburn) July (Ailsa Haggart), Tessie (Bella Farrell). When six-year-old Mollie (Ruby Daley) wakes up from a bad dream, Annie comforts her by singing about her own parents; even though all she has is a half locket they gave her the day they abandoned her at the orphanage, she holds on to the hope that they will come back for her "Maybe" Annie decides to escape to find her parents, but is caught by Miss Hannigan (Scarlett Wright), the cruel keeper of the orphanage. To punish Annie's behaviour, she forces all the girls to clean, and they lament the terrible conditions of the orphanage "IIs a Hard Knock Life" Later on, Bundles (Sam Rogers) the laundry man comes in to pick up the blankets, allowing Annie to escape in his truck. Miss Hannigan realizes she is gone and chases after the truck but she is too late Annie escapes. Running into a friendly stray dog, who is being chased by a dogcatcher (Oliver Box) she tells the dog there are better days to come "Tomorrow She fools police Officer Ward (Alex Kinnear) into believing he is her dog, named Sandy (Toodles). Annie is returned to the orphanage; Miss Hannigan vents her frustration at being surrounded by children "Little Girls" by giving the girls especially Annie extra chores. Grace Farrell (Abi-Rae Piercy), the assistant to the billionaire Oliver Warbucks, comes to the orphanage, asking for an orphan to spend Christmas at his mansion. Seeing how poorly Miss Hannigan treats Annie, Grace insists on taking her. Miss Hannigan is furious “Little Girls Reprise". Grace leaves just as Miss Hannigan's brother, Rooster (Joe Dawson), arrives with his girlfriend, Lily St. Regis (Popp Yates). She shares the news of Annie's pending holiday visit with Warbucks. Rooster, Miss Hannigan and Lily lament their misfortunes ("Easy Street"). A wonderful number.

Grace brings Annie to the Warbucks mansion and introduces her to the Servants. Annie is in awe of her new surroundings, “I think I am going to like it Here” but she is made to feel completely welcome by Drake (Silas Abedin) and the staff. As she tours New York City with Oliver Warbucks (Harry Cockrell) and Grace, she sees the city in a new way "N.Y.C." Back at the mansion, Warbucks explains he would like to adopt Annie. Instead of a happy response, Annie begins to cry. When he learns about her dream of finding her parents and the secret of the half-locket, he promises to search for Annie's parents.

Annie and Warbucks are guests on the Bert Healy (Silas Abedin) radio show, "Hour of Smiles." They make a plea for Annie's parents to return, and Warbucks offers $50,000 to anyone who can prove they are her mother and father. The Orphans are listening to the Boylan Sisters (Ruby Thomas, Lily Gordon &Bessie Holmes Arnold) on the radio show and sing their own version of the theme "You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile".

Back at the mansion, Grace has interviewed more than a thousand people claiming to be Annie's parents, but none of them know about the locket, so Warbucks declares his intent to adopt Annie, and Annie accepts. Just then, Drake leads in Rooster and Lily, disguised as Ralph and Shirley Mudge. They appear with the other half of the locket and the birth certificate, announcing their intentions to take Annie home to live with them in New Jersey. Warbucks convinces them to let Annie spend Christmas with him at the mansion, telling them that they may pick up Annie and the check the next day. Grace tells Warbucks that she believes she has seen Mr. Mudge somewhere before.

The next morning, Annie waits apprehensively for the Mudges to claim her. President Roosevelt arrives with an update that the F.B.I. had discovered that Annie's real parents were named David and Margaret Bennett, and they passed away a long time ago. The Mudges are imposters. As Miss Hannigan arrives with the Orphans to celebrate Christmas, Warbucks uncovers the Mudge's true identities. Louis Howe, the president's aide, hauls off Rooster, Lily and Miss Hannigan.  Roosevelt declares that this Christmas is going to be the beginning of a wonderful new life... "A New Deal" "Tomorrow Reprise".

Beyond the splendid work of the principals and ensemble, this production of Annie Jr. was a wonderfully uplifting piece of youth theatre. The directors’ Ami Clewlow & Simon Brock should be congratulated for creating a production full of energy, warmth and confidence, while also ensuring that every young performer on stage felt involved and valued. The storytelling was clear and engaging throughout, capturing both the humour and heart of this much-loved musical. The musical direction was impressive, as orchestra and vocals worked together seamlessly, helping to maintain the lively pace and atmosphere of the production. Staging was imaginative and effective, making excellent use of the performance space to create the contrasting worlds of the orphanage, New York City and the Warbucks’ home. Scene changes were smooth and well-paced, allowing the production to flow naturally. Costumes, lighting and choreography all added greatly to the overall impact, while still retaining the charm and enthusiasm that make youth productions so enjoyable.

Overall, this was an outstanding production that reflected the hard work, dedication and talent of everyone involved both on and off stage. The team should be extremely proud of delivering such a vibrant, entertaining and heartfelt performance that clearly delighted its audience.

 

Joanne Rymer

NODA

District 4

 

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