Annie the Musical

‘Annie the Musical’ is the well-known story of Little Orphan Annie’ based on a comic strip detailing her many exploits with book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin. The story is set in New York in 1933 during the ‘Great Depression’ and has a backdrop of events that shaped that time such as ‘Hooverville’ and references some real-life characters such as the President Franklin D. Roosevelt and J. Edgar Hoover.

Annie tells the story of a group of young orphan girls at an orphanage run by the cruel unsavoury Miss Hannigan (Liz Teanby-Williams) who abuses and uses the girls to clean and run the laundry.  The girls are led by our feisty heroine Annie (Holly) who uses her perky optimism to keep Molly (Rose) the youngest of the orphans from feeling miserable following a nightmare.  She sings about her own firm belief that her parents would come back and collect her one day ‘Maybe’.  The remaining girls in the orphanage are a mix of personalities: Pepper (played by Isla in the matinee performance) is the bossiest and often clashes with Annie, Duffy (Esme) is the oldest, Tessie (Grace in the matinee performance) then Sara (Heidi) and Kate (played by Lily) - but they all have one thing in common - they all hate their ‘carer’ the odious Miss Hannigan. 

After Annie’s failed escape attempt, Miss Hannigan punishes Annie and the girls making them clean the orphanage. While they clean, they bitterly sing ‘Hard Knock Life.’ as they ruefully comment about their plight observing ‘no one gives a smidge when you’re in a orphanage’.  Annie is determined to get away and hides in the laundry basket.  Once outside she finds another waif and stray Sandy the dog (played with impish glee by five-year-old Jude) here she sings the iconic ‘Tomorrow’ and they visit ‘Hooverville’ a camp for people who have fallen on hard times. Annie is recaptured and by the police and she is returned to Miss Hannigan’s clutches.  Miss Hannigan vents her frustrations as she bitterly sings about her revulsion of ‘Little Girls’ and the mischievous tricks they play.

But Annie’s fortunes are due to change when she is chosen by Grace the Assistant PA to a wealthy billionaire and philanthropist Oliver ‘Daddy’ Warbucks (Sam Weston) who wants a male orphan to spend Christmas at his luxury mansion.  Once he gets to know Annie however, she completely steals his heart and following a trip around ‘N.Y.C.’  he formulates plans to formally adopt her.  There is a problem however, as Annie says she can’t be adopted as she has never given up hope of being reunited with her real parents.  Daddy Warbucks wants to help and gets her a spot on a radio show to try and find them.  

 In the meantime, Miss Hannigan and her ne’er do well brother Rooster (Chris Grayson) and his girlfriend Lily (Holly Austin) are determined to hatch a plot to ensure that they will be seen as Annie’s parents using a locket that Annie was wearing when she was taken to the orphanage.  Will Rooster’s sinister plot succeed, or will Annie finally get her happy ending?

The set was simple for the orphanage consisting of camp beds for the girls and a laundry basket on wheels used for Annie’s escape.  Props such as brooms and mops were used well in the ‘Hard knock Life’ routine and the girls performed acrobatics across the stage showcasing their dance skills.  Hooverville was created using rubbish bins and a lighted brazier.  Daddy Warbucks’ mansion was achieved using fake columns either side of a stairway andrasied platfom at the rear of the stage, and a desk which were all used to good effect during the dance numbers.  The radio studio featured a trolley containing sound effects, 'On Air' sign and 1930s style microphones.

Costumes were appropriate to the 1930s era.  The orphans wore drab clothes to reflect their status and Annie wore a cardigan over her dress then a posh frock for her scenes with Daddy Warbucks.

Music was provided by a backing track and the musical numbers were performed very well.  I especially enjoyed the sleazy ‘Easy Street’ as the characters worked very well together.  

Annie was played by Holly and she produced a very well-rounded performance for her years.  Every time she was on stage she was acting and interacting with the other characters, and she had a sweet singing voice.  Her relationship with Daddy Warbucks was particularly touching especially the dance to ‘ I Don’t Need Anything But You’.  

The orphans were fantastic with acrobatic dancing and showing their mischievous natures by playing tricks on Miss Hannigan.  They also kept their American accents throughout.  I particularly liked the individual signature moves for their bows.

Liz Teanby-Williams played Miss Hannigan as a drunken harridan determined to prevent Annie from achieving her dreams.  She had excellent comic timing especially shown during her fourth wall breaking song ‘Little Girls.’

Chris Grayson and Holly Austin worked well together as the evil duo trying to con Daddy Warbucks into believing they were Annie’s parents.  Chris showed his comedy talents always staying close to the lovable rogue and his costume malfunction when his moustache became unstuck showed he could improvise and think on his feet.

Emma Spencer played the sympathetic role of Grace with great skill using her facial expressions to good effect as she tried to convince Daddy Warbucks that the bubbly irrepressible Annie would be an ideal addition to his lonely life.  She had some lovely dance routines with Annie and Daddy Warbucks.

Special mention to Sam Weston as Daddy Warbucks who played the character with believability and compassion.  I liked the way his character changed from being a focused arrogant businessman to a gentler and more caring character after discovering a new life as he became more enamoured with Annie.  Sam had a lovely deep singing voice, and he delivered his musical numbers with heartfelt emotion especially during ‘Something was Missing’.  Well done Sam on your debut with the Performance Hub.

It was lovely to meet Sally Taylor and Jenny Stephenson after the show.  Well done for creating this version of ‘Annie the Musical’ which was very well received by the enthusiastic audience.  I know this was your first attempt at a full-scale musical, and your efforts have been rewarded with a fun filled family show featuring vibrant choreographed dance routines and strong acting performances.  Julie and I look forward to seeing your next production.

© NODA CIO.  All rights reserved 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.