Book: Thomas Meehan
Music: Charles Strouse
Lyrics: Martin Charner
Director: Nikolai Foster
Miss Hannigan’s NYC orphanage is definitely on the wrong side of the tracks. It’s 1933 and the height of the Great Depression and Miss Hannigan uses her charges as cheap labour. Among them is Annie, abandoned
at birth with only a note from her parents promising to return sometime. And it is this promise that helps Annie, despite Miss Hannigan’s careless cruelty, to maintain a sunny disposition and childlike faith in Tomorrow. She manages to escape the orphanage to seek her parents, but instead finds her way to a Hooverville shanty town and sees the deprivation endured by so many at this time in history. Before, of course, being found and returned to Miss Hannigan’s care.
Meanwhile, very much on the right side of the tracks, self-made billionaire and mover and shaker Oliver Warbucks, full of Christmas spirit, decides it would be a worthwhile gesture to take an orphan in for Christmas and dispatches his assistant, Grace, to find one. Inevitably, she returns with Annie whose sunny disposition quickly wins over the entire household. But she still dreams of her own parents’ return and Warbucks pledges to help, pulling strings and offering $50000 to them if they will come forward – what could go wrong in a state where so many are forced to live on the breadline?
Any production of Annie is only as good as the actor playing Annie. On press night, Zoe Akinyosade brought us the wide-eyed urchin. She gives us sass alongside vulnerability and her roller-coaster of emotions is clear.
Craig Revel-Horwood plays a camp, cartoonish Miss Hannigan, exulting in her pantomime villainy. He also displays a fine singing voice. At the press performance, Warbucks was played by David Burrows. Burrows brings a gravitas to Warbucks while still showing that hint of vulnerability. As he gets to know Annie and accept he has an Annie-shaped hole in his life, one can’t help but warm to him and his selfless efforts on her behalf – even if it appears he might lose her forever as a result of his largesse. His sidekick, Grace, is played by Amelia Adams, in an immediately likeable role. She also has a soprano voice of exceptional purity and power.
Less likeable, of course, are Rooster and Lily (Paul French and Billie Kay) who use their links to Hannigan to learn about Annie and boost their chances of getting their hands on the $50000. Thoroughly unpleasant, they exude menace and selfishness in all their appearances.
Thomas Meehan’s book is an original story using characters from the original Little Orphan Annie comic strip. It weaves together plenty of themes from the time – many of which still resonate – but lacks a certain depth: there’s never any real sense of jeopardy. Nevertheless, Nikolai Foster’s direction keeps the action flowing, assisted by the set design of Colin Richmond that makes good use of sliding elements to whisk us from one location to another. The contrast between the orphanage and the Hoovervilles on the one hand and the opulence of Warbucks’ home on the other is accentuated by Ben Cracknell’s lighting design. Movement is tightly choreographed with a welcome energy.
Annie is an upbeat story full of familiar and eminently hummable songs – it was a toss-up in the streets afterward as to which was heard more, Tomorrow or It’s the Hard Knock Life – and one can’t help but leave with a broad smile. But there were, on this occasion, some technical issues. Voices occasionally became lost in the sound mix and the first act ended rather abruptly with the loss of a short scene, which sadly made the evening a touch disjointed. Even so, it’s an undemanding and enjoyable family night out.
Runs until: 15 April 2023 and on tour
