Terry Wills reports on the latest production of the musical Annie.
‘The Ultimate Family Musical’ – an apt description of Annie, the musical that since its Broadway premiere in 1977 has gone on to prove a smash hit whenever and whenever it’s played.
It moved into London’s Victoria Palace Theatre a year later with Sheila Hancock and Stratford Johns playing two of the leading roles, running for three and a half years. Since then both professional and amateur companies have staged the production on a regular basis with tremendous success and none more so than Stage Experience 2013 at the New Alexandra Theatre.
The story of Annie is simple. She lives in an orphanage run by the very unsympathetic Miss Hannigan, who has little or no time for the kids in her charge. After one confrontation she comes out with the remark “Why anyone would want to be an orphan I’ll never know”!
Annie, desperate to find her real parents, runs away only to eventually, following a combination of circumstances, managing to charm billionaire Oliver Warbucks into deciding he wants to legally adopt her – providing no-one can prove they are her real parents.
Of course there are complications. Miss Hannighan and her devious scheming brother, Rooster, set out to claim the $50,000 dollar reward by any means possible and the stage is set before the ultimate happy ending that has a cast of over 100 ( plus Sandy the loveable dog) receiving well- deserved and sustained applause.
The role of Annie is jointly shared and in the production I saw was played by Georgia Millie Price, a 16 year old who seems well on the way to becoming a star in her own right – as have many youngsters who have appeared in Annie. All the highly enthusiastic cast deserve congratulation, with Katie Gladwin’s portrayal of Miss Hannigan deserving a special mention.
The songs, including Tomorrow, Hard Knock Life and Easy Street are sung with gusto and these, allied to colourful dancing , ensured the audience would definitely enjoy a great night’s entertainment. Streaming out of the Alex following the reprise of Tomorrow I doubt if there were many who hadn’t enjoyed this production to the full.
