Annie
Original Broadway Windowcard
Music	Charles Strouse
Lyrics	Martin Charnin
Book	Thomas Meehan
Based upon	Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie
Productions	1977 Broadway 1978 West End 1978 North American Tour 1978 US Tour 1979 US Tour 1979 Australia 1979 Mexico 1979 Japan 1981 US Tour 1982 film 1982 Argentina 1982 Spain 1983 West End 1991 Norway 1997 Broadway revival 1997 Netherlands 1998 West End 1999 US television movie 1999 Sweden 2000 UK tour 2001 Israel 2001 Spain 2003 Zimbabwe 2004 Norway 2005 US Tour 2005 Netherlands 2006 Sweden
Awards	Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award for Best Original Score Tony Award for Best Book

Annie is a musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The musical ran for nearly six years on Broadway, spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The popular songs "Tomorrow" and "It\'s the Hard Knock Life" are from this musical.

Plot synopsis

11 year old Annie is in an orphanage, presided over by Miss Hannigan, who keeps her and the other orphans charges in line by bullying and threatening them. The girls are ever hopeful that they will find parents and happiness ("Maybe") while Miss Hannigan is unhappy with her situation ("Little Girls"). Annie decides to find her parents, running into a friendly dog (Sandy)("Tomorrow") and the people made homeless because of the Great Depression ("Hooverville"). After she is returned to the orphanage, Grace Farrell, Warbucks\' assistant, picks her to live in Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks palatial home for the Christmas holidays("I Think I\'m Gonna Like it Here").

Although initially uncomfortable around each other, Annie and Daddy Warbucks soon come to love each other ("You Won\'t Be an Orphan for Long"). Warbucks wants to adopt her, but Annie insists that her parents will come for her. Over the radio, and with the help of President and Mrs. Roosevelt, Warbucks offers a reward for the parents ("Fully Dressed"). Miss Hannigan and her brother, Rooster, and his slightly ditzy girlfriend, Lily St. Regis, scheme to pretend to be the parents and collect the reward ("Easy Street"). When they are found out, it is revealed that Annie\'s parents have died ("I Don\'t Need Anything But You"). Warbucks and Annie become a family ("Annie"/"A New Deal For Christmas").

Production history

Pre-Broadway Tryout

Annie made its World premiere on August 10, 1976 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut. Kristin Vigard was the first actress to play the title role. However, the producers soon decided that Vigard\'s genuinely sweet interpretation was not tough enough for the street-smart orphan. After a week of performances, Vigard was replaced by Andrea McArdle, who played one of the other orphans. Vigard went on to become McArdle\'s Broadway understudy.

Broadway

The original Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on April 21, 1977 and starred Andrea McArdle as Annie, Reid Shelton as Daddy Warbucks, Dorothy Loudon as Miss Hannigan, and Sandy Faison as Grace Farrell. It was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won 7, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book. Replacements for McArdle in the lead role included then-child actors Shelley Bruce, Sarah Jessica Parker, Allison Smith, and Alyson Kirk.

The show closed on January 2, 1983 and ran for a total of 2,377 performances.

London productions

In 1978, a London cast of Annie opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre, in the West End of London, on May 3. Though Andrea McArdle played the title role for forty performances, British 12-year-old Ann Marie Gwatkin was also cast in the title role and appeared on the Oringinal London cast recording. Miss Hannigan was played by Sheila Hancock, and Daddy Warbucks was played by Stratford Johns.

Annie closed on 28 November 1981, after 1485 performances, and immediately transferred to the Bristol Hippodrome for a special Christmas season before touring Britain. Because of strict British employment laws for juvenile actors, a succession of actresses took on the lead role every four months, including Claudia Bradley from Leeds, who later appeared in Starlight Express, as the understudy to Pearl. Claudia was featured, at the age of 10, on a 1981 BBC programme called Fame, narrated by John Pitman, when she first won the role of Annie. She was one of the last girls to perform the role at the Victoria Palace before the show went on tour.

The show was later revived at the Victoria Palace, running from 30 September 1998 to 28 February 1999. It starred Lily Savage (the female alter ego of comedian Paul O\'Grady) as Miss Hannigan.

United States National touring companies

During the Broadway run of Annie, there were four touring companies that were launched from the original production to bring the to show to major U.S. cities.:

The 1st National Touring Company of Annie opened in Toronto in March of 1978 with Kathy-Jo Kelly in the title role. After playing a few more cities, it landed in Chicago where it played for 32 weeks before continuing on the road in April of 1979 with Mary K. Lombardi as Annie. In the fall of 1980, Theda Stemler took over the part and was replaced in Boston when she grew too old. On May 15, 1981, Louanne Sirota, who had played Annie in the long-running Los Angeles production (see below), took over the role for four months. In August of 1981, Becky Snyder became the company\'s last Annie, closing the tour on September 6, 1981.

The 2nd National Touring Company (sometimes referred to as the West Coast or Los Angeles Production) opened in San Francisco on June 22, 1978 with Patricia Ann Patts starring as Annie and the then-unknown Molly Ringwald playing one of the orphans. The show landed in Los Angeles on October 15, 1978 for an open-ended run at the Shubert Theatre. On June 12, 1979, Louanne, just 9 yrs old (up until that time, all Annies had been 11 yrs old), took over the role from Patts. Marisa Morell replaced Louanne when she left to star in Oh, God! Book II in December of 1979. Marisa closed the Los Angeles run and took it on the road continuing with the show through December of 1980. In December of 1980, Kristi Coombs replaced Morell and played Annie until this touring company closed in Philadelphia on January 23, 1982.

The 3rd National Touring Company of Annie was launched in Dallas on October 3, 1979 with Roseanne Sorrentino in the title role. This company toured to 23 cities playing mostly shorter runs of a month or less. On March 27, 1981, Bridget Walsh took over for Sorrentino. Becky Snyder (who had closed the 1st National Tour) joined this company in the summer of 1982 and stayed with it until it closed in September of that year.

The 4th National Touring Company of Annie opened on September 11, 1981 with Mollie Hall playing Annie. This production was a "bus and truck" tour, with a slightly reduced cast, that traveled the country often playing in two cities a week. This company was still touring when the original Broadway production closed in January 1983, making Kathleen Sisk the final performer to play Annie from the original production team. This final production closed in September of 1983.

Stage sequels

The first attempt at a sequel, Annie 2: Miss Hannigan\'s Revenge, opened at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. in December 1989 to universally disastrous reviews. Extensive reworking of the script and score proved futile, and the project was aborted before reaching Broadway. In 1993, a second attempt (with a completely different plot and score), entitled Annie Warbucks, opened at the off-Broadway Variety Arts Theatre, where it ran for 200 performances.

Broadway revival

A Broadway 20th anniversary revival in 1997 starred Nell Carter, and later Sally Struthers as Miss Hannigan, but controversy surrounded the casting of the titular character. The original actress cast in the role, Joanna Pacitti, was fired and replaced by her understudy, Brittny Kissinger[1] (who usually played July) while battling bronchitis, just two cities away from their Broadway debut. Public sentiment seemed to side with Pacitti as she was the winner of a highly-publicized contest to find a new Annie sponsored by the department store Macy\'s. This very public incident, coupled with the rather mixed reviews the new staging garnered, doomed it to a short run. After the short Broadway run, however, a moderately successful national tour was staged. The orphans on the pre-broadway national tour and during the Broadway run were played by Christiana Anbri, age 6, from New York City, who played "Molly," ; Melissa O\'Malley, who played "Kate," ; Lindsey Watkins, age 9, from New Haven, who played "Tessie," ; Mackenzie Rosen-Stone, age 9, from New York City, who played "Duffy," ; Casey Tuma, age ten, from New Jersey, replaced Kissinger as "July," ; Cassidy Ladden, age eleven, from Manhatten, who played "Pepper" and Alexandra Keisman as the orphan swing/Annie understudy. Kissinger, then 8, became the youngest actress to ever play Annie on Broadway.

In the revival, a black miniature poodle named Dartanian played a small part when he ran across in the stage during Act I of the play to be caught by an actor playing a dog catcher. During intermission, an announcement was made to the crowd saying that the dog had been abused by his previous owners and was found wandering the streets of New York City. The announcement then said that the dog was being put up for adoption. Many people went backstage after the show to sign adoption papers for the dog, and after the running of the show, the pound in possession of Dartanian selected a family from Westchester, NY to adopt him. The family changed his name to DC, who is still living in Westchester with this family.

United States tours

1999-2000
Starting in August 1999, the post Broadway National Tour continued with Meredith Ann Bull as Annie, Melissa Rocko playing July, Gianna Belino playing Molly, Katherine Young playing Kate, Ashley Wieronski playing Duffy, and Nina Ducharme playing Tessie, and Tracey Brancifort playing Pepper. In the spring of 2000, a few new \'orphans\' took over, and Ashley Weironski moved up to play Annie, while Blaire Restaneo played Molly, Jessica Peters played Tessie, Amanda Sphigler played Kate, Amy Scheff played July, Tracey Brancifort played Pepper and Melissa Rocco moved on to play Duffy understudying Annie. Amelia Millar was the swing orphan.

In July 2000, Dana Benedict replaced Ashley Weironski as Annie, Jewel Restaneo replaced Mellissa Rocco as Duffy, switching off on some performances as Annie, Daniella Alswang replaced Amanda Sphigler as Kate, Kallie Flynn Childress replaced Jessica Peters as Tessie, while Blaire Restaneo, Amy Scheff, and Tracey Brancifort remained as their roles of Molly, July, and Pepper.

2005-2007

The Annie logo, used for the most recent tour.

Starting in 2005, a 30th anniversary traveling production of Annie by Networks Tours embarked on a multi-city tour. Due to its popularity, the tour\'s initial 11-month run was extended into 2007. This production is directed by Martin Charnin and stars Conrad John Schuck as Daddy Warbucks, Alene Robertson as Miss Hannigan, and Marissa O\'Donnell as Annie.

For the first year of the tour, Annie was played by Marissa O\'Donnell, Lindsay Ryan played Molly, Molly Ryan played Duffy and understudy of Molly. Stevani Weaver played Kate and understudy of Annie, Casey Whyland played Tessie, Taylor Bright played July, and Brittany Portman played Pepper. Throughout the show, there were a couple of replacements. Amanda Balon took the place of Lindsay Ryan as Molly, and McCall Montz took the place of Molly Ryan as Duffy and U.S. of Molly. Eventually, Jocelyn Chmielewski took the place of McCall Montz as Duffy and understudy of Molly, and Delaney Moro took the place of Stevani Weaver as Kate and understudy of Annie.

For the 2nd year of the tour, Annie was played by Marissa O\'Donnell again, Amanda Balon moved up to the role of Duffy and understudy of Molly and second understudy of Annie, Anastasia Korbal played Molly, Gabi Nicole Carruba played Kate and understudy of Annie, Brandy Panfili played Tessie, NicKayla Tucker played July, and Madison Zavitz played Pepper.

This Equity Tour closed on March 25, 2007, at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, MD. Marissa O\'Donnell turned down offers from United Kingdom tour producers to continue as Annie in their 2007 production.

The 2007-2008 cast for the Non-Equity tour is : Amanda Balon moved up to play Annie, Molly will be played by Annalisa DiBernardo, Duffy will be played by Marina Marcherone, Tessie will be played by Abby Spare, Kate by Grace Etzkorn, July by Jaida Benjamin, and Madison Zavitz will be playing Pepper again.

A 30th anniversary cast recording with Marissa O\'Donnell again performing the role of Annie will be released May 2008 on Time Life Records.

Other Countries With Productions

Argentina (1982¹)
Australia (1979¹, 2000)
Denmark (Unknown Year)
Germany (Unknown Year)
Hungary (1998)
Israel (2001¹)
Italy (2006)
Japan (1979-2007)₂
United Kingdom (1978¹, 1983, 1998, Tours from 2000-2007)
Mexico (1979¹)
Netherlands (1997¹, 2005¹)
Norway (1991¹, 2004¹)
Philippines (Unknown Year)
Portugal (Unknown Year¹)
Spain (1982¹, 2001¹)
Sweden (1999, 2006¹)
Zimbabwe (2003)

¹Indicates the production made an official cast recording.
²In Japan, a special demo recording is made each year with new actress playing Annie role, containing a set of select songs.

Musical numbers

*Added in 1997 for the Broadway revival to showcase Nell Carter\'s voice
**Added in 2004 when script was revised for the Australian production

Film and television

Main article: Annie (film)

Main article: Annie (1999 film)

The Columbia Pictures film was released in 1982, with Albert Finney starring as Daddy Warbucks, Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan, Ann Reinking as Grace Farrell, Tim Curry as Rooster, Bernadette Peters as Lily, and Aileen Quinn as Annie.

A sequel to the 1982 movie, Annie: A Royal Adventure! was made for television in 1995. The sequel starred Ashley Johnson, Joan Collins, George Hearn and Ian McDiarmid. Aside from a reprise of "Tomorrow," there are no songs in the film.

A made-for-TV Wonderful World of Disney movie version, produced by The Walt Disney Company, was broadcast in 1999; it starred Victor Garber as Daddy Warbucks, Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan, Audra McDonald as Grace Farrell, Alan Cumming as Rooster, Kristin Chenoweth as Lily, and newcomer Alicia Morton as Annie.

A documentary film, "Life After Tomorrow," was directed and produced by one of the original Broadway and National Tour orphans, Julie Stevens and partner, Gil Cates, Jr. “Life After Tomorrow� reunites more than 40 women who played orphans in the Broadway show “Annie� and reveals the highs and lows of their experiences as child actresses in a cultural phenomenon. The film premiered on Showtime and will be released by Arts Alliance America on DVD in early 2008.

Pop culture references

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This musical is mentioned constantly in popular culture, either directly or indirectly through its songs, particularly the popular song "Tomorrow". For instance:

• In the movie Austin Powers: Goldmember Dr. Evil and Mini-Me lip-synch and perform the song \'It\'s The Hard Knock Life For Us\' with the original soundtrack playing off-camera.
• In the hit Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 one of the characters, Marc, is shown to want the school production changed to perform Annie. Marc later appears in the episode dressed in Annie\'s signature dress and red-headed wig.
• Stephanie Tanner sings the songs numerous times throughout the course of the show, Full House.
• In the video game Grand Theft Auto III, a parody poster reminiscent of Annie can be seen in certain parts of Liberty City.
• In the 1994 black comedy Serial Mom, directed by John Waters, a woman rents the 1982 film from a video store, and is bludgeoned to death with a leg of mutton by the titular serial killer Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) while watching it and singing along.
• In the Family Guy episode "Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater" (aired 9/23/1999), the Griffin family inherits a luxury mansion, and the staff puts on a large-scale production number "My God This House Is Freakin\' Sweet," directly spoofing the song "I Think I\'m Gonna Like it Here".
• "I Think I\'m Gonna Like It Here" is also spoofed in the Drawn Together episode "Alzheimer\'s That Ends Well". When Toot is sent to a retirement home, she hates the idea until the seniors convince her how great the life is by singing a parody called "You\'ll Really Love Being Abandoned Here".
• In the first episode of Boston Legal, Alan Shore takes the case of a black girl who was not hired as the title role in the national tour, and wins the case with the help of Al Sharpton.
• Rapper Jay-Z made heavy use of samples from the Broadway cast album\'s version of "It\'s the Hard-Knock Life" in his single "It\'s the Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)". In turn, Jay-Z\'s take was also parodied by Sudden Death with their song "Star Trek Life" from their album Die Laughing.
• The newly-formed NFL Network produced two Super Bowl ads in 2004 and 2005 featuring "Tomorrow."[2][3][4] A series of football celebrities who were retired or didn\'t make it to that year\'s Super Bowl would sing the song, ending with the caption, "...Tomorrow, we\'re all undefeated again." The song did not reappear in 2006.
• As in Annie, President Franklin D. Roosevelt shows up as the deus ex machina at the end of the satirical musical Reefer Madness. He tells the assembled crowd, "A little orphan girl once told me that the sun would come out tomorrow. Her adopted father was a powerful billionaire, so I suppressed the urge to laugh in her face, but now, by gum, I think she may have been on to something!"
• The song "Tomorrow" is sung by Joe\'s aunt in a scene in the movie You\'ve Got Mail.
• The song "Tomorrow" is sung by the character Lewis on The Drew Carey Show to cheer up another character, where the rest of a group of employees join him in singing.
• The song "Tomorrow" is sung by Jane Krakowski in the fourth season of Ally McBeal.
• In the CGI movie Shrek II, Donkey begins singing "Tomorrow" in an effort to cheer up Shrek, though he passes out halfway through the second line, after advising Shrek to "bet your bottom".
• In the Disney theme park attraction It\'s Tough to be a Bug!, a version of "Tomorrow" is played by bugs in the Queue.
• In the Rooms To Go next-day delivery ad campaign, a parody of the song "Tomorrow" is sung to lyrics explaining how one\'s purchase will arrive the next day.
• In the sitcom Friends, Chandler Bing is revealed to have two copies of the Annie soundtrack in the season eight episode "The One With The Tea Leaves." Later on he unconsciously begins singing the line "The sun\'ll come out, tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar--" from "Tomorrow", and when he realizes what he is doing (having been heard by Phoebe and Monica) he finishes the line in an overly masculine tone ("There\'ll be SUN"). The musical is also mentioned in another episode, Season Five\'s "The One With Ross\' Sandwich." Ross asks Phoebe if the threatening notes she used to leave on her food while living on the street said things like "Keep your mitts off my grub." Chandler responds, "Ross, when you picture Phoebe living on the street, is she surrounded by the entire cast of Annie?"
• In the South Park episode "Ginger Kids", Eric Cartman and his group of Ginger Supremacists protest against Annie being played by a non-freckled, non-red-haired girl.
• The song "Tomorrow" was sung by Reese Witherspoon in the film Just Like Heaven.
• The song "Tomorrow" was sung by a little girl in a commercial for Lowe\'s Hardware promoting their next-day delivery.
• The song "Tomorrow" was sung by contestant Teresa Cooper on an episode of Survivor: Africa while she was competing in an immunity challenge that she would go on to win. Cooper ultimately placed fifth in the series.
• In one Duel Masters episode, Shobu is traumatized after losing a duel. In his mind, he is sad, but right before he comes to, he says, "The sun\'ll come out tomorrow..." before Hakuoh appears in his mind and says, "Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there\'ll be sun!"
• In School Of Rock Marta shows she can sing by singing "The sun will come out tomorrow."
• In Like Mike, a couple contesting for being Calvin\'s adoptive parents sing "Tomorrow."
• In the movie Dave, Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver sing "Tomorrow" in order to convince a police officer that Dave is not the U.S. President, but rather a B-class entertainer.
• The song "Tomorrow" is partly featured in the 1993 motion picture Addams Family Values.
• In 30 Rock, Liz Lemon is in her office after hours listening to music on her headset. Jack Donaghy comes in as she is singing the words to "Maybe."
• In the Ugly Betty episode "Loss the Boss" the song "Tomorrow" can be heard playing in the bedroom of Justin Suarez after he was sent there after fighting in school.
• On the sitcom Roseanne, Darlene and Becky sing part of "Tomorrow" after thinking their parents are never coming home.

External links

• Internet Broadway Database link for Annie
• MTI Shows listing
• Annie audition research resource from Musical Theatre Audition
• Annie plot summary & character descriptions from Stage Agent
• Annieorphans.com - Official website for former Annie cast members and fans
• Life After Tomorrow.com - Official website for the film "Life After Tomorrow"
• 2005-2007 Annie Tour official site
• 2005-2007 Annie Tour unofficial site

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia