That curly little red headed girl is well known for her cheery, yet blunt disposition. Above is one of her most famous songs, Tomorrow. In this scene, for those of you who don't know, she is seen singing to President Teddy Roosevelt. She got around pretty good for starting in an orphanage, eh? ;)
Annie had two movies made off of the Little Orphan Annie comic strip. The first was in 1982 and the second, 1999. I, personally, have not seen the remake, but have heard it wasn't as good. The original is certainly a classic, however! Starring so many memorable faces such as Carol Burnette and Burnadette Peters, this is not a musical soon forgotten.
Storyline:
In the depths of the 1930's, Annie is a fiery young orphan girl who must live in a miserable orphanage run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan. Her seemingly hopeless situation changes dramatically when she is selected to spend a short time at the residence of the wealthy munitions industrialist, Oliver Warbucks. Quickly, she charms the hearts of the household staff and even the seemingly cold-hearted Warbucks cannot help but learn to love this wonderful girl. He decides to help Annie find her long lost parents by offering a reward if they would come to him and prove their identity. However, Miss Hannigan, her evil brother, Rooster, and a female accomplice, plan to impersonate those people to get the reward for themselves which put Annie in great danger.
I had the priviledge of seeing the musical Annie performed at our local theater, Northern Stage, yesterday. They put on a successful, magnificent show! Incorporating actors and actresses straight 
off Broadway and children from the local area, Annie was a special treat. Unfortunately, Mollie Brown who normally plays Annie was out, so we saw it with Margaret Ann Marie Finley. THough she wasn't who we were supposed to see, I have no complaints, nor any regrets. She did phenomenal! You would've never known she was the understudy. She belted the songs like nobody's business. I would almost say I enjoyed her performance better than in the movie :D I had the lucky chance of a run-in with Gwendolyn Jones (Miss Hannigan) when I was working one night! She was the absolute sweetest woman, the antithesis of her character. Shows what good an actress she is :) And booooooooooooooy was she funny!!! We couldn't stop laughing whenever she came on the stage! Plus she did a GREAT job with her costume changes. All the girls playing the orphans were spectacular! Their voices were so strong for mostly 9, 10, and 11 year olds, but some younger. I was in awe at the accuracy of their performance from staging to acting, to singing and dancing. I wouldn't be surprised if someday we saw some of their names up in lights!
off Broadway and children from the local area, Annie was a special treat. Unfortunately, Mollie Brown who normally plays Annie was out, so we saw it with Margaret Ann Marie Finley. THough she wasn't who we were supposed to see, I have no complaints, nor any regrets. She did phenomenal! You would've never known she was the understudy. She belted the songs like nobody's business. I would almost say I enjoyed her performance better than in the movie :D I had the lucky chance of a run-in with Gwendolyn Jones (Miss Hannigan) when I was working one night! She was the absolute sweetest woman, the antithesis of her character. Shows what good an actress she is :) And booooooooooooooy was she funny!!! We couldn't stop laughing whenever she came on the stage! Plus she did a GREAT job with her costume changes. All the girls playing the orphans were spectacular! Their voices were so strong for mostly 9, 10, and 11 year olds, but some younger. I was in awe at the accuracy of their performance from staging to acting, to singing and dancing. I wouldn't be surprised if someday we saw some of their names up in lights!Book - Thomas Meehan
Music - Charles Strouse
Lyrics - Martin Charnin
Director - Brooke Ciardelli
Producing Director - Catherine Doherty (she played the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz last December!)
I feel blessed that we have Northern Stage in our backyard. It's in downtown White River Jct, which is about a 2 minute drive from my house, depending on the stoplights :P They are able to bring us quality theater with famous actors from Broadway, tours, movies, and television shows. It is incredible what they can do on this tiny stage (much smaller than our high school stage and auditiorium!). Bravo, bravo to everyone in it! I wish you the best of luck in your future and many more opening nights :D
Thanks for stopping by!
Hannah
Hannah
Just wanted to say that I love Annie :)
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