Annie

Annie is a musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie. The music is by Charles Strauss, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. Famous songs from the musical include "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard Knock Life".

Plot

Act One

Annie is an 11-year old (The part has been played by actresses with ages ranging from 8 to 20) orphan girl living in Depression era New York City. The play begins late one April night, when an orphan girl named Molly is jolted awake by dreams of her parents. Annie shows the girl a note her parents left her in one half of a heart-shaped locket, which promises that they will one day come get her (Maybe).

Shortly after this, Annie realizes that her "folks are never coming for [her]" and that she has to go find them. She decides to escape, but is quickly thwarted by Miss Hannigan, the cruel woman who owns the orphanage. The children are forced to clean the orphanage at this early hour (It's the Hard Knock Life), though when Bundles McCloskey, the laundryman, comes to pick up the orphan's sheets, Annie escapes in a laundry basket, and the orphans celebrate her escape (It's the Hard Knock Life - Reprise).

During her escape, Annie finds herself in St. Mark's Place as city dogcatchers pursue stray dogs. Annie finds a sad-faced mutt who has been wandering alone. "They're after me, too," she tells the dog, and then assures him that "Everything's gonna be fine." (Tomorrow) Officer Ward of the NYPD suspects that Annie's dog is a stray, but she tells him that the dog is hers: "I call him Sandy because of his nice sandy color." Sandy responds to his new name when he is called by Annie, and Officer Ward is reluctantly persuaded that the dog indeed belongs to Annie.

Underneath the 59th Street Bridge, Annie and Sandy meet a group of people living in a Hooverville (We'd Like To Thank You Herbert Hoover). During a raid on the Hooverville, however, Annie loses track of Sandy, and is found by the police and is taken back to the orphanage where she is reprimanded by Miss Hannigan (Little Girls). Mere minutes after Annie is returned to Hannigan, Grace Farrell, secretary to billionaire Oliver Warbucks, arrives at the orphanage. Warbucks wishes to have an orphan stay at his home for Christmas (reasons for the adoption vary from version to version, from the need for an heir to a PR stunt), so Annie is taken by Grace.

Though the servants at Warbucks' mansion welcome Annie warmly (I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here), Warbucks is more hesitant to accept Annie. The two strengthen their bond during a trip to the Roxy (N.Y.C.), as well as other briefly mentioned trips. Warbucks quickly decides that he wishes to adopt Annie. Hannigan is clearly angered over this news, and with the help of her conman brother Rooster and his girlfriend Lily St. Regis, the three develop a plan to get rich off of Annie (Easy Street).

To break the ice for a request for adoption, Warbucks buys Annie a new heart locket. (Why Should I Change A Thing?) When the girl approaches hysteria as he attempts to take the old locket off, Warbucks realizes that Annie still wishes to find her parents. He swears to Annie that he will find her mother and father (You Won't Be An Orphan For Long).

Act Two

The pair go on a radio show, and initiate a public plea for Annie's parents. Warbucks offers $50,000 to anyone who can prove that they are Annie's parents - or, whoever has the second half of the locket (You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile). The radio broadcast is heard by the orphans (You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile (Reprise), as well as Miss Hannigan. Rooster and Lily plan to pose as Annie's parents, and with Hannigan's knowledge of the second half of the locket, take the reward money and leave town (Easy Street - Reprise).

Meanwhile, during a visit to the White House, Warbucks and Annie inspire Roosevelt and his Cabinet to introduce the New Deal platform (Tomorrow - Cabinet Reprise). After a paper from the F.B.I. shows that it will be impossible to trace Annie's parents through the locket - over 90,000 were made - and the 1,246 people claiming to be Annie's parents turn out to be liars, Warbucks decides to adopt Annie (Something was Missing, I Don't Need Anything But You).

During an improvised party celebrating the eve of Annie's adoption, Lily and Rooster enter disguised as "Ralph Mudge" and "Shirley Mudge", and claim to be Annie's parents. As the couple has a false birth certificate and the other locket half, Warbucks begrudgingly accepts the two as Annie's parents. Warbucks invites the pair to come pick her up the next day, on Christmas morning.

Warbucks, and surprisingly Annie, are saddened over this turn of events (Maybe - Reprise). New news from the F.B.I. is quickly received - Annie's real parents, David and Margaret Bennett, have died. Lily, Rooster, and their accomplice Hannigan are all arrested. The play ends with a full cast song (New Deal for Christmas), the adoption of Annie by Warbucks, and the re-uniting of Sandy and Annie.

Stage productions

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, and Dorothy Loudon as Miss Hannigan. 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.

Original London cast

In 1978, a London cast of Annie opened on West End in London. Though Andrea McArdle played the title role for forty performances, Ann Marie Gwatkin did the role for most of the show and also appeared on the cast recording. Miss Hannigan was played by Sheila Hancock, and Daddy Warbucks was played by Stratford Johns.

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 Schubert Theatre. On June 12, 1979, Louanne took over the role from Patts and played out the rest of the year in L.A. before the show left to tour other cities. Marisa Morell took over the part in January of 1980 on the road and continued with the show for most of 1980. During this period Alyssa Milano joined the cast as one of the orphans. 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 girl cast in the role, Joanna Pacitti, was fired and replaced by her understudy, Brittny Kissinger[1] (who usually played July) while battling bronchitis in her hotel room, 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 tour and during the Broadway run were played by Christiana Anbri, age 6, who played "Molly," Katherine Young, age six, who played "Kate," Lindsey Watkins, age 9, who played "Tessie," Mackenzie Rosen-Stone, age 9, who played "Duffy," Casey Tuma, age ten, replaced Kissinger as "July," and Cassidy Ladden, age eleven, who played "Pepper." Kissinger, then 8, became the youngest actress to ever play Annie on Broadway.

2005-2007 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 will be played by Marissa O'Donnell again, Amanda Balon will move up to the role of Duffy and understudy of Molly and second understudy of Annie, Anastasia Korbal will play Molly, Gabi Nicole Carruba will play Kate and understudy of Annie, Brandy Panfili will play Tessie, NicKayla Tucker will play July, and Madison Zavitz will play Pepper.

Musical Numbers

Act 1:

• Maybe - Annie & Orphans
• It's the Hard Knock Life - Annie & Orphans
• It's the Hard Knock Life (Reprise) - Orphans
• Tomorrow - Annie
• We'd Like to Thank You Herbert Hoover - Hooverville-ites & Annie
• Little Girls - Miss Hannigan
• I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here - Grace, Annie & Servants
• N.Y.C. - Warbucks, Grace, Annie, Star-to-Be, Chorus
• Easy Street - Miss Hannigan, Rooster, Lily
• Why Should I Change a Thing? - Warbucks*
• You Won't Be an Orphan for Long - Grace, Drake, Servants, Annie, Warbucks

Act 2:

• You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile - Healy, Boylan Sisters
• You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile(Children) - Orphans
• Easy Street (Reprise) - Miss Hannigan, Rooster, Lily
• Tomorrow (Cabinet Reprise) - Annie, Roosevelt, Warbucks, Cabinet
• Something Was Missing - Warbucks
• I Don't Need Anything But You - Servants, Warbucks, Annie, Grace, Drake, Chorus
• Annie - Grace Farrell, Drake and The Staff
• Maybe (Reprise) - Annie
• New Deal for Christmas - All

*Added in 2004 when script was revised for the Australian production

Movies

1982 film

The film version, made in 1982 by Columbia Pictures, starred Aileen Quinn as Annie, Albert Finney as Daddy Warbucks, Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan, Bernadette Peters as Lily, Ann Reinking as Grace, and Tim Curry as Rooster. The film also restored the characters of Warbucks' servants/bodyguards from the comic strip, Punjab and The Asp, Played by Geoffrey Holder and Roger Minami respectively. It was directed by John Huston, his first and only film musical. The film's reviews ranged from positive to extremely hostile, and in spite of a $57 million US box office take (making it 10th highest grossing film of the year), the film still did not turn a profit on its theatrical release. An actress who played one of the orphan girls in the movie, Marta Marrero, later became a successful pop/dance singer as Martika.

Some of the changes were:

• The film featured four new songs, "Dumb Dog", "Let's Go to the Movies", "Sign" and "We Got Annie", and cut "We'd Like to Thank You Herbert Hoover", "N.Y.C", "You Won't be an Orphan for long", "Something was Missing", "Annie" and "New Deal for Christmas". In addition, The song "Maybe" has 2 reprises while "Little Girls" and "Easy Street" do not.
• In the stage play, Hannigan, Rooster and Lily are caught at the Warbucks estate, thus not kidnapping Annie. In this movie, she is kidnapped, leading to Warbucks organizing a city wide search. Eventually, Punjab and the Asp rescue Annie and return her safely at the end. Miss Hannigan also attempts to rescue Annie from being killed by Rooster, and is shown joining in the celebration at the end of the movie.
• The scene used for the "Maybe" song was actually the last scene taped for the film, the reason being that the original opening was too long. Although the "Maybe" song was still used, Annie and Molly are sitting at the window; However, this scene was still inserted into the film, only the last part with the rest of the orphans singing, after the "Little Girls" scene, during Annie's first night at the Warbucks estate.
• Punjab and The Asp are bought back for this film, although the characters are supporting roles.

Sequel

A sequel to the 1982 film, 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.

In the film, Warbucks (Hearn), Annie (Johnson), an eccentric scientist (McDiarmid) and two of the orphans travel to England, where Warbucks is to be knighted by the King. However, the kids get mixed up in the scheme of an evil noblewoman (Collins) to blow up Buckingham Palace while all the heirs to the throne are present for Warbucks' knighting, thus making her queen.

1999 television movie

A made-for-TV movie version appeared in 1999 starring Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan, Victor Garber as Daddy Warbucks, Alan Cumming as Rooster, Audra McDonald as Grace Farrell, Kristin Chenoweth as Lily, and newcomer Alicia Morton as Annie. It was produced by The Walt Disney Company and received generally positive reviews and high ratings. It also earned a 1999 George Foster Peabody Award. Although truer to the original stage musical than the 1982 movie, it condensed much of the full story in an attempt to make it more viewable for children. It featured a special appearance by Andrea McArdle, star of the original Broadway production.

Life After Tomorrow

A new documentary, featuring many of the orphans who appeared in the show during its original Broadway run (1977-1983), Life After Tomorrow, was released on Christmas Eve 2006 on Showtime. The DVD will be available to purchase around March, 2007. The film was directed by Julie Stevens (www.juliestevens.com) and Gil Cates, Jr. For more information, visit www.lifeaftertomorrow.com.

Soundtracks

Main article: Annie (1982 soundtrack)

Pop culture references

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

• Stephanie Tanner sings the songs numerous times throught the course of the show, Full House
• 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 Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem). This was most notably used in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember, when Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) performs a parody version in a prison mess hall. In turn, Jay-Z's take was 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 partly featured in the 1993 motion picture Dave ([5]).
• 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.
• 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 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.
• The song "Tomorrow" is partially sung by Darlene and Becky in one scene of Roseanne.
• 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!"

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