By Lauren Yarger
Another production of the Charles Strouse/Martin Charnin musical Annie? We have all seen countless versions if it on tour, in local community theater, on out high school stages, we've seen the movie and can sing all the songs by heart, so what would would motivate us to get excited about a revival on Broadway?
For me, interest piqued when I heard that Katie Finneran, who stole the show and won a Best Featured Actress Tony for her 15-minute turn in the otherwise uninspiring revival of Promises, Promises a few seasons back. So, having anything but a "Hard Knock Life" as a theater reviewer, I ventured once again into book writer Thomas Meehan's land of "Tomorrow," where President Franklin D. Roosevelt (an engaging Merwin Foard) looks for a way to guide the nation out of the Depression and where millionaire Oliver Warbucks (Anthony Warlow) bonds with little Annie (Lilla Crawford) who thinks she's "Gonna Like it Here" at his house on "East Street" after living in an orphanage run by Miss Hannigan (Finneran) who isn't too fond of "Little Girls," played here by numerous kids including Emily Rosenfeld as Molly, Taylor Richardson as Duffy, Madi Rae Diietro as July, Junah Jang as Tessie, Tyrah Skye Odoms as Kate and Georgi James as Pepper.
Helping Annie make her transition to Warbuck's posh New York mansion (opulent in sweeping, folding design to create other settings by designer David Korins) are his secretary, Grace Farrell (a bland Brynn O'Malley), the butler, Drake (Joel Hatch) and housekeepers Mrs. Greer (Jane Blass) and Mrs. Pugh (Liz McCartney). Working against her are Hannigan, her brother, Rooster (Clarke Thorell) and his girlfriend, Lily (J. Elaine Marcos), who hatch a plot to have Rooster and Lily pose as Annie's long-lost parents and collect a reward posted by Warbucks (despite ethnic casting by Director James Lapine that makes this claim obviously bogus at first glance).
So, what's so different about this Broadway version? Not much. In fact, surprisingly, it seems more rote than some non-professional versions. Everybody seems to be going through the motions. The orphans don't seem as adorable as usual. Now, before I get buckets of hate mail because I don't like kids, let me explain. They are cute kids. They just seem to be meticuously executing choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler) that is constructed to look like cute kids doing exact moves. There's no fun or bounce to it.
Finneran is entertaining, gives it her all, and dusts off the "funny drunk" skills from Promises Promises (that turn also won her Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards), but she never seems to be "fully dressed" as Hannigan. In an ironic twist, she is upstaged this time by another co-star who only gets about 15 minutes of stage time: Sandy the dog (played by Sunny, trained by William Berloni, who rescued the first dog who played Sandy in the original production.) The dog really is cute and naturally looks with affection at Crawford as she belts her song, causing a bunch of "aws" to be issued by the audience. In fact, most of the post-show talk I heard on the way out of the theater was about how people wished the dog had a bigger part. Good for the dog. Not good for the adorable orphans (see paragraph above).
And while, I am being critical of the kids, here are two more problems: Molly can't be heard a good deal of the time and Annie belts even when she isn't singing, shouting her lines through most of the show (Brian Ronin, sound design). I'll stop short of complaining about lopping off her long, flowing, curled locks to make her over with the recognizable, short, red frizzed do associated with the Annie comic strip (Susan Hilferty, costume design).
What is good, and very good, is Warlow's portrayal of Warbucks: just the right combination of overbearing and humble with a terrific singing voice to boot. What a pleasure to hear this multi-range operatic singer make his Broadway debut here. It's also a pleasure to hear the Strouse/Charnin score. Every song is good -- something that can't be said about a lot of shows these days. The songs are a lot of why this show ran for almost six years after opening on Broadway in 1977 and why revivals are still being done today. Will there ever be one as exciting as the original? "Someday."
Annie runs at the Palace Theatre, Broadway at 47th Street., NYC. Tickets: 800-745-3000, 877-250-2929; www.ticketmaster.com. For more info: http://www.anniethemusical.com/
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Wholesome show. Bring the family.
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