Annie
"Just what London needs right now"
The Telegraph
Why see Annie?
a welcome return
Leapin' lizards! Little Orphan Annie returns to the West End after nearly two decades to bring her sunshine personality to a brand new production. Heart-warming and dripping with charm and catchy songs, Annie has been an absolute classic since first appearing on stage in 1977, introducing audiences to the wily red-head and her adorable adventures.
Meera Syal has now stepped into Craig Revel Horwood's and Miranda Hart's high heels to play Miss Hannigan. See the comedian and author strut her stuff on stage until the 27th November after so many years behind the judges table!
It's a hard Knock life
Life is hard for Annie and the other orphans at the Hudson Street Orphanage in Depression-era New York City. Presided over by dastardly matron Miss Hannigan fun is hard to find until one day her life is changed for ever when Grace, the beautiful assistant of the enigmatic millionaire Oscar (Daddy) Warbucks comes to ask for an orphan to stay at his mansion for the Christmas holidays. This begins a mad-cap caper as Annie's bright and shining personality begins to win over the crotchety business man, teaching him the meaning of love, life and looking on the bright side.
Cast
Madeleine Haynes, Lola Moxom, and Ruby Stokes as Annie
Meera Syal as Miss Hannigan
Alex Bourne as Daddy Warbucks
Holly Dale Spencer as Grace Farrell
Jonny Fines as Rooster
Djalenga Scott as Lily
Aurelia Borrelli, Ellicia Simondswood and Nicole Subebe as Molly
Jessica Cartledge, Scarlet Grace and Dora Yolland as Tessie
Shani Roberts, Emily-May Stephenson and Maisie Thorn as Kate
Drew Hylton, Eva MacLaughlan and Charlotte Ross Gower as Pepper
Nancy Allsop, Carla Dixon and Isabelle Methven as July
Kya Davis, Nicole Dube and Kathryn Whetter as Duffy
Introducing Amber as Sandy
Ensemble
Keisha Atwell, Sophie Ayers, Bobby Delaney, Nic Gibney, Patrick Harper, Ben Harrold, George Ioannides, Megan Louch, Benjamin Mundy, Ben Oliver, Heather Scott-Martin, Anne Smith, Kate Somerset How, Katie Warsop and Russell Wilcox.
Creative
Directed by Nikolai Foster
Book by Thomas Meehan
Music by Charles Strouse
Lyrics by Martin Charnin
Reviews
Customer reviews
Yasmin Al-Sheklly
An uplifting musical that is full of joy and optimism.
What is the plot of Annie about?
It centres around a young orphan named Annie who suffers a lifetime of misery at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage until luck strikes by Oliver Warbucks. He invites Annie to spend the Christmas holiday with him at his house. It includes a swimming pool, tennis courts and everything that she dreamed of.
Oliver later decides that he wants to adopt her but that is not what she wants. Annie wants to find out who her real parents are in order to determine her identity,
The message in this musical is that you should always be positive in life even when the reality is hard to swallow.
What themes are explored in Annie?
The themes that are explored in Annie are family, friendship, poverty, bullying, control, crime, identity, fraud and loss.
Cast
Sharangi Gnanavarathan was a true star as Annie. She had a likeable stage presence and bags of charisma too. She had a self-assured attitude where she was never arrogant. She made the role her own bringing hope and life to the forefront. Her personality was so infectious with a spectacular performance. She was tremendous and never forgot her lines, lyrics or even got a footing wrong in the dance routines. Wow. She was also a great leader in the few scenes with her cute dog doing everything that they are meant to do here.
Alex Bourne was excellent as Oliver Warbucks. He is a billionaire but yet his personality shifts to being a soft and vulnerable person whenever Annie is present. This relationship becomes relatable to the audience and makes him feel honest. Their chemistry is a credit to watch making it feel like a genuine father and daughter relationship even though they are not. He also gave us some hilarious moments especially when he worked at the radio station and not knowing how to make a microphone work was funny too.
Amelia Adams was brilliant as Grace Farrell. Her performance was stunning, graceful and elegant. She portrayed the character with ease and gusto.
David Burrows was exceptional in several roles including Lt. Ward, President Roosevelt and Jimmy Johnson. Each role was unique in its own right. The way in which he switches from one to the next is natural and effortless resulting to the fact that you don’t know that it is the same actor all along.
Craig Revel Horwood was excellent as the nasty villainous Miss Hannigan. His portrayal of the character was spot on and his vocals shone. He had a strong stage presence where he runs across the stage being gruesome to the children but yet charming the adults. He stood out in his performances of “Big Girls†and “Easy Streetâ€. It was remarkable to see his charisma, the strength of his voice and power. He is a true performer.
Lukin Simmonds was great as Rooster. He was full of charm and pizzazz in “Easy Streetâ€.
Matthew Sweet was superb as Bundles, Bert Healey and Ikes. He switched between the three characters with flair and confidence.
Belle Kizzy Green was amazing as Sophie, Mrs Pugh and as Frances Perkins. She stood out as the homeless Mrs Pugh.
This was a talented cast whose team spirit was a credit to watch no matter how big or small their roles were. They were a class act.
Sets
The sets were simple but effective. It starts with the orphanage with iron beds. This is well complemented with a backdrop of a collage of jigsaw pieces. It was quirky. Some were missing and they light up in different colours whilst the others are in a black and white map of New York City. There were also red scribbles that would show where Annie had gone to.
This set design was eye catching and the level of detail was impeccable. It truly added a dusting of magic.
Soundtrack
The score in Annie was so moving and is full of positivity that you are more likely to sing these songs even after the show has finished. The songs are intertwined perfectly into the story. One of the highlights is “Tomorrow†as it is a song that is full of hope and joy. The acapella harmonies were stunning with beauty and power.
Another highlight is “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile†that opens the second half. It was a fun and an energetic performance where the audience could clap along whilst the cast were setting the scene with neon lights to indicate that it is in a radio station.
There is also the catchy number of “I Don’t Need Anything But Youâ€. It takes us into Christmas vibes and nostalgia where we do not care that it is not happening in reality. I also loved “It’s A Hard Knock Life†as the children sang it so gracefully and the choreography was exquisite to watch. They added their own stamp on it which was lovely to see.
The encore at the end really brought the finale to life with a rendition of “Tomorrow†and this allowed us to cheer and clap along which led us to leave the auditorium with a smile on our face.
The music added vitality to the production by the wonderful live band with great orchestration.
If you love a classic that is brought to life on stage with a jolly story, a talented cast and catchy tunes then Annie is the show for you. Grab your tickets now otherwise they will be gone by tomorrow.
... Read more
Kim Brown
Amazing show
This show was amazing
The cast were brilliant, full of energy and enthusiasm
Singing was suburb
Well done great night out ... Read more
Ros
Sound very harsh
Great show but in row G seat 1 -4 it was
very hard to listen to. Better in the second half. My sister actually took out her hearing aid as it was so loud and harsh and there seemed to be some background distortion
Special mentiion of the disabled facilities which are second to none and the volunteer staff lady who helped with our wheelchair and was very kind. Excellent meal in the restaurant as usual. ... Read more
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