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Jonny Fines as Rooster, Lesley Joseph as Miss Hannigan and Djalenga Scott as Lily. Pictures: Paul Coltas Annie
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
***** ANNIE seems to have been around forever,
but in fact premiered on Broadway in 1977 making it a more modern
musical than most imagine. Based upon the Harold
Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie,
with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and book by
Thomas Meehan, its libretto is well supported by a strong score of which
Tomorrow , It's the Hard Knock Life
and Easy Street
have become standards. Any production pivots on the success of the roles
of Miss Hannigan and Annie. Taking up the challenge are Lesley Joseph,
who I saw tackle this role some years ago, and is a safe pair of hands,
and Elise Blake, who is suitably cute and endearing. The plot is saccharine
sweet American schmaltz. A loveable little red-haired orphan escapes the
clutches of comic book evil orphanage keeper Miss Hannigan to win the
affections of hard- nosed wealthy businessman Oliver
Daddy
Warbucks. His granite exterior soon cracks for the little
girl- yet her desire to discover her roots cannot be thwarted. The
dialogue zips along with a number of good jokes, often at the Democrats
expense, Donald Trump would approve. We are also never far away from a
song or a dance to recharge our batteries in a sh Events unfold in 1930’s New York against a
backdrop of the Great Depression, stage designer Colin Richmond has
produced a versatile, colourful set which impresses, without being over
elaborate. The set changes with stage furniture are slick, morphing from
orphanage, to back streets ,to billionaires mansion, in a blink of an
eye. Lesley Joseph is the star turn, and in this
characterisation, tunes down the malevolence, turns up the drunkenness,
and allows Johnny Fines, playing her partner in crime, brother Rooster,
to take the crown as chief baddie. Rooster is ably assisted by Djalenga
Scott as his girlfriend Lily, who is funny, scheming and ekes the
maximum both out of her supporting role, and legs which seem to go on
forever.
Elise Blake is all that
you could want from an Annie. Her relationship with Daddy Warbucks is
convincing, her performance confident, but vulnerable, and her naïve
joie de vivre neatly counterpoints Miss Hannigan’s increasing
frustration as Annie enjoys the good fortune which has eluded her, and
yes, she and all the orphans hit those top F #’s in
Hard Knock Life!
Tomorrow
is beautifully sung, a song of hope for the young, a lament for the old,
and is to the show what Over the
Rainbow is to The Wizard of Oz. For some legs of this tour Craig Revel Harwood
has taken the part of Miss Hannigan. Unsurprisingly the production
delivers choreography of the highest standard driven by choreographer
Nick Winston . Four teams perform the child parts, the Rockerfeller Team
were present on this opening night, and Winston produces several
memorable set pieces, the highlight of which is the Broadway pizzazz of
NYC towards the end of the first half. Not only is the choreography sharp, inventive,
and performed with gusto and brio, the singing is also unusually strong
too, both individually, and collectively. I should make special mention
of understudy Callum McArdles Daddy Warbucks whose vocal performance was
mellifluous and an absolute delight. Opposite him, Holly Dale Spencer
shines as his PA, and love interest, Grace Farrell, singing and dancing
with aplomb, and carrying the best dress of the evening, an emerald
evening gown, with some style. This is wholesome, accessible, entertainment for
the whole family and a revival far superior to the last tour I saw with
Joseph in it. The dance has been ramped up significantly, and the score
is beautifully arranged by Musical Director George Dyer who slips from
Vaudeville to New Orleans Dixie effortlessly, besides the big Broadway
production numbers which boom with New York style. Justly evoking a standing ovation for the curtain
call, catch this show on its run till Saturday 9th April, it will make
you feel good. Gary Longden 04-04-16 And wishing for a better tomorrow **** NOW wouldn’t it be wonderful for David
Cameron and his Cabinet if someone like Annie could pop in at 10 Downing
Street and inspire them to come up with a scheme to solve some of the
country’s problems. In this happy musical the red-haired orphan
provides a wake-up call for a worried American President Roosevelt and
his gloomy advisors during the great depression of the 1930s, when she
sings The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow. Here Elise Blake is one of three youngsters
sharing the role of the bubbly 11-year-old girl desperate to find her
long ‘lost’ parents, and she delighted the opening night audience with
her powerful voice and confident stage craft. Eventually she charms New York billionaire
industrialist Oliver Warbucks whose efforts to help trace her folks
brings all kinds of crooks out of the woodwork hoping to collect the
cash reward. It’s rare to see a man with hair playing ‘Daddy’
Warbucks, but on the night I attended understudy Callum McArdle was the
mega-rich businessman and he did well, while perhaps lacking some of the
booming confidence associated with the role. The big name in the show is the much-loved
veteran actress Lesley Joseph who is perfect as the crafty,
hard-drinking boss of the orphanage, Miss Hannigan, whose insistence
that her charges never tell a lie eventually proves her undoing. Fine performances, too, from Holly Dale Spencer,
Warbucks’ glamorous secretary race Farrell, little Andie Jordan as the
cute orphan, Molly, and Amber the Labradoodle dog, playing the stray,
Sandy . . . his insistence on scratching behind his left ear on opening
night endeared him to the customers. My only disappointment with the show was the
jigsaw sets for the orphanage and Warbucks mansion….apart from the
billionaire’s desk in the shape of a W it was difficult to tell one from
the other at times. To 09.04.16 Paul Marston
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ow
whose energy levels are impressively high.