In April 1978, I saw the Tony winning Best Musical Annie which had opened the previous year. Every principal in the original cast was still in the show except for Andrea McArdle who played the title character and had the audacity to grow up and out of the role. For this entry in my Retrospective Series, I viewed the video recording at the New York Public Library’s Theatre on Film and Tape Collection. This particular taping of the final Broadway cast was captured two weeks before the original run had closed. As a middle schooler, I had a fond remembrance of the show and score, especially Act I. In 2002, I saw Annie again at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. At that time, I felt I may have outgrown the material.
Annie was a musical developed from the comic strip character Little Orphan Annie which ran from 1922 until, remarkably, 2010. Living in an orphanage, she is routinely abused by cold, sadistic matrons named Miss Asthma and Miss Treat. She meets Daddy Warbucks who takes a liking to her but she finds herself cast off (by Mrs. Warbucks) and has adventures. Early stories had Annie conquering political corruption, criminal gangs and corrupt institutions, a thematic bullseye in 1920’s America. By the time the Great Depression hit, the formula changed. Daddy Warbucks lost his fortune and died in despair at the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Annie’s 1930’s adventures became more international in flavor given Europe’s struggles and the approaching World War. In 1945, Daddy Warbucks was reunited with Annie. Apparently he did not die but was in a coma all those years!
Thomas Meehan wrote the book for this musical which used elements of the comic strip but had its own story. Beginning the creative process, he chose the mood of the Great Depression which he felt was contemporarily reflective of the then current era of Nixon and Vietnam. In this show, Oliver Warbucks and FDR are, despite rival political affiliations, close friends. When FDR is invited to dinner, Warbucks instructs the staff to “call Al Smith and find out what Democrats eat.” The political jokes are musical comedy light and funny. When Annie runs away, she is befriended by homeless citizens from a Hooverville tent city. In “We’d Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover” they sing about the President’s famous chicken in every pot plan with the lyric: “not only don’t we have the chicken, we ain’t got the pot!”
Harve Presnell was the final Daddy Warbucks and his performance was impressive. One of the clear high points from this taping is the chemistry between him and Annie (Alison Kirk) in the Act II numbers, “Something Was Missing” and “I Don’t Need Anything But You.” That’s the good news. The show normally shines brightest with the orphans and Miss Hannigan. June Havoc did not have the maniacal edge that won Dorothy Loudon a Tony Award.
When Annie is not hitting on all cylinders, this bright and shiny upbeat cartoon can seem flat and two-dimensional. “Easy Street” is one of the show’s great numbers moving the plot along and firmly establishing the harmlessly evil motives of Miss Hannigan, her brother Rooster and his ditzy dame, Lily St. Regis. With Ms. Havoc’s version of Miss Hannigan, she’s simpler and sweeter. You laugh and feel sorry for her but the saccharin content in a show full of “Little Girls” needs a healthy dose of a playfully dark edge. Since that doesn’t happen here, this version lagged in what is normally the far stronger first Act.
The show’s famous anthem “Tomorrow” solidifies Annie’s score by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin as a memorably excellent one. There are duds, however, notably “A New Deal for Christmas.” For Annie to be one considered of the greats though, it seems to require a superlative cast. Sweet has to be balanced with sour. For a good look at the original cast, I’ve attached the You Tube link to the Annie cast’s Tony Awards performance. The clip is over ten minutes long and excels in presenting the case for Annie. From my seat, I’m placing Annie firmly in the very good musical category. Apparently for theatrical greatness, “It’s A Hard Knock Life.”
Sign up with your email address and never miss a new posting!