Annie

December 3 – 19, 2010

Ticket Prices
$30 Adult
$22 Senior (Matinees and Opening Night)
$16 Students (13 thru College with valid ID)
$12 Children (12 and under)

Music by Charles Strouse
Lyrics by Martin Charnin
Book by Thomas Meehan
Based on the comic strip character of Little Orphan Annie
Inspired by the poem by James Whitcomb Riley

New Matinee Show Date! Thursday, December 16, 3:00 pm.

“The sun’ll come out…Tomorrow, Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow… There’ll be sun!”

For most theatergoers, these lyrics conjure a picture of a little girl with red curly hair, singing to her dog or fellow orphans, sure that their lives will soon get better. “Little Orphant Annie” began as the character in a James Whitcomb Riley poem written in 1885. From servant girl who tells ghost stories, she stepped into a comic strip of cartoonist Harold Gray for the Chicago Tribune in 1924. The strip featured Annie, the spunky red-haired orphan, her dog Sandy, and her adopted rich father Oliver Warbucks. It ran for 86 years (“Leapin’ Lizards”) with several artists and the final installment appeared recently on June 13, 2010.

In 1977 Little Orphan Annie arrived on Broadway in the musical Annie, featuring Andrea McArdle in the title role. The show opened at the Alvin Theatre on April 21, 1977 and ran through January 2, 1983, for a total of 2,377 performances. Set in a New York orphanage during the Great Depression, Annie, age 11, and the other orphans dream of the day when they can have parents who will love them (“Maybe”). When Annie’s mission to find her real parents fails, the angered Miss Hannigan, the mean orphanage matron, punishes all the girls (“It’s the Hard-Knock Life”). Hannigan is glad to get rid of Annie when the secretary of  millionaire Oliver Warbucks arrives asking for an orphan to visit the mansion at Christmas. Annie soon charms “Daddy” Warbucks and enlists his help in finding her parents. 

Annie was the winner of 7 Tony Awards in 1977 including Best Musical, and brought Charles Strouse his third Tony Award for Best Original Score. In her role of Miss Hannigan, Dorothy Louden received a Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Also in 1978, a Grammy Award was given to Annie for Best Cast Show Album. Adding to the show’s success, as many as 12 touring companies were formed during the run of the show, grossing more than $200 million. Several movies based on the comic strip have been made, with the most familiar version in 1982. Directed by John Huston, it stars Aileen Quinn as Annie, Albert Finney as Oliver Warbucks, and Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan. 

A 35^th Anniversary Revival of the musical is scheduled for fall of 2012.