Feel-good family musicals don't come better built than "Annie."

It won seven Tonys in 1977 and inspired little girls everywhere to blast their pipes on tunes like "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard-Knock Life."

The national tour of "Annie" has pulled into the Theater at Madison Square Garden under the direction of Martin Charnin, who wrote the lyrics and staged the 1977 Broadway original.

And this production is as crisp as a fresh $100 bill.

The money metaphor seems right for this rags-to-riches comic-strip-turned-musical of little Depression-era orphan Annie (Marissa O'Donnell), who not only manages to get adopted by billionaire Daddy Warbucks (Conrad John Schuck) but helps inspire F.D.R. (Allan Baker, in a nice turn) to devise a "new deal for Christmas" for out-of-work Americans. Leapin' lizards, indeed.

Twelve-year-old O'Donnell is spirited and spunky in the title role, belting out the show's iconic anthems with enormous confidence. Schuck, who also starred as Warbucks in the 1997 Broadway revival of "Annie," makes a pitch-perfect father figure - a man who has everything, but realizes that "Something Was Missing."

As the big bad boozy orphanage director, Kathie Lee Gifford, who appears only in the New York City leg of the tour, is funny and fearless, careening into doors and falling kerplunk to the floor. Sure, Gifford lays it on extra thick, but that actually works in this comedic role, particularly in the cavernous Garden Theater.

The ensemble is top-rate, with Elizabeth Broadhurst, as Warbucks' assistant Grace, adding style and, well, grace. Lola, as Annie's pooch pal Sandy, steals every scene she is in - just as she should.

Ming Cho Lee designed the sets for the tour and, except for a Christmas tree that is flatter than a pancake, they are terrific.

Dec 11, 2006
New York

TheaterMania.com

Annie

There are a few good things you can say about the 30th anniversary production of Annie, presently ensconced in the Theater at Madison Square Garden. First, it's been put in the hands of someone with true feeling for the material: the show's original director and lyricist, Martin Charnin. There's also the indestructibility of the charming book, by Thomas Meehan, and the classic score that Charnin and composer Charles Strouse created, including such indelible musical theater hits as "Tomorrow," "Easy Street," and "It's a Hard Knock Life."

Also on the plus side, Kathie Lee Gifford knocks herself out as Miss Hannigan. Though the former talk show queen may not be naturally funny, she is making a game attempt, and one has to admire her complete commitment to the role.

As Warbucks' personal secretary, Grace Farrell, Elizabeth Broadhurst gives a warm and winning performance, while Scott Willis provides energy and style as the dastardly Rooster Hannigan. And, as Molly, six-year-old Anastasia Korbal steals all the orphanage scenes because she's got the sort of classic show biz adorability that audiences adore.

In some ways, however, Charnin is fighting a losing battle in engaging audiences. First and foremost, the show is ensconced in a theater so large, with a stage so distant from most of the spectators, that it inevitably loses some of its inherent impact.

Secondly, Marissa O'Donnell, who plays the title role of Annie, is not just the biggest girl on stage -- she looks positively pubescent -- but she also comes off as a benevolent bully rather than a tough little tyke who protects the smaller kids. Though she sings "Tomorrow" with the requisite belt, this kid has no charm. As for Daddy Warbucks, Conrad John Schuck, who has played this role thousands of times, appears to be walking through the show.

The set design is emblematic of this production's unevenness. On the one hand, there is a fireplace with a fake, painted fire that looks like something out of a high school production. On the other hand, there is an impressive staircase in the Oliver Warbucks mansion. The scenery, like the show as a whole, is a series of ups and downs.

And what about Sandy, Annie's beloved dog? Chew on this bone for a bit: Lola, the lovable, shaggy canine that plays the pooch, understudied the role in the 20th anniversary production of Annie. Now, she's the star! Who says that good things don't come to those wait, or that you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Annie

Theatre Reviews by Matthew Murray

TalkinBroadway.com     12/11/06

The touring production of Annie currently parked at the Theater at Madison Square Garden must rank as one of very few in which the most notable redhead is not 11 years old. That's not a criticism of Marissa O'Donnell, who's doing decently as the title's spunky orphan who strikes it rich when she meets and enraptures a world-famous billionaire. But looking at the cover of the MSG program, O'Donnell's is not the name you see.

No, the billed star here is Kathie Lee Gifford, who's stepped into the plum role of disagreeable orphanage doyenne Miss Hannigan for the New York run, which lasts through December 30. The reasons for this are not entirely clear: Were the producers in need of someone with Gifford's proven, world-class comedy chops to fill the shoes of the role's legendary originator, Dorothy Loudon? Or perhaps Gifford's unparalleled marquee name value was needed to sell this obscure, forgotten show written by nobodies (Thomas Meehan wrote the book, Charles Strouse the music, and Martin Charnin the lyrics) with no film versions, a roster of forgettable songs, and a complete lack of family appeal?

Whatever. Gifford's performance, while nothing special, is adequate. If she's not a first-tier belter, and if her comedic attack on Hannigan's juicy quips and even juicier songs (the acidic "Little Girls," the nastily joyous "Easy Street") is unfocused, she gets through it admirably. And there's an undeniable pleasure in seeing a woman who's spent much of her recent career cultivating her "nice" persona (from her TV work on Live With Regis and Kathie Lee to her own musicals, like 2005's Under the Bridge) wallow about in the mud for two and a half hours.

I can't say, though, she's a noticeable improvement over Alene Robertson, whom I saw do the role at the production's Los Angeles stop last year. (Robertson is billed as Gifford's standby, and will almost certainly reassume the role when the tour heads out again.) This production's replacing one acceptable if unexceptional performer with another (whose name is the sole reason to recommend her) says as much about this Annie as anything else in it. Directed by Martin Charnin, who also helmed the original Broadway mounting 29 years ago, is awash in niggly changes that make things different without making them better.

These range from the obvious - adding a pace-pummeling dance break to the jaunty "N.Y.C."; rearranging the second-act Christmas celebration, in which Annie appears in her red-dress-curly-hair getup for the first time, from one fluid musical scene into two sloppier numbers - to the subtler but more deadly, such as overplaying broad humor rather than seeking out the even funnier truth; when one member of President Roosevelt's cabinet goes all Al Jolson over "Tomorrow" when he gets to sing it, something is wrong. At least the sharp-edged political content, including the bitter (and often-excised) "We'd Like to Thank You Herbert Hoover," has been retained to give the show some of the grittiness and sense of place and time it's too often missing.

But nothing - I repeat, nothing - can prevent Annie from playing. If this production isn't as funny as it thinks it is, it's still got a lot more going for it than most of what passes for musical comedy today. The curmudgeonly Republican moneycrat Oliver Warbucks (Conrad John Schuck), who melts under Annie's gaze and inspires President Roosevelt (an overeager Allan Baker) to create the New Deal. Tremendous child performers as the other orphans; Anastasia Korbal, for one, is another superb member of the decades-long line of scene-stealing Mollys. The lively Peter Gennaro choreography, lovingly recreated by his daughter Liza. That score, of course, from the infectious "Tomorrow" to the wishing "Maybe" and the fun-filled "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile," played by a great orchestra under Keith Levenson's baton. Even this production's scenic design, by Ming Cho Lee, skewers reality with sharp angles and dull colors that give way to verdant greens for the enormous house that Warbucks's money built.

With the exception of Schuck, who's been honing his Warbucks to perfection since he was a replacement in the original production and is very fine here, the performances are all over the funny pages. Scott Willis and Ashley Puckett Gonzales would be more threatening and more entertaining as Hannigan's greasy cohorts if they toned down their underhanded underworld-dweller shtick, and Elizabeth Broadhurst sacrifices some warm likeability as Warbucks's devoted secretary with all the corny filigree she's added to the character.

And what of that other redhead, the shorter one? O'Donnell's a surprisingly affecting actress for her age, and really scores in tender scenes that give the show its heart. Her singing, though, has a stridency that makes her sound like the overtrained show-biz kid her spoken scenes convincing you she's not. Her "Tomorrow," in particular, while powerfully put across, is sung like O'Donnell knows she's been handed a sure-fire showstopper.

Of course she has. And there's not much to do about it except sit back, accept it as one of the built-in flaws with this otherwise flawless family show, and enjoy the ride. Even in this less-than-ideal production, there's no end of ride to enjoy.

For the little girls in the audience, a chance to see "Annie" at the Theater at Madison Square Garden is pure wish fulfillment. Fortunately for their parents, Martin Charnin's bustling production operates on the premise of a family-friendly restaurant with both a sundae bar and an espresso bar: separate but equal buzzes for kids and parents. His "Annie" offers broad jokes and clear story-lines for the tots, while engaging mom and dad with slyly subversive lyrics and social commentary. (The smart book is by Thomas Meehan.)

If anyone ought to know how to put on "Annie," it's Mr. Charnin, who wrote the show's lyrics and directed its 1977 Broadway production to seven Tony awards. Since then, he's directed the 1997 Broadway revival of "Annie," several productions overseas, and the current national tour, of which this Madison Square Garden engagement is a part. Here again Mr. Charnin proves he's the man for the job, walking a fine line between corny sentiments and irony. His "Annie" may not be brilliant, but it's swift and satisfying.

No stranger to big-name stars, Mr. Charnin also knows how to absorb the outsize presence of Kathie Lee Gifford, who has joined the cast for the show's New York performances only. Ms. Gifford hasn't been on Broadway since she filled in for Carol Burnett in the Sondheim evening "Putting It Together" in 2000. Coincidentally, she's now playing a part made famous by Ms. Burnett in the 1982 film version of "Annie" — Miss Hannigan, the boozy floozy who runs the orphanage with an iron fist. Ms. Gifford's performance doesn't approach the lunatic daring that made Ms. Burnett's turn as Miss Hannigan a classic, but she nonetheless furnishes a sturdy foil for the downtrodden orphans.

Led by Marissa O'Donnell as Annie, the orphans are a competent troupe. They sing and dance well, and they manage the lines respectably. Mr. Charnin encourages them to go for the bright delivery of cartoon characters, but he does the same with the adult characters (like Elizabeth Broadhurst as the prim secretary). And in Ming Cho Lee's comic-strip-like sets, the concept works.

Ms. O'Donnell, who manages to make Annie's aw-shucks affect seem natural, carries off her songs (including the overly familiar "Tomorrow") with casual grace. (It helps that the music director, Keith Levenson, doesn't milk the songs for all they're worth.)

And Ms. O'Donnell shines in the crucial scenes with Oliver Warbucks (Conrad John Schuck, in a smart, finely calibrated performance). The young actress clearly feeds off the veteran's energy, and their delightful soft-shoe duet, "I Don't Need Anything but You," is the show's highlight.

Adroit secondary players flesh out the scenes in a musical odyssey that shows surprising range. In the course of "Annie," the show drops in an old-time radio show, a Depression-era Hooverville, and a White House meeting with President Roosevelt, among other things. Part of what gives "Annie" its kick is its insistence on being about something significant — in this case, an optimistic kid inspiring a nation in the grip of the Depression.

Of course, musicals aren't the best place to go for coherent politics — Daddy Warbucks throws banquets while others starve. It's one of the instances in which Mr. Meehan's book allows for unmusical-like contradictions. Daddy Warbucks might be greedy and flawed, but can still be a wonderful dad. Miss Hannigan, despite her diabolical hatred for her charges, might yet deserve some pity.

To make such open-minded ideas float in a mainstream hit, you need terrific songs, and Charles Strouse's music (and Mr. Charnin's lyrics) more than stand the test of time. There are lovely melodies such as "Maybe," terrific character-establishing songs such as "Little Girls" and "Something Was Missing," and thumping production numbers like "It's a Hard-Knock Life" and "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile."

Mr. Charnin stages the musical numbers with spirited high kicks and an allembracing kind of glee. He knows that the show's setting isn't really Depression-era New York — it's the Broadway stage, where kids who've had it rough find solace in big song and dance numbers. So he brings on the fabulous layers — the giant Christmas tree, the iconic red dress with the white collar, the live dog. For the price of the ticket, anyone can live like Daddy Warbucks for a few hours.

The Daily Gazette
Schenectady, NY 
January 10, 2007 

‘Annie’ a classic with lots of appeal

By Paul Lamar

SCHENECTADY — Andrea McArdle, Broadway’s original red- haired moppet, Annie, is 43, a fact that gives you an idea of how many decades this beloved musical has been around.

Long in the tooth, you might say. But it still has legs, and in this production, quite a lot of talented limbs belonging to a top-notch touring company that is in town through tonight.

This Tony Award-winning show by Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin (who is also the director) will satisfy you and your tykes in tow. I was between two youngsters who applauded, hooted at the shenanigans of Miss Hannigan, and whooped it up for the plucky orphans. (OK, I will not use “plucky” or “moppet” again).

Recently. I saw two productions of ‘Oliver” and I couldn’t help thinking that “Annie” and “Oliver” are cut from the same cloth. Eponymous characters stuck in an orphanage, headed by scurvy sorts. Youthful, able-bodied companions who sing and dance with pluck — sorry! — about their miserable lives. Additional meanies on the fringe. Ultimate solace in the arms of wealthy people who truly love them.

But one of the virtues of “Annie” is that it has a main character who really registers with you. She’s at the heart of each scene, and the actress who plays her needs to have the goods to sing, dance and act as effectively as the colorftil supporting players.

Fear not. Marissa O’Donnell is just such an actress. She has the requisite high notes to put over “Tomorrow,” the feet to flash in the footlights, and the good sense not to he too gee-whiz about saying her lines. Quite accomplished.

She’s backed by the smooth playing of Conrad John Schuck as Oliver Warbucks, an actor who peels away one more layer of character that a less savvy performer might. And he is a first-rate singer on “Something Was Missing.”

With a simple gesture or look. Elizabeth Broadhurst lets us into the heart of Grace Farrell, who’d like to be more than Warbucks’ sidekick. Scott Willis is a ball of malevolent energy, and he, the whiskey-voiced Alene Robertson (a deliciously droll Miss Hannigan), and Ashley Puckett Gonzales tear it up in “Easy Street.” The ensemble backs and fills with aplomb in such numbers as “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.”

Of course, the production values are terrific. The backdrops fly and slide with ease; the orchestra, under Kelly Ann Lambert, sparkles; Liza Gennaro’s choreography suits the big stage; and the costumes, by Broadway legend Theoni V. Aldredge, are sumptuous.

Word of warning: Yours truly thought the show started at 8.  It didn't, so I was late.  Curtain is 7, obviously to accommodate the wee ones' bedtime.  Good call, Proctor's!

The Columbus Dispatch 

January 18, 2007
By: Margaret Quamme

Energetic musical entertaining enough for girls' night out

If there's one musical designed to warm the hearts of little girls, it's Annie. At Tuesday's opening night in the Ohio Theatre, an audience featuring many neatly dressed young ladies and their moms was treated to a crisp, clean touring production of the show about an orphan who finds a home. The 30-year-old program's smug references to Roosevelt's New Deal haven't aged well and won't mean much to young audience members or their parents, but this production plays up song and dance rather than politics. Director Martin Charnin, who also directed the original Broadway production, streamlines the story so it moves smoothly from one big number to the next. Annie demands the right girl in the lead role, and 12-year-old Marissa O'Donnell is just the ticket. Marissa gives Annie enough spice to complement the sugar, and her songs build subtly: She doesn't go over the top, even with “Tomorrow”. Her Annie is warm and likable but no pushover.

The show also requires an actress who can calibrate the villainy of orphanage director Miss Hannigan: Too evil, and the show goes sour; too comic, and it loses its zing. Alene Robertson takes Miss Hannigan in a ticklishly delightful new direction: She can be an exhausted mother figure bewailing the onslaught of Little Girls, but she's also capable of breaking out in childish behavior. Conrad John Schuck, best-known as the dentist "Painless" in the movie M*A*S*H, is brusque but vulnerable as billionaire Oliver Warbucks. Scott Willis' cocky Rooster Hannigan lives up to his name with some avian moves, and Elizabeth Broadhurst, as Warbucks' assistant Grace Farrell, is sweetvoiced and appealing. The other orphans and the dog are all crowd-pleasers without drawing undue attention.  
In a production that constantly changes scenes, Ming Cho Lee's vivid sets deserve mention: The seedy gray orphanage is creepily off-kilter, and even the warmer sets are just a symmetrical enough to be dreamlike.

The musical itself still has some problems: Although it has strong songs such as “Maybe,” “It's the Hard-Knock Life” and “Easy Street,” it doesn't have quite enough of them, and the second act consists mostly of reprises or less memorable songs.

Several scenes - notably one at a radio studio and another at the White House - seem to have been shoehorned in to take up time rather than advance the plot, and at two hours and 30 minutes, the musical is long enough that some of the younger theatergoers dozed off.

But even if the structure is rackety, the producers treat the musical with respect. This glossy, spirited version of Annie finds vibrant life in what might be a classic after all.

Theater Review

'Annie' is as young as ever

The touring '70s musical refuses to show its age at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

By Lynne Heffley
LA Times Staff Writer

February 2, 2007

"Annie," the Charles Strouse-Thomas Meehan-Martin Charnin perennial about the plucky comic strip orphan, arrived Tuesday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center with renewed sparkle and buckets of charm.

Yes, the show still flags somewhat in the second act and seems a mite long at a little over 2 1/2 hours, especially for the youngest audience members. But the freshness of this new national tour, directed with buoyant touch by lyricist Charnin, who helmed the original Tony-winning production on Broadway some 30 years ago, makes up for such quibbles.  So does 12-year-old Marissa O'Donnell's performance in the title role.

O'Donnell has the prerequisite big, clarion-clear vocals — and the acting chops not to overdo them. She heads a cadre of other scarily talented little girls, all of whom act, dance and sing like veterans, including scene-stealer Anastasia Korbal, 6, as youngest orphan Molly. They're upstaged only when the big fluffy canine playing Sandy (real name Lola) makes an entrance.

Alene Robertson mugs up a comic storm as blowsy orphanage matron Miss Hannigan, complemented by Scott Willis and Ashley Puckett Gonzales as bunco-artist Rooster and his partner-in-crime, Lily St. Regis. Elizabeth Broadhurst is a nice combination of warmth and svelte style as Daddy Warbucks' secretary Grace.

Conrad John Schuck, still one of the show's biggest assets after thousands of turns as gruff but kind Daddy Warbucks, reprises his signature role. Far from phoning it in, Schuck conveys subtle, un-cartoon-like emotional depth as the brusque billionaire who falls for a scrappy orphan. He and O'Donnell seem to have a genuinely tender connection; their waltzes together are downright lump-in-the-throat time.

Vocals are uniformly spot-on, while the score, with its Sousa-like brass accents and a few welcome dark notes, is delivered with crispness and bounce by a small ensemble led by music director Kelly Ann Lambert. The Kurt Weill-ish "We'd Like to Thank You Herbert Hoover," sung with heavy irony by down-and-outs in a "Hooverville" encampment, adds needed edge — as does the gently satiric, catchphrase-laden Cabinet meeting with Franklin D. Roosevelt (Allan Baker), the setup for a "Tomorrow" reprise.

Theoni V. Aldredge's costume designs (with additional costumes by Jimm Halliday) are sumptuous. And a big shout-out to set designer Ming Cho Lee for his contribution to the show's spirited renewal: delightfully askew, ever-so-slightly disturbing realizations of orphanage, city and mansion. Those bleak orphanage walls? You can almost feel the rising damp.

‘Annie’ sweeps through town, thrills

Last Thursday night at the INB Performing Arts Center, the headmistress of a New York City home for girls slumped down behind a disorganized desk and wailed disdainfully over her charges, comically slurping on a flask in between notes.

“Lucky me, lucky me, everywhere I look I see … LITTLE GIRLS!”

Miss Hannigan, famed archnemesis of America’s favorite orphan, cackled in self-pity during a villainous number in the opening night of WestCoast Entertainment’s brand new production of Annie. Played by acclaimed Broadway actress Alene Robertson, the actress said despite her character’s disgust for all things little, she is delighted to be sharing the stage with children.

Robertson played her role with great panache, bringing just the right touch of illustrious debauchery and tyrannical crudeness to her role, making Miss Hannigan the stand out counterpart to the cheery and stubbornly optimistic Annie.

“That’s enough fresh air for today, kids,” she hissed during Act I, waving for the girls to get away from the door after allowing them to breath clean air for ten seconds.

Replacing the every controversial Kathy Lee Gifford who played Miss Hannigan in the last season of “Annie,” Robertson has received considerably better reviews.

Originally brought to Broadway by its lyricist Martin Charnin in 1977, this is the show’s 30 running year. “Annie” is recipient of seven Tony Awards and continues to be one of the most successful musicals ever, boasting some of Broadway’s most memorable scores such as “It’s the Hard-Knock Life,” (yes, Jay-Z borrowed that phrase for his re-mix), “Easy Street,” “N.Y.C.,” and “Tomorrow.”

“Annie” tells the story of a bright and plucky orphan who goes from rags to riches, finally discovering solace in the arms of billionaire Daddy Warbucks, a self-made man whose heart is softened when the ever buoyant redhead is randomly selected by his lovely assistant Grace Farrell to spend Christmas in his mansion.

Set in the 30s, “Annie” has been described as a fanciful romp through the depression era in New York City. The dialogue itself is laced with political satire but comes overflowing with enough jolliness and optimism to make even a Hooverville look inviting.

“Nothin in your pockets?” Annie exclaimed to a crowd of garbage toting Hooverville-ites. “Well now ya got room for your cold hands!”

Annie herself is tremendously talented and animated. Played by Melissa O’Donnell, she has the vocals capable of reaching high notes in songs like “Tomorrow” and the acting experience to not be too over-the-top.

It’s the mischievous group of scarily talented little girls, however, that completely captivated the theatre with their sassy antics and darling dance numbers. During songs like “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” they had the stage entirely to themselves and dominated it with impressively commanding presence, proving to be the life and spark of “Annie.”

Nearly upstaging Annie herself along with the entire company of actors was scene stealer and youngest actress Anastasia Korbal. Only six years old, Korbal is barely 3-foot-5 and easily had the audience eating out of her tiny palm every time she pranced out onstage.

Performing since she was three, Korbal played the part of Molly, the littlest orphan, and had everyone baffled at how someone so tiny could possibly emit a voice loud enough to fill an entire opera house. If anyone stole the show it was her - parading around in a classic one-sie pajama piece complete with button up bottoms, imitating a drunken Miss Hannigan.

Other noteworthy cast member is Conrad John Schuck, who played Daddy Warbucks. Schuck is most famous from his role as Painless in the original “M*A*S*H” motion picture and countless appearances in “Law and Order.” Schuck brought the talent and veteran expertise to “Annie,” having played Warbucks in past productions.

The onstage bond between Schuck and O’Donnell seemed to be one of a genuinely affable connection, but the jump from an awkward, “what do I do around this kid?” Warbucks, to an “I love you Annie, I want to adopt you Annie” Warbucks, was slightly unbelievable due to a lack of scenes that actually developed their relationship.

If there’s anything to be said about what the production was lacking it was more of Lola, the dog who played Sandy. Rescued from the Humane Society by one of the show’s animal trainers, Lola has understudied the part for several years and has recently taken over the role on the show’s 30 anniversary revival.

A crowd pleasing scene included the rendition of “Tomorrow,” sung by Roosevelt, Annie and his Cabinet, in which Annie goes to visit the Whitehouse with Daddy Warbucks. The song, which states “The sun’ll come out tomorrow,” inspires Roosevelt and Cabinet to create the New Deal and the W.P.A.

Perhaps if someone sent a singing child to Bush’s cabinet they’d have an epiphany about what to do about foreign involvement in Iraq.

The show’s outstanding sense of optimism and “chin-up” attitude may be the qualities that make it so endearing. Annie could probably slap a grin on Oscar the Grouch without even trying.

With numbers like “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” and “I think I’m Gonna Like it Here,” everyone departs with the uplifting reminder that no matter how bad things can get, the sun will always come out tomorrow.