Full Synopsis
Act One
It is 3 a.m. on a chilly morning in early December 1933. Six orphans — Molly, Kate, Tessie, Pepper, July and Duffy — are asleep in the dormitory of the Girls' Annex of The New York City Municipal Orphanage. Molly, the youngest, wakes up from a dream and cries out for her mother. This wakes the other orphans, who begin arguing. Annie, age 11, runs in with a bucket. She has been cleaning; this is a punishment from Miss Hannigan, the villainous director of the orphanage. Annie comforts Molly, who begs her to read the note that Annie's parents left when they abandoned her. Pepper reminds the group that they also left Annie one-half of a silver locket and kept the other half, with a promise to reclaim her one day. Annie then pulls Molly close to her and sings a lullaby about the parents she imagines, but has never known ("Maybe").
Thinking about her parents inspires Annie to run away from the orphanage to search for them. She packs a bag and is ready to leave when Miss Hannigan discovers her. Miss Hannigan makes all the orphans get up to scrub floors and strip beds to pay for Annie's misbehavior. Their complaints that it is 4:00 in the morning fall on deaf ears. As they clean, the orphans complain about their difficult circumstances ("Hard-knock Life"). In the morning, when Bundles McCloskey, the laundry man, comes to make a pick-up, the orphans take advantage of the fact that Miss Hannigan is flirting with him and sneak Annie out of the building in a laundry bag. Realizing that Annie has escaped, Miss Hannigan calls for the police as the orphans celebrate ("Hard-knock Life – Reprise").
Annie now finds herself on a street that is lined with tenements. She encounters a mutt that is being chased by dogcatchers. She rescues him and tries to cheer him up by explaining her philosophy that, even if things aren't great today, they're bound to get better in the future ("Tomorrow"). When a policeman makes her prove that the mutt is her dog, she names him Sandy on the spot and then calls him to come to her. The dog miraculously responds, and they become a team.
Some time later, Annie comes upon a Hooverville, a Depression-style shantytown of jerry-built shacks, under a bridge on the East River. The residents of the makeshift town, who have lost their homes and their fortunes in the Great Depression, are cooking stew over an outdoor fire. They blame the former president, Herbert Hoover, for their plight ("Hooverville"). The group befriends Annie and Sandy. Annie tries to cheer them up, insisting that the future will be brighter. A policeman breaks up the crowd, driving the squatters away from their makeshift homes. Annie and Sandy run away.
Back at the orphanage, the girls torment Miss Hannigan, who expresses her disgust at being saddled with the small creatures ("Little Girls"). She has just settled down to enjoy a radio soap opera when a policeman returns Annie. As Miss Hannigan is threatening Annie, Grace Farrell, an attractive and well-dressed young woman, enters, carrying an attaché case. She is the private secretary of billionaire, Oliver Warbucks, who wants to invite an orphan to his mansion for Christmas. Grace is instantly drawn to Annie and she demands that Miss Hannigan sign the required papers as she escorts Annie to a waiting limousine. Miss Hannigan can't believe her rotten luck ("Little Girls – Reprise").
Grace brings Annie to Mr. Warbucks' mansion and introduces her to the servants. Annie is in awe of her new surroundings and she is made to feel completely welcome by the staff ("I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here"). Oliver Warbucks arrives. He is a powerful figure in the country and a pivotal player in the current economic crisis. He is taken aback by Annie's appearance in his house, as he had expected the orphan to be a boy and is puzzled by the prospect of dealing with a little girl. Almost immediately, though, he feels a deep connection to Annie's spunk and personality, which remind him of his own humble beginnings.
Contrary to his usual behavior, he decides to take a night off. Warbucks escorts Annie to see a movie at the Roxy, treating her to an ice cream soda and a hansom cab ride around Central Park. Grace joins them. As she tours New York, Annie sees the city in a new way ("N.Y.C.") At the end of the evening, Annie is exhausted, and Warbucks carries her home. As they leave Times Square, the faithful Sandy enters and forlornly wanders off in search of Annie.
Grace arrives at the orphanage to tell Miss Hannigan that Oliver Warbucks wants to adopt Annie. She leaves just as Miss Hannigan's brother, Rooster, arrives with his girlfriend, Lily. Rooster has come to borrow money from his sister, but, when Miss Hannigan refuses, he reminds her of their mother's lullaby ("Easy Street"). As they lament their own misfortunes, Miss Hannigan shares the news of Annie's pending adoption by Warbucks. Rooster is determined to use Annie's situation to their advantage.
Back at his estate, Warbucks is talking on the telephone to the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. A package from Tiffany & Co. arrives, which contains a silver locket for Annie. Warbucks considers the ways in which adopting Annie will change his life ("Why Should I Change a Thing?")
When Annie comes downstairs, Warbucks tells her that he wants to adopt her and gives her the locket. Instead of the cheerful response that he imagined, Annie begins to weep. When he learns about her dream of finding her parents and the secret of the half-locket that she has treasured for so long, he sets his own feelings aside and orders an exhaustive search for Annie's parents ("You Won't Be an Orphan for Long"). Annie knows that she will find her parents soon ("Tomorrow – Reprise"). Warbucks laments his loss but is resolved to find her real parents.
Act Two
Annie and Warbucks are guests on Bert Healy's popular radio show. They make a plea for Annie's parents to return, and Warbucks offers $50,000 to anyone who can prove that they are her mother and father. The show closes with the radio actors performing a classic song and dance number ("You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile"). The orphans are listening to Bert Healy's radio show and singing along ("You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile – Children"). Miss Hannigan, furious about Annie's good fortune, sends them out of the room.
Rooster and Lily arrive, disguised as Ralph and Shirley Mudge, saying they are Annie's parents. They plan to claim Annie and the $50,000 reward, but they need Miss Hannigan's help. Once they have the money, they plan to do away with Annie and live in the lap of luxury ("Easy Street – Reprise").
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., President Roosevelt and members of his cabinet are listening to a popular radio commentator attack the President's policies. Warbucks and Annie arrive in the Oval Office. As Warbucks and the government officials discuss the depressing facts about the economic situation, Annie counters by reminding them to stay optimistic ("Tomorrow – Reprise"). The President reacts to her viewpoint with enthusiasm and makes the cabinet members sing along. When Warbucks and Annie hear the news that hundreds of people who are claiming to be Annie's parents are surrounding the Warbucks mansion, they immediately return to New York. Inspired by Annie's optimism, the cabinet members and the President invent the New Deal.
At the mansion, Annie and Warbucks discover that Grace has already interviewed and dismissed the throngs of people since no one mentioned anything about a locket. The maker of Annie's locket has also reported that the purchasers cannot be traced. It appears that Annie's quest cannot have a happy ending. Attempting to console her, Warbucks declares his own feelings about Annie and her importance in his life ("Something Was Missing").
Finally, Warbucks' plans to adopt Annie are set in motion, as are the preparations for the party to celebrate the adoption. Annie and Warbucks express their delight with the idea of becoming father and daughter ("I Don't Need Anything but You"). Everyone at the mansion becomes involved in the preparations for the festivities. As Supreme Court Justice Brandeis is about to finalize the adoption, Rooster and Lily, disguised as Ralph and Shirley Mudge, appear with the other half of Annie's locket. They also have Annie's birth certificate, which has been supplied by Miss Hannigan. They announce their intention to take Annie home to live with them in New Jersey on a pig farm. Warbucks convinces them to let Annie spend Christmas with him at the mansion. He says that the Mudges can pick her up the next day; they agree and leave. As Grace escorts Annie upstairs, she remembers having seen Mr. Mudge before. Warbucks calls President Roosevelt to ask a favor.
The next morning, Annie waits apprehensively for the Mudges to claim her. President Roosevelt arrives with the news that the FBI has analyzed the handwriting on the note that Annie's parents left behind, in an attempt to trace their identity. The investigation reveals that her real parents were named David and Margaret Bennett... and that they are dead; the Mudges are impostors. Annie and Warbucks declare their love for each other. They realize that only Miss Hannigan could have given the Mudges the locket and birth certificate.
Miss Hannigan arrives with the orphans to celebrate Christmas. As the Mudges arrive, another communication from the FBI reveals their true identities. Miss Hannigan tries to save herself by pretending to have no association with Rooster and Lily, but all three are hauled off to jail. Annie introduces the orphans to Warbucks and promises that they will have a much better life in the future ("A New Deal for Christmas"). A huge package arrives for Annie, and, when she opens it... Sandy jumps into her arms!
Show History
Inspiration
Annie is based on Harold Gray's popular comic strip, Little Orphan Annie. The comic strip premiered in the 1920s in the New York Daily News, and became one of the most widely read strips in the 30s and 40s. Lyricist-director, Martin Charnin, received a book of Little Orphan Annie strips for Christmas in 1971 and started to imagine a musical comedy based on the lead character.
Charnin campaigned the idea to colleagues, Charles Strouse, a two-time Tony-winning composer, and Thomas Meehan, a short story writer for The New Yorker magazine, and they soon jumped into the project. Although the show was only written in fourteen months, it took nearly four years to get on Broadway due to a lack of interest from producers.
Productions
Annie had its world premiere on August 10, 1976, at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut. Kristen Vigard was the first actress to play the title role, but the producers soon decided that Vigard's genuinely sweet interpretation was not tough enough for the street-smart orphan. After a week of performances, Vigard was replaced by Andrea McArdle.
The production moved to the Kennedy Center in Washington and later opened on Broadway to immense success. On April 21, 1977, the original Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre – now the Neil Simon Theatre – and starred Andrea McArdle as Annie, Reid Shelton as Daddy Warbucks and Dorothy Loudon as Miss Hannigan. Produced by illustrious film director, Mike Nichols, the original production closed on January 2, 1983, after an astonishing 2,377 performances, making it the third-longest running musical of the 1970s. Annie spawned four different national tours and dozens of international productions during its Broadway run.
The original West End production of Annie premiered at the Victoria Palace Theatre on May 3, 1978. The show closed on November 28, 1981, after 1,485 performances. A twentieth anniversary Broadway revival played the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in 1997; a highly publicized contest to find a new Annie was sponsored by the department store, Macy's. The revival closed on October 19, 1997, after 14 previews and 239 performances.
The most recent Broadway revival, which originally featured Lilla Crawford as Annie, began previews on October 3, 2012, and, as of July 2013, had been performed over 300 times.
Cultural Influence
- Annie was made into an Oscar-nominated feature film in 1982, starring Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters and Tim Curry.
- In 1999, Annie was remade into a TV movie, starring Victor Garber, Kathy Bates, Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming.
- Rapper, Jay-Z, reworked the classic song, "Hard-knock Life," into a single titled "Hard-knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" for his third album, "Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life."
Trivia
- Annie currently ranks number 25 on the list of longest-running Broadway shows.
- Before Sarah Jessica Parker rose to fame as a television and film actress, she appeared in the role of Annie on Broadway.
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Add Sutton Foster to the list of famous former orphans! The Tony Award-winning actress made her stage debut at the age of ten as the endearing and enduring ragamuffin in Augusta, GA.
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Written in only fourteen months, Annie's journey to Broadway took four and a half years, and went on to play 2,377 performances on Broadway in its original run, picking up seven Tony Awards in the process.
Critical Reaction
"An intensely likable musical! ...It has a rare kind of gutsy charm"
– The New York Times
"Spectacular on every count.... A sudden reversion to the concept of fun."
– Newsweek
"At the heart of musical comedy; big warm-hearted, funny and overflowing!"
– New York Post
Tony® Award
Drama Desk Award
Theatre World Award
NY Drama Critics Circle Award
Grammy Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
Connect
Facebook page for Broadway production/US national tour
Playbill Vault (Original)
Playbill Vault (1997 Revival)
Playbill Vault (2012 Revival)
IMDB page for 1982 film adaptation
Billing
- Book by
- Music by
- Lyrics by
Based on Little Orphan Annie by permission of The Media Tribune Services, Inc.
Requirements
Book by
THOMAS MEEHAN
(50%) |
Music by
CHARLES STROUSE
(50%) |
Lyrics by
MARTIN CHARNIN
(50%) |
(50%)
(20%)
Irwin Meyer Stephen R. Friedman Lewis Allen
Alvin Nederlander The John F. Kennedy Center for the Icarus
Associates Inc. Performing Arts Productions
Video Warning
In accordance with the Performance License, you MUST include the following warning in all programs and in a pre-show announcement:ANY VIDEO AND/OR AUDIO RECORDING OF THIS PRODUCTION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
If you purchase a video license to allow non-commercial video recording of this production, then you MUST include the following warning in all programs and in a pre-show announcement:
ANY VIDEO RECORDING MADE OF THIS PERFORMANCE IS AUTHORIZED FOR PERSONAL, AT-HOME, NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY. THE SALE OR DISTRIBUTION OF SUCH RECORDING IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED UNDER FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAW.
Included Materials
Item | Quantity Included |
---|---|
LIBRETTO/VOCAL BOOK | 25 |
PIANO CONDUCTOR'S SCORE | 2 |
STUDY GUIDE | 1 |
Production Resources
Resource |
---|
CHOREOGRAPHY VIDEO GUIDES |
CUSTOMIZABLE SHOW POSTER |
FULL SCORE VOL. 1 OF 4 |
FULL SCORE VOL. 2 OF 4 |
FULL SCORE VOL. 3 OF 4 |
FULL SCORE VOL. 4 OF 4 |
HOW DOES THE SHOW GO ON-10/CS |
HOW DOES THE SHOW GO ON? |
KEYBOARD PATCH SOLUTIONS |
KEYBOARDTEK |
LOGO PACK |
LOGO PACK DIGITAL |
LOGO TEES SIX-PACK ADULT LARGE |
LOGO TEES SIX-PACK ADULT MEDIUM |
LOGO TEES SIX-PACK ADULT SMALL |
LOGO TEES SIX-PACK ADULT X-LARGE |
LOGO TEES SIX-PACK ADULT XX-LARGE |
LOGO TEES SIX-PACK CHILD LARGE |
LOGO TEES SIX-PACK CHILD MEDIUM |
LOGO TEES SIX-PACK CHILD SMALL |
ORCHEXTRA |
PERFORMANCE ACCOMPANIMENT RECORDING |
PRODUCTIONPRO |
REFERENCE RECORDING |
REHEARSAL ACCOMPANIMENT RECORDING |
REHEARSCORE APP |
SCENE PARTNER |
SCENIC PROJECTIONS |
SCENIC PROJECTIONS PRO |
SCENIC PROJECTIONS-ANIMATED |
SCENIC PROJECTIONS-STILL |
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING KIT |
STAGE MANAGER SCRIPT |
STAGE WRITE APPLICATION |
SUBPLOT CUSTOMIZED SHOW POSTER |
THE ORIGINAL PRODUCTION |
TRANSPOSITIONS-ON-DEMAND |
VIDEO LICENSE |
VIRTUAL STAGE MANAGER |
STANDARD ORCHESTRATION
Instrumentation | Doubling |
---|---|
BASS | |
CELLO | |
DRUMS | |
GUITAR | |
KEYBOARD 2 | |
PERCUSSION | BELLS , CABASA , RATCHET , SIREN , SLAPSTICK , SLEIGH BELLS , TEMPLE BLOCK , TIMPANI , TRIANGLE , WHIP , XYLOPHONE |
REED 1 | ALTO SAXOPHONE , CLARINET , FLUTE , PICCOLO , SOPRANO SAX |
REED 2 | ALTO SAXOPHONE , BARITONE SAXOPHONE , CLARINET , FLUTE |
REED 3 | BASS CLARINET , CLARINET , TENOR SAXOPHONE |
REED 4 | CLARINET , FLUTE , PICCOLO |
REED 5 | BASS CLARINET , CLARINET , FLUTE |
TROMBONE | |
TROMBONE 2 | |
TRUMPET | |
TUBA | |
VIOLIN |