Annie

James Whitcomb Riley's poem ″Little Orphant Annie″, written in 1885, inspired cartoonist Harold Gray (who wrote for the Chicago Tribune) to write the 1924 comic strip Little Orphan Annie where an abandoned orphan girl is left at an orphanage— which inspired the book by Thomas Meehan that became a musical called Annie. With music and lyrics by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, we glimpse Meehan's mindset when setting up and fashioning this new production of Annie.   

Americans were still enjoying the economic and social growth of the Roaring 20s, but the stock market crash in 1929 led to one of the greatest collapses in history, the Great Depression. Then came the "Dirty Thirties," a period that devastated American prairie lands. The account reported that more than 144,000 children lived in an orphanage by the mid-1930s. As for the location of this touching story, Meehan, Charnin, and Strouse were all from New York and alive during another tragic time in American history, the Vietnam War. Channeling those two tragic events, Meehan and Strouse used the backdrop of their history as the storyline to create his musical Annie. 

The play starts with an eleven-year-old brave, compassionate, and optimistic youngster name Annie and six other girls sleeping in an orphanage led by the headmistress, Miss Hannigan. Annie, who believes her parents will one day return for her, escapes with the unknowing help of the launderer named Bundles McCloskey, but her freedom is cut short when police officers return her to the orphanage. But Annie's life changes when Billionaire Oliver Warbucks requests an orphan kid to live with him for two weeks during Christmas. Warbucks falls in love with her adorable characteristics and plans to adopt her. Still, she wants to find her birth parents, so he offers an award for $50,000 to anyone that can prove they are her parents—prompting Miss Hannigan, brother Rooster, and his girlfriend Lily to be in cahoots with her as they plan on getting $50,000 by playing Annie, lost parents.   

Directed by Jean Thompson and Choreographed by Patricia Wilcox, the entire cast was spectacular. This Annie will bring any grown-up back to those exhilarating childhood days when you wanted to see the wonders of live theater. I even felt tingling in my spirit watching the joy and excitement on stage. From the remarkable acting and singing from the girls, which included Bronte Harrison (Molly), Rigglee Ruth Bryson (Pepper), Kenzie Rees (Duffy), Vivianne Neely (July), Valeria Velasco (Tessie), and Izzy Pike as Kate to joyous house staff, the great chemistry of Stefanie Londino (Miss Hannigan and Nick Bernardi (Rooster Hannigan), and the amazing scenic design, costumes, and lighting, this show is a master class on how to provide outstanding performance on stage. But they were almost upstaged by an adorable dog named Addison, who trainer Bill Berloni adopted from the Harnett County Animal Shelter.

Julia Nicole Hunter (Grace) and Christopher Swan (Oliver Warbucks) were phenomenal; however, the night belonged to the exceptional talent of Ellie Pulsifer, who played the role of Annie. A show "dedicated to all the dreamers," Pulsifer provides a dream-like performance that with cause all girls in the audience to dream about being on stage.  

Cadillac Palace's Annie is delightfully entertaining and positively fabulous. I love that they included authentic theatrical shows in backdrop images, like Billy Rose's Crazy Quilt, which opened on Broadway on May 19, 1931, and George White's Scandals, which ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the Ziegfeld Follies in the background. Kudos to this touring cast, making this two-act, 2 hours and 30 minutes Cadillac Palace's Annie a fantastic date for parents and their kids. 

The play does discuss the political divide between Republicans and Democrats, which will go over the head of most children in the audience, and death, which can be somewhat problematic—but with Annie's unforgettable songs like "It's the Hard Knock Life and Tomorrow," most kids will be too excited to remember these grown-up issues. So take the kids to The Cadillac Palace. Annie is a hit!

Let's Play Theatrical Review Highly Recommends Annie at The Cadillac Palace. 

Annie

Book by Thomas Meehan

Music by Charles Strouse

Lyrics by Martin Charnin

Directed by Jean Thompson

Now until March 19, 2023