By JULES SHINKLE
BG Independent News
The Waterville Playshop is putting on the classic musical “Annie,” book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Martin Charnin. Directing this production is Tammy Fitch with assistance from Joe Barton. The choreography and music direction is being led by Riley Runnells and Nicole Spadafore, respectively. A live pit orchestra accompanies this production.
Performances are at the Maumee Indoor Theatre and run from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 – 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Click here for tickets.
For the uninitiated, “Annie” is an adaptation of a long-running 1924 comic strip titled “Little Orphan Annie.” The original Broadway show opened in 1977, where it won three Tonys and established itself as one of the giants of musical theater. An estimated 700-900 productions of “Annie” are put on in the United States each year.
The story follows our titular protagonist Annie (Gigi Kozak), an endlessly optimistic 11-year-old on the hunt for her biological parents. She holds closely a note and locket left to her when she was given up to an orphanage, the letter promising her parents’ eventual return. Despite the disbelief and mockery she’s met with, Annie holds out hope that her parents are out there.
The foil to Annie’s optimism is the orphanage’s matron, Miss Hannigan (Sarah Stierman). Bitter at her own misfortune and bearing a hatred for children, she runs the orphanage as a tyrant. Stierman plays up the cartoonish villainy of her character very well.
Set in 1933 New York City, the Great Depression haunts every character in the musical. Poverty defines the lives of most of the city’s residents, nearly all of which are resentful towards previous president Herbert Hoover and his government which let its people starve.
In stark contrast to the bleakness of the times is Oliver Warbucks (Michael Stierman), a billionaire who takes a liking to Annie and brings her into his 5th Street mansion. His stiff preoccupation with hoarding wealth is interrupted by Annie’s sweetness and naivete.
This production features high quality projected backdrops. Detailed and painterly vignettes of 1930s New York City accompany each scene. Some backdrops are animated, such as when a curtain is pulled to transition one scene to the next. The technology allows for smooth elisions from moment to moment in a non-distracting way.
For an escape from our own time’s hard knocks, “Annie” serves as a nostalgic story of child-like hope. The musical’s signature number, “Tomorrow,” is reason alone to return to this classic.
