Orphans, Lucky Breaks and Hard Work! Seven Rags-to-Riches Musicals from ANNIE to ANASTASIA
By: Jessica Khan Apr. 24, 2017
Broadway loves a good orphan story, or the classic came-from-nothing and rose-to-something plot line. There's something heartening about those who "make it" despite all the odds.
Whether they get there by finding out about a secret, wealthy relative, by bumping into the right folks at the right time, or by working and writing their way to the top, these characters and the shows they inhabit continue to inspire and encourage theatergoers with their sense of hope.
In honor of ANASTASIA's opening tonight, we've rounded up some of Broadway's rags-to-riches tales!
ANNIE
Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Martin Charnin, Book by Thomas Meehan
Based on the Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie
Rags: Annie lives at the Municipal Girls Orphanage under the dominion of Miss Hannigan, dreaming about her parents ("Maybe") and living a "Hard Knock Life."
Riches: Billionaire Oliver Warbucks invites Annie to his mansion as a charity stunt but ends up falling in love with her, trying to find her parents, and eventually adopting her himself, singing "I Don't Need Anything But You."
MY FAIR LADY
Music by Frederick Loewe, Book & Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion
Rags: Flower girl Eliza Doolittle sells her wares near Covent Garden, addressing her upper class customers with a "ghastly" Cockney accent and wondering what it would be like to be them ("Wouldn't It Be Loverly?").
Riches: Following a chance encounter with professor Henry Higgins, Eliza takes lessons improve her speech ("The Rain in Spain") and back up Higgins's theory that language separates social classes, not looks or money. After much practice, Eliza successfully fools attendees at the Embassy Ball into thinking she's a princess. The experiment is over, and she leaves Higgins feeling used, only to reappear at the end of the show for a possible reconciliation after the professor finds he's "Grown Accustomed to Her Face."
Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA
Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Book by Oscar Hammerstein II & Douglas Carter Beane
Rags: Cinderella, forced into a life of servitude by her evil stepmother, spends time dreaming of a better life ("In My Own Little Corner").
Riches: With the help of her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella's rags turn into a beautiful gown and she is able to attend the Prince's Ball. There, she woos Prince Topher with her looks and - in this version - her brains ("Ten Minutes Ago"). Like the classic fairytale, her lost glass slipper leads the Prince to her and they end up married. But in this update, it's Ella's sense of justice and fairness that draws Prince Topher to her ("Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful").
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
Music & Lyrics by Frank Loesser, Book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock & Willie Gilbert
Based on Shepherd Mead's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Rags: J. Pierrepont Finch, a young NYC window washer, reads the book How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and shows up at the World Wide Wicket Company looking for work ("How To Succeed").
Riches: Finch rises through the ranks at World Wide Wicket using both hard work and some sleight of hand, until he eventually becomes the chairman of the board. In the end, he says the staff is like family to him ("Brotherhood of Man") despite the competitive, back-stabbing world of business.
HAMILTON
Book, Music & Lyrics by by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Based on Ron Chernow's biography Alexander Hamilton
Rags: I'll just leave these lyrics here...
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore
And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence impoverished,
In squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
Riches: Alexander Hamilton works and writes his way to glory by being "Non-Stop", by working harder and assuming he's smarter than everyone else in the room, by paying his dues, by speaking his mind and by not backing down. Despite his untimely death, the Founding Father went from almost nothing to appearing on the $10 bill.
OLIVER!
Book, Music & Lyrics by Lionel Bart
Based on Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Rags: Oliver is kicked out of a workhouse after asking for more to eat and ends up on the streets with the Artful Dodger, Fagin and their band of pickpockets ("Consider Yourself").
Riches: Oliver, Dodger and another boy rob a wealthy old man, Mr. Brownlow, but the other boys run off, leaving Oliver to be arrested for the crime. Oliver is treated well at Mr. Brownlow's but is abducted by Bill and Nancy, who fear he will reveal too much about their motley crew. Meanwhile, rumors arise that Oliver might have rich relatives, and the couple that ran the workhouse attempt to get a reward from Mr. Brownlow by showing him Oliver's old locket with a picture of his mother in it. As it turns out, Oliver is actually Mr. Brownlow's grandson. There's a lot in between, but Oliver is reunited with Mr. Brownlow and, we can assume, lives happily ever after.
And, of course...
ANASTASIA
Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Book by Terrence McNally
Based on the 1997 animated film Anastasia
Rags: Anastasia, who escaped the execution of the Romanov family, loses her memories of the trauma ("In My Dreams") and starts the story as an orphan, Anya, who sets out to figure out who she is ("Journey to the Past").
Riches: She teams up with a pair of conmen who believe Anya looks like the long-lost Grand Duchess, not knowing she is the real thing. She eventually gets an audience with the Dowager Empress, who has been searching for Anastasia. During their conversation, Anya suddenly remembers the night she escaped, shows the Empress her music box, and they both realize the truth after 20 years ("Once Upon a December").
So, from orphan to Grand Duchess? Who could resist seeing a musical about that kind of transformation? Happy opening, ANASTASIA!
Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy
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