Like I've said here before, Annie was my first Broadway show and the first cast album I've purchased. I was 14 at the time. I was absolutely mesmerized by this production. I loved the set design and the way it moved. I distinctly remember Dorothy Loudon receiving the loudest applause at the curtain call, but in my mind, I clapped harder for Andrea McArdle. I also remember the audience laughing at the familiarity of the radio programs Miss Hannigan was listening to. It was an absolutely magical experience for me and the one that began my love of Broadway. This was the first show I had seen several times, and the only show to this day that I have ever seen on the West End (February 1980).
That being said, my initial reaction to the '97 revival was, "What the hell did they do to my show?!" I hated everything about it. We'd Like to Thank You had been cut although it was still listed in the Playbill.
Hey Dottie!
Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany
And seeing it with a battered economy and in an election year, I wouldn't be surprised if the show's political elements have a certain resonance in 2012.
The portrayal of FDR as a straightforward "great man," glossing over his imprisonment of Japanese Americans without trial (apparently to be covered in another upcoming show), has always bothered me (in Annie and in some other contexts). I know Annie doesn't provide an opportunity for a critical examination of FDR's noble feats and grave crimes, but such a one-sided portrayal really puts me off. Anyhow, if I end up seeing Annie, that aspect of the show will have a special resonance for me, because so many of my friends are such uncritical admirers of the current president, about whom I am similarly conflicted.