I don't think it looks cheap at all. I think it looks like a Charnin-directed "Annie", for better or worse. Several of the costumes stand out to me as looking quite nice. I would like to see more of the scenery, as I do enjoy the work of Beowulf Boritt.
"I am in the minority on this, but I absolutely loved the last revival."
Same here, I thought it was the most refreshing & realistic approach to the show I've ever seen! I just wish Martin Charnin would feel more willing to leave the directing reigns off to someone else rather than staying with it ala Arthur Laurents (Gypsy) or Robert Jess Roth (Beauty & the Beast), etc.
Again, I was kind of in the middle. I didn't hate it as much as some did - but there were definitely things that were WRONG about the production, including the horrid choreography.
But I did enjoy it enough to see it more than once (OK, I tend to see most things more than once)..and Anthony Warlock was the best Daddy Warbucks ever. Lilla (and Sadie who I also saw) were excellent in different ways..and there were some genuinely touching moments. SO not a total loss to me either.
The mansion set looks a lot cheaper than the last tour. I remember the last one being a bit more detailed with the falling snow visible through the overhead skylight during the reprise of "Maybe" in act two which was beautiful. Most of that tour was just backdrops but they were very detailed and pretty. This does look cheaper by comparison.
At least it has a real Christmas tree again, instead of that horrid aluminum chandelier tree from the recent show.
Issie S - Annie - had long black straight hair before they dyed it red. I guess they are using her natural hair for the main part of the show (less wigs to deal with) and then giving her the red wig for the makeover. I do hate that curly wig..it looks so fake.
The rest looks pretty good..and thankfully they went back to the pails and brushes for hard knocks life.
I'm not an Annie expert, but the 30th anniversary tour also directed by Charnin made the switch to curly hair only after Annie's make over. Up until that point she had straight hair just like you see in the pictures for this tour. If the Tony Award performance is accurate it was also done that way in the original Broadway production. The revival ditched this tradition and gave her curly hair for the entire show and just shortened it for the make over. I'm not understanding the criticism.
This tour is also clearly not a restaging of the original Broadway production. I can understand the confusion because Charnin is directing, Liza Gennaro is probably recreating Peter's choreography and it's being marketed as "The Tony Award winning production" which is misleading, but the scenery, costume and lighting designs are all new so visually one should not be under the assumption that they are seeing the same show that audiences saw in 1977.
It's being billed as The Tony Award Winning Production. Are they allowed to write that?
It's misleading and unethical, but they're certainly allowed to bill it however they please. There's no ethics committee. Annie is a Tony Award winning musical but this production has never played Broadway so it's clearly not a Tony Award winning production.
I actually think the sets look pretty good. And I'm thrilled that they didn't cut the Hooverville number. I've seen a few recent productions cut it and I don't agree with that.
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
``oscar wilde``
The Orphanage unit was really, really nice. The last tour set was pushing it. Rooster is a delight; Warbucks is still as mis-written as usual. The choreography is really quite odd. Anything that happens within the mansion is hand-ography. I Think I'm Gonna Like It... they hardly moved the entire song. NYC is a little lackluster. They had two side drops that flew in which I REALLY didn't like. And seconded -- Hooverville is pretty good. Issie is good. She's still settling into her role, although she is singing it more softly than any other Annie. I noticed this in the Broadway production too -- the dog was literally pulling to leave the stage and wouldn't interact with Annie (save the one trick). I love Berloni's work though, the dogs were great... just a little note. But hey, they're dogs. lol. Grace is exceptional. The production is funny. Some good stuff. I really did dislike the drops, though.
Marla: I have to go sing about a life I never led.