Review: ANNIE at ZACH

There are a few songs that break the barrier between musical theatre and the secular world. Among them, “Aquarius,” from HAIR. “My Favorite Things,” from the SOUND OF MUSIC, “Tomorrow,” from ANNIE. The latter is such an earworm you might squirm at the prospect of having it stuck in your head for two weeks after seeing the show. It’s a spoofable chestnut or an optimistic anthem, right? Gratefully, in ZACH’s production of ANNIE, we get an optimistic, earnest anthem.

Some musicals become hits. Others become cultural vocabulary. Nearly fifty years after its Broadway debut, ANNIE belongs to that rarer category. It's a show whose songs, characters, and irrepressible optimism are instantly recognizable even to audiences who've never sat through Act One. That familiarity can be both a blessing and a challenge: each new production must honor beloved expectations while reminding us why this Depression-era tale of hope continues to resonate.

There's something wonderfully ironic about ANNIE. Set amid the snow and uncertainty of the Great Depression, it has nevertheless become one of summer theatre's perennial favorites, filling stages with young performers on school break and audiences eager to share a classic with a new generation. Now playing on ZACH’s Topher stage, director Cassie Abate notes ANNIE has been “a first introduction for many young artists to the beauty of musical theatre.”

It is a wonderful cast of young artists who bring ZACH's production to life. While the youngest roles are double cast throughout the run, the adult cast members are scheduled to perform in all 42 performances, a marathon that speaks to stamina, dedication, and the popularity of ANNIE. On the night I attended we were gifted with performances from the Red Cast. This means we enjoyed the tight ensemble of scrappy orphans played by a charismatic Monroe Bowcutt as Molly, who I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of in the future. A  measured Olivia Feuerberg is Kate, and a fretful Leili Ahmadyar rounds out the younger of Miss Hannigan’s little girls. As the group’s as the older but wiser girls, Caroline Copeland is a cynical Pepper, Isabella Johnson is a peacemaking, parental July, and Sophia Ghangurde as a mature Duffy.

This of course brings us to the inimitable Annie herself. Charlotte Storm is a charming, enterprising, earnest, plucky and resilient Annie, and as such, meets all our requirements for believing this optimistic story. As Little Orphan Annie began life not as a musical, but as a newspaper comic strip created by Harold Gray in 1924, the original Annie was far scrappier and lived through decades of adventures that often reflected Gray's conservative political views. In the musical, she’s spared all but a couple of those adventures, leaving us with a more affirming outlook. 

The aspects of Annie are then not politicized so much, save a few lines between Roosevelt (a chipper Bob Brandenburg) and Warbucks (Jamie Goodwin). The worst of humanity shows up in the hilarious trio of bad guys played by Yurel Echezarretta (Rooster), Sarah Burke (Lily) and Jamie Karen (the infamous Miss Hannigan). Director Abate paints these characters as they are written, with broad strokes in both her choreography and direction, and the actors meet the moment. In particular, Echezarreta seems to relish chewing the scenery in the best way, his gleaming white smile a perfect symbol of a dastardly villain.

A charming ensemble backs both Tiffany Solano as Grace, who epitomizes her character’s name, and Jamie Goodwin as a handsome and warm Daddy Warbucks.

It’s hard to fault any of these performances that seem to line right up with exactly what we imagine the characters to be. This ensemble gives solid, energetic performances that hit nostalgic beats perfectly, but there is a limitation born of the script itself. The book favors brisk comic-strip efficiency and archetype over psychological depth to emphasize its optimism.

That said, ANNIE retains reminders of its comic strip roots in the Great Depression, and the Watergate era in which the musical was written. If nothing else, it reminds us in the current political climate that hope exists and the future can be promising. even in the middle of hard knock lives.

ANNIE

Book by Thomas Meehan

Music by Charles Strouse

Lyrics by Martin Charnin

Directed By Cassie Abate

Music Direction by Spencer D. Hansen

Choreography by Kiira Schmidt Carper

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