Seacoast Rep Is Getting a New Deal For Christmas with ANNIE

Christmastime helps bridge the divide between a gruff tycoon and a plucky orphan, in "Annie," the beloved musical being staged for this holiday season by the Seacoast Repertory Theatre.

"Annie," which opens November 30, is one of the most popular musicals of all time, seen by tens of millions of people in stage or screen versions. The Seacoast Rep will keep the show fresh with an uplifting production that portrays the unlikely bond between millionaire Daddy Warbucks and the ragamuffin Annie, while giving recognition to the hard-knock circumstances of Annie's Depression-era life.

"There's a really cool balance that shows how hard the times are, but also showing that there's happiness" said veteran Seacoast Rep actor Kevin Mahaney, who plays Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks. "That's basically what Annie is all about ... the optimism."

And despite its 1930s setting, Annie has both a resonance to modern times, and a message, Mahaney said.

"It's really interesting to see the two different lifestyles of the very, very poor and the very, very rich coming together to get along," Mahaney said. "I feel right now that as a society we're very divided ... It's really awesome to see the two complete opposite ends of the spectrum coming together to make happiness."

Annie is based on the comic strip "Little Orphan Annie," which became America's most popular newspaper comic strip during the Great Depression. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1977, with songs including "Tomorrow" and "It's a Hard Knock Life" that have become popular classics. It won seven Tony awards, including Best Musical.

The story was written by the late Thomas Meehan, a Broadway legend who also wrote the books for "Hairspray," "The Producers" and "Young Frankenstein."

In the musical, Annie is brought from her orphanage to the Warbucks home to spend Christmas day, and eventually breaks through his aloofness to win him over. But as Warbucks tries to help Annie find her real parents, sinister characters throw obstacles in their way.

At the Seacoast Rep, Annie is played by Madeline Healey of Durham, NH. Like her character, Healey is 11 years old. "Annie's wonderful. This is her first really big musical; she's been really great to work with," Mahaney said.

Other characters in the orphanage a played by an alternating cast of children. "There's a lot of really talented kids that are the orphans," Mahaney said.

Mahaney said Annie was the first stage production he saw as a child, so the chance to appear in a production gave him a sense of coming full circle. "It's been a little intimidating," he said.

One of the challenges of portraying Warbucks is that the character is uncomfortable around children, he said. "I've always been very comfortable with kids and Oliver Warbucks is such an awkward person when it comes to kids. He doesn't know how kids work. It's very interesting to see him slowly open up to how a kid works."

"I've been studying people who don't really get along with kids or aren't used to kids, and applying that to Oliver Warbucks," he said.

Annie is directed by Brett Mallard, an award-winning regional theater veteran who directed the Seacoast Rep's 2016 holiday production, "It's a Wonderful Life."

Annie, Mahaney said, is a show well-suited for holiday audiences. "It is a wonderful show about coming together and making happiness. Annie is known for being one of the most family-friendly shows. It's a great show to bring the kids to and just smile for a couple of hours."

Annie runs November 30-December 23. Show times are Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm. There is also a show Friday December 14 at 11 am. Tickets are available through the Seacoast Rep box office at 603-433-4472, or online at www.seacoastrep.org/tickets. For student discounts, call the box office. Annie is proudly sponsored by Whole Life Health Care, Martingale Wharf, River House and Optima Bank and Trust. The Seacoast Repertory Theatre's 2018 season is sponsored in part by Bondgarden Farms, Portsmouth Public Media, MacEdge and the Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel.

The Seacoast Repertory Theatre is a 501(c)3 non-profit theatre committed to providing a variety of programming for the community. The Rep presents professional programming through its Mainstage, alternative programming through its Red Light Series and also offers a variety of programs for youth and seniors. For more information, or to schedule an interview, please call Director of Marketing Brian Kelly at 603-785-2782 or at marketing@seacoastrep.org. For artistic questions please contact Interim Artistic Director Jamie Bradley at 603-498-8202 or at jamie@seacoastrep.org.

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