This little orphan shines brightly
Never underestimate the power of a little red-headed orphan girl.
On Thursday night, she sang, “The sun will come out, tomorrow” – and darned if we didn’t wake up Friday morning to the first sunshine since, maybe, 2006.
And never underestimate the power of this well-traveled Charles Strouse-Martin Charnin musical to deliver the emotional goods. I’ve seen “Annie” at least a half-dozen times, yet still, when Sandy the dog pops out of that Christmas box and Annie’s face lights up … well, what kind of stonehearted critic can resist that?
It helps, of course, that this is a relatively high-budget Equity (union) tour, with a full pit orchestra and fine production values. It also helps that Marissa O’Donnell as Annie is cute, funny and has a nice way with “Tomorrow.”
But “Annie” has proven to be so well-constructed and cheerful in tone that it is, essentially, failure-proof. Look what it has going for it: a cute chorus full of ragamuffins, a shaggy dog, and a lead character who can cheer up the president of the U.S. in the depths of the Great Depression.
That’s right, Franklin D. Roosevelt is a comic character in this show, not to mention the rest of his Cabinet. Now, that’s what I call dramatic moxie – turning Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes into a musical comedy character.
This show features quality performances from the top down, beginning with O’Donnell, 12. She resists the temptation to ham it up, which means she is cute without being cloying.
I especially liked her version of “Tomorrow,” a power ballad that has long since drifted into cliché. O’Donnell, however, opens her version with almost conversational phrasing, as if she really is giving a pep talk to Sandy. Later, she blasts into a true, brassy, show-biz chorus of “Tomorrow” – which is satisfying in its own way.
Other standouts include Conrad John Schuck, whose basset hound looks and deep voice transform Oliver Warbucks into a surprisingly sentimental character. Scott Willis showed a lot of physical command as both an actor and dancer as the devious Rooster Hannigan.
Alene Robertson takes a little getting used to as Miss Hannigan, especially for those who believe Carol Burnett will never be surpassed. Robertson was drier, more sarcastic and more weary-sounding – but in the long run, she was every bit as funny as any Miss Hannigan. The image of her drunken, slovenly bump and grind on “Easy Street” is still lodged in my mind.
I was especially impressed with Elizabeth Broadhurst, who was an exceptionally graceful and sympathetic Grace Farrell, Warbucks’ private secretary. It’s easy to see how both Annie and Warbucks would fall in love with her.
Naturally, the true stars of the show were all wearing rags and scrubbing floors. The orphan girls delivered a knockout version of “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” complete with percussion accents on wash pails. It’s one of the most infectious of all musical comedy songs, and this one even had an underlying bittersweet note.
This gritty tone was reinforced by a terrific set, in which the orphanage is gray, grimy and skewed noticeably off plumb. It creates just the right feel of sad resignation.
Later, the mood brightens considerably when a magical snow shower appears through the skylights of Warbucks’ mansion. The kids in the audience – and there were lots of them – oohed and aahed over that.
If you plan to catch “Annie,” you could do worse than see it with a little kid. If you can’t do that, at least try to see it through the eyes of one.
“Annie” continues through Sunday; tickets available through TicketsWest outlets (509-325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).