What's Happening -- Annie, The Review
The sun came out on Tuesday night. It really did. Little Diva and I were fortunate enough to attend the Opening Night of Broadway in Austin's production of Annie. What a treat!Of course, she and I knew all the songs and we may or may not have been singing along. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, we were singing along.The play begins with Annie (played by Issie Swickle) singing the melancholy but hopeful, "Maybe". A little unsteady at first (this was opening night, after all), Annie and the girls got stronger as the play progressed. I thought "It's a Hard Knock Life" was very well done and the energy of the performance picked up significantly from there.
Having just seen the recent film adaptation, I loved for Little Diva to see the origins and the songs that I've always loved. An especial high point is Mrs. Hannigan (played brilliantly by Lynn Andrews) and "Little Girls". Wow! Can that woman sing, as also demonstrated on "Easy Street" with Rooster (Garrett Deagon) and Lily (Lucy Werner). Another great scene (lost to the film) is Annie's visit to the president, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Allan Ray Baker). FDR's refrain of "Tomorrow" with his buttoned up staff is delightful. The adult chorus is very strong, highlighted in lesser known tunes like "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover" and "N.Y.C." led nicely by Mr. Warbucks (Gilgamesh Taggett) and Grace (Ashley Edler).As you'd expect, the audience was filled with booster seats and little ones craning their necks to see the stage. As a true compliment to the show, however, every little one I saw was watching in earnest. As the hour got later, however, you'd see more little bodies draped across parents. This was the case with Little Diva. She worked so hard to stay awake and this time just made it. (You might remember she didn't quite last Beauty & the Beast.)"Annie" still holds up as wonderful family entertainment. If you're in Austin, I recommend heading over to Bass Concert Hall right away. Don't wait until "Tomorrow". I know you were waiting for at least one pun. ;-)
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WHO: Lexus Broadway in Austin at Texas Performing ArtsWHAT: Premiere of “ANNIE”WHEN: April 21 - 26, 2015Tuesday – Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m & 8 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. & 7 p.m.WHERE: Bass Concert Hall / 2350 Robert Dedman Drive / Austin, TX TICKETS: Start at $30. Tickets are available at BroadwayinAustin.com, the Bass Concert Hall box office, all Texas Box Office Outlets, by phone at (512) 477-6060. For groups of 10 or more, call (877) 275-3804 or email Austin.groups@broadwayacrossamerica.com.