"Annie" LIVE! on NBC

Bald Harry Connick Jr. is freaking me out!

The Eschaton is Immanentized!

Can Taraji P. Henson sing?

Leapin’ Lizzards they put that song too goddamn high!

So the last Annie movie had her as as black and the new television special does the same. Has Annie canonically now been transformed?

Harry looks terrible.

I don't want to see this, and I love Annie the musical.

"Annie" is one of the easiest hit musicals to screw up.

They will screw it up.

[quote] Leapin’ Lizzards they put that song too goddamn high!

I'm assuming it's within Celina Smith's range.

It would have to be, right?

Haha I loved this remark in the comments section of the op's video:

[quote] steven smith 3 hours ago

[quote] Next up in 2025, Andrew! Story of an orphan girl who wants to be a boy having to go through the hard knocks in life.

To answer your question, R5: NOT YET. The character can still evolve!

Anyone know in what studio this will originate? The last few "Live" on NBC were done at Grumman Studios on Long Island.

PickanAnnie!

Lol R12.

You just had to go there, didn't you?

Here's the young actress rehearsing "Tomorrow."

Where’s the red hair?

The kid is good and very cute but she sings a bit flat. That can be fixed with some vocal coaching though.

NO, it can't. None of this can be fixed.

I find it ironic that Annie has always had what could be described as an afro, yet they've decided to cast a black person who does not have that hairstyle. Hm. Wonder why.

Annie in the comic strip had curly hair, but Broadway Annie doesn't get a perm till the end, when she puts on the red dress. 1982 movie Annie was based off both the comic strip and the musical, so she had curly hair throughout, R17.

No, I've seen the play many times, way, way long ago. She had ratty curly hair until she is adopted by daddy warbucks, then she gets a tighter and more controlled curl. She had curly hair throughout her character act.

If they were to present ANNIE with an all white cast in 2021 it would be LITERAL VIOLENCE.

AfricAnnie

We love cultural appropriation

So have I, R19, her hair was wavy/messy till Warbucks adopts her, but it wasn't in a perm. Maybe this Annie will have curly hair at the end??

R21- I must correct you it's AFROannie

I wonder if white people would consider it LITERAL VIOLENCE if the remake of The Wiz were to have an ALL BLACK cast.

1977 was pre woke. Nothing beat the original cast of Annie.

You messed that up, R25.

I think you meant to ask if black people would have a problem with an all-white cast of "The Wiz."

R27- No. Because I am the person who said that having an all white cast of ANNIE in 2021 would be LITERAL VIOLENCE that is why I posed the question - Would white people consider an all black cast in a remake of The Wiz today to be LITERAL VIOLENCE.

I loved that, R26, my absolute favourite. I do love the 82 movie for Tim Curry and Carol Burnett, even if I'm not crazy about the changes from the play (Christmas to 4th of July). Tim Curry as Rooster was inspired casting, same with Carol, Bernadette, and Anne Reinking.

This kind of a funny thing to say but true. Watching the original cast of Annie at the 1977 Oscars reminds me of the cast of The Facts Of Life. The girls dancing are the Eastland girls and Miss Hannigan is Mrs. Garrett.

R29- I've watched that video SO many times. I never get tired of it.

Boy, am I GAY.

This just telegraphs "trainwreck."

Most "Annie" fans have never read the original Depression-era strips. They're very interesting, and surprising if you love the show. Harold Gray, the creator, was what might today be called a populist conservative. He had a kind of Horatio Alger bootstrap view of the world, and despised FDR and the New Deal.

He's probably spinning in his grave as we speak.

I know it's the movie, but Carol is fantastic here. She makes you have empathy for poor old Miss Hannigan even though she's a villain. Who ever did the costumes and sets for the 82 film captured the era perfectly - much better than the '99 film version, even though that was more true to the Broadway play.

[quote] Boy, am I GAY.

Yup, same.

The video I've watched many times was the one I posted from the 1977 Tony Awards not the song Easy Street from the 1982 movie.

This scene from the movie is also fantastic.

What, no James Corden???

That’s an outrage!!!

Leapin' Lizards! I forgot how badly the 1982 movie MANGLED a simple fun nuber like "Easy Street"!

They did NOTHING RIGHT at all! What the fuck is all that loud clattering with the boxes at the beginning? Why do they keep breaking up the singing with pointless talking? Where's the melody and the build of the song? Carol Burnett's costume and makeup are all wrong! They didn't use the show-stopping choreography from the stage version and they've added unfunny slapstick and business instead of musicality!

The film is a totally botched disaster.

[quote]Watching the original cast of Annie at the 1977 Oscars...

They're actually at the Tony Awards, not the Oscars.

R38- The entire 1982 was AVERAGE.

None for me, thanks.

Next stop: TRANNIE!

R42- LOL!

Producers: How about a live production of "Annie"?

Audience:

“Annie”, the Hologram!

Why in hell they hire tht tired queen tituss burgess???? she plum nasty..

R38, they're rummaging though boxes to find the other half of Annie's locket. LEAPIN' LIZARDS!!

I understand that r47, but does it need to be so LOUD and the focus of the scene?

It's not like that in the stage version where they're too busy being entertaining!

agreed, Burgess is disgusting. very odd casting choice.

Oh it's fine, R48, besides the whole story really comes down to Annie's locket. It's a key plot point. Besides, it's far better than any of the other movies and the recent stage version. I guarantee you it's better than whatever the NBC LIVE! version has in store.

[quote]No, I've seen the play many times, way, way long ago. She had ratty curly hair until she is adopted by daddy warbucks, then she gets a tighter and more controlled curl.

In the original Broadway production, Anne was played by Andrea McArdle. She had her straight hair (with a slight wave) for most of the play, and only came out wearing the iconic curly afro during the title number near the end.

For their next musical, they should do Ain't Misbehavin' with an all-white cast.

So it is still possible that Annie will coif up the red locks by the end of the NBC production; perhaps change her race entirely to quell criticism.

In the ending scene, I mean.

Why does Annie have to wear a black curly-haired wig?

I don't get it.

Another trailer.

Miss Hannigan's delivery of, "she's a drunk!" is all wrong.

She will have orange cornrows at the end.

good god, the world has gone nuts.....what a mess of a show.

Can’t wait for the Asian ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and White/Pacific Islander ‘Color Puprle’ revivals. Don’t forget to have the cast be Non Bianary, Themis. Fuck this noise. I hate wokeness.

What did Nicole Scherzinger do to her face?

When will there be a Chinese version of Oklahoma?

I hate to say this, but the preview makes it look like fun.

Now I'm gonna see it for sure!

If they cut "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover" for one of those terrible 1982 movie songs, I'm gonna start something!

R52- With an ALL German cast.

She's going to appear at the end of the title number in corn rows (specially braided for her by Annette, Cecile, and Mrs. Pugh).

NBC is in talks about a new 21st century version of The Facts Of Life. It will have an ALL black cast but with one token white character who will play the role of Tootie.

I bet Harry Connick Jr. jumped at this role since for once he wouldn't have to wear one of his ratty wigs.

The big question is, of course, who gets to play the wonderful and rewarding role of Tessie?

[quote] I bet Harry Connick Jr. jumped at this role since for once he wouldn't have to wear one of his ratty wigs.

Does Harry Connick wear a piece?

I never would have guessed.

It looks real to me.

I think you're lying.

So is this what he looks like in real life?

Rofl.

R66- I must correct you. He would not have to wear one of his ratty KOREAN wigs.

R30 The Dorothy Louden Show was exactly The Facts of Life, with Dotty Louden in the Mrs. Garrett role. First season, there was a character called Franke, who FoL ripped off when they created Jo in year 2.

R71- It seems like The Facts Of Life was a ripoff (of sorts) of The Dorothy Loudon Show.

R71- Her show premiered in August 1979 the very same month and year that The Facts Of Life premiered so TFOL couldn't have stolen anything from her show except perhaps the character of Jo who was not introduced until the fall of 1980.

"Where's her red hair? Where's her red hair?" The lifting of the hem of her dress reveals a merkin that will leave every viewer satified at the fadeout; "Won't it, Sandy?" "Arf!"

Happy NOW, R74??!!!

There are Black redheads

R73 yeah crazy. It was the same exact premise. I actually liked The Dorothy Louden Show at age 9. I remember looking for it after it had been cancelled.

R73 I guess Jo is kind of a stock character, but Frankie WAS one of the things that worked about TDLS. Wouldn't surprise me if they were inspired by it.

Is OP Boris posting this “news” to divide us? What is his agenda.

I think the kid will do fine as Annie. She doesn't have the best voice (she was slightly off key in the "Tomorrow" clip posted above). Her acting and dancing are probably good. My only complaint is that she does seem a bit too tall to be Annie, who is supposed to be 10. She's like how Andrea McArdle was when she aged out of the role - still good but clearly too tall to continue, but whatever - I'll be watching and rooting for her. Annie has a special place in my heart since it's the first musical I saw as a child and I've been hooked on musical theatre ever since. I have a feeling she'll be better than Harry who looks TERRIBLE and doesn't pass for Warbucks at all imo.

She looks old enough to be his wife at R69.

[quote] She looks old enough to be his wife at R69

Why do you think he adopted her??

Times were different back then.

r71 r77

L-O-U-D-O-N

The problem with the movie is that it was OVER produced. Same thing with Hello Dolly, etc....they had great casts and great concepts, but they were overblown spectacles.

[quote] Who ever did the costumes and sets for the 82 film captured the era perfectly - much better than the '99 film version

Which one did SJP star in?

The movie was for kids, R84, not for your average theatre goer who was familiar with the original Broadway production.

I for one, will always love '82 Annie as it was largely responsible for nurturing my love of musicals. So what if some of the numbers were overdone? It sure introduced a lot of kids to the genre. I saw it in the theatre and loved it so much that my mom bought me a copy on VHS when it came out. I'd watch it over and over - recreating and improving (in my nine year old mind) the choreography. I even used to sketch some of the costumes, lol.

I've seen the more recent '99 version and while it's more true to the play, it doesn't have the heart or the talent of the '82 version. I don't even want to talk about the 2012 Broadway production.

This is so wrong on so many levels. Please make it stop! Why?!?!

[quote] I saw it in the theatre and loved it so much that my mom bought me a copy on VHS when it came out. I'd watch it over and over - recreating and improving (in my nine year old mind) the choreography

Surely, she had no idea you were gay.

Well, let's just say she wasn't surprised, R88.

Harry doesn't wear a piece. He's had at least 2 successful hair transplants (back in the late 90s). I imagine that's why he's opting to not shave his head (as there would be telltale scars visible). It's not a bad bald cap as far as bald caps go...

I was obsessed with the OBC recording when I was 8 years old. My poor dad. Ha.

Maybe a year and a half after I got the cast album, I finally got to see it on Broadway. I sat next to my grandma, the person I loved the most on the world. She laughed hysterically during Easy Street. It was the most wonderful sound. About a year later, she died at age 58.

If I close my eyes, I can still hear the sound of that laughter.

R91- WOW. The women in your family must have their kids YOUNG. My grandmother was in her 70's when I was born and my mother was 39 years old.

Also -- nothing will ever better Peter Gennaro's "Easy Street" choreography featured with the OBC. Just a perfect blend of knowingness and old school gusto.

R56- The whole thing is a big 👎

[quote]I have a feeling she'll be better than Harry who looks TERRIBLE and doesn't pass for Warbucks at all imo.

At least he's the right color.

Who's playing Punjab?

Geoffrey Holder!!

There's no Punjab in the stage version.

There's no "We Got Annie"

They do not visit Radio City Music Hall and

There is no "Dumb Dog"!

But he's in the comic strip, R98! Bring him back, I say.

No one comes close to playing Miss Hannigan like Dorothy Loudon. It's amazing. Every single other actress I've seen try it, on stage, on film, on video tape pales in comparison. Her talents were uniquely suited to that character, those songs, and that dancing.

R94 is a racist!

R56, why is the dog on her butt? Can Tajani Henson sing? Can Harry Connick Jr sing? Can Jane Krawoski?

[quote] Can Harry Connick Jr sing?

I was wondering the same thing.

Then I forgot he actually started out as a singer.

I would have gone with a black daddy Warbucks and a white Annie. Weird that they went the white saviour route.

How about all black?

If I were doing this, R105, I go with more diversity. BD Wong or Raul Esperanza as Warbucks and Patty Lupone as Hannigan.

This trainwreck looks like it will provide years of memes.

BD Wong would be great, R106, not sure about Esparza though. McArdle (if she can still sing) as Miss Hannigan or maybe Lilly would be interesting and a way to honour the OBC.

Like this, R106?

Rofl.

Is this an SNL parody?

This can't be real.

Whoops!

Meant, R107

[quote]not sure about Esparza though.

Thems fightin' words.

He's overrated, R112. His scenery chewing would be too much for a role like Warbucks, who is not supposed to be a hammy character with a bad vibrato.

Blaxploitation Annie?

Who plays the pimp?

Is Taraji desperate for work ?

[quote] Is Taraji desperate for work ?

She's just thirsty.

Taraji even recently appeared as a judge on Project Runway.

She's everywhere!

I feel like actors confuse good work and relevancy/PR and end up degrading their careers ass a result.

I understand the fear of saying no, or doing favors, but man it can backfire...

This trend of casting African Americans in roles that are VERY white is ridiculous. Little Orphan Annie was a VERY white comic book character; to make her black just destroys her whole carrot topped persona. And what is Sandy the dog going to be in this version? A pit bull? This version is going to suck SO bad.

[quote][R56], why is the dog on her butt? Can Tajani Henson sing? Can Harry Connick Jr sing? Can Jane Krawoski?

1. TARAJI

2. Of course Harry Connick can sing -- he has released many albums.

3. Jane KRAKOWSKI is a well-known star of Broadway musicals and can, of course sing. But she is not in this production, so why are you asking?

Jane Krakowski IS in this production, R119.

Watch the trailer at the op's link.

I believe Krakowski pulled out.

Krakowski has covid. Megan Hilty took her place.

[quote] I believe Krakowski pulled out.

That’s what she said.

I want this cool triggering Punjab doll

I thought Geoffrey Holder was kinda hot. Loved his deep, booming voice.

I think Annie, Warbucks and Hannigan have to be either all white or all Black or else the show starts veering into dangerous racial waters.

That's why I was REALLY surprised with the choices they made for this production, r126. I think the optics would have been better to go opposite with a white Annie and Black Warbucks or a completely diverse main cast if they wanted to keep the Annie role as is.

[quote]Which one did SJP star in?

Broadway after McArdle. Saw her one night with friends and then walked around Times Square for a bit and on the way to our hotel, ended up in front of the theater when Alice Ghostly and John Schuck came out the front doors. Chatted a few minutes and then they left.

It should have been can “Trannie” starring Jazz Jennings, Bruceilla Jenner as Miss Hannigan, and Ellen DeGeneres as Dykey Warbucks.

*called

At least the 2014 movie had the sense to set it in modern-day.

I don't like this, not because the girl is black but because she doesn't have red hair. It's like casting a brunette to play Goldilocks. It just isn't right. If you want to cast a black girl to play Annie, fine, dye her hair or get a wig.

I think Sarah Jessica Parker would have been much more inspired casting for Miss Hannigan. She has an obvious connection to the material, it’d be fun to see her do something so unglamorous and she’s actually really quite winning when she plays low-down hussies (Shelley the Barracuda, anyone?)

When will there be an oriental cast? Who who play the lead roles? It’s time for some diversity!

Oh, SJP would be excellent, R133.

“So what’s you’re saying is, blacks are poor and need to be saved by whites rich people, is that what you’re saying???

—Virtual signaling wokester outrage addict looking at the new cast

^white

R108, McArdle was featured in the 1999 TV version as the Star to Be in NYC - I think she’s playing Eleanor Roosevelt in this one. I believe she’s played Hannigan in a couple of regional productions and the general consensus is that’s she just not a strong enough comedic actress to make it work. Apparently, the scuttlebutt was that she was quite hurt and surprised that she couldn’t even get an audition for the last Broadway revival.

Meet the new Annie!

McArdle is out. Her father is in the hospital.

What about Quinn? What's she been doing? I know she still sings.

Taraji looks like a character that Shangela would portray in a bad Drag Race skit.

[quote] McArdle (if she can still sing) as Miss Hannigan or maybe Lilly would be interesting and a way to honour the OBC.

There is nothing in this production that indicates any interest in honoring anything original.

Why not a white Annie with a black Daddy Warbucks? Get Vin Diesel or the Rock to play the part? The optics would be better.

This will be the least viewed production of Annie in History. People are sick and tired of this “woke” BS. It shouldn’t be viewed as racist to use white people in white roles! Are we going to use a pasty white man in the next production of “Roots?” It just doesn’t make sense, and it’s confusing to new generations and younger folks.

[quote] Why not a white Annie with a black Daddy Warbucks? Get Vin Diesel or the Rock to play the part? The optics would be better.

That would look like she had been sold into white slavery.

That poor girl looked like Leslie Jones at the parade

An intelligently done all-Black (or mostly Black) Annie could actually be a worthwhile endeavor, but a randomly color-blind casting of just ends up creating a bunch of minefields in a show where much of the plot centres around era-specific politics around poverty and wealth disparity in America. No matter how you slice it, Black people singing songs about a bright and beautiful tomorrow and getting to live on easy street but whatever means necessary (or rhapsodizing about the New Deal) feel different than white people singing those songs.

This goes along with the only trans people and gay people can play trans or gay people but black people can play any part (no matter how historically inaccurate) Makes perfect sense!

[quote] Why not a white Annie with a black Daddy Warbucks?

Is he her pimp?

I think John Schuck (who I loved and only knew from "McMillan & Wife") played Warbucks longer than anyone else on the road and Broadway. He made quite a career staying busy in productions of "Annie" for years. Good for him.

[quote]When will there be a Chinese version of Oklahoma?

O-krahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the prain.

r151 John Schuck rose to fame in the movie of M*A*S*H and was also pioneering transsexual politician Gil Kessler on "Golden Girls."

The girl playing Annie looks too pretty. Annies should be goofy, quirky kids.

Who was the fucking moron that financed this fiasco

R155 - Tyler Perry, Oprah, and Lizzo.

So in this version Annie is from the ghetto and she's an orphan because her mother is a crackhead and she doesn't even know who her father is.

They've changed "Easy Street" to include the word "motherfucker."

Lizzo IS Annie!

[quote] O-krahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the prain.

Seriously, R152? It’s 2022, not 1950. You think this demeaning racist humor is still okay? How old are you? Please join us in this century.

Maybe an Asian wrote that r160. Stop being judgy.

Do we really need two black Annies in the span of seven years?

i like that they have talented african-americans in this. I am going to watch it. This looks good.

They are going with talented peeps, not some rich white kid. I like this.

R264, then you obviously didn’t hear the girl sing at the Macy’s Day parade.

Do they call her 'Onny'?

SHVARTZIE!

E141 could she ever sing??

I'm thinking that BOTH Jane Krakowski and Andrea McArdle pulled out on purpose (Covid my ass in Jane's case) because they know that this production will be an absolute shitshow!

R160 You that upset, is sum ting wong?

[quote]Macy’s Day parade.

Oh, dear.

In my opinion, ALL of the live remakes have been a shitshow.

They should blackface “Fiddler on the Roof” and see what happens.

[quote]They should blackface “Fiddler on the Roof” and see what happens.

If I be a rich man ....

A blackface Fiddler would be fantastic.

We now get Blannie.

Soon enough the next remake will be Trannie.

Quota based casting. How many persons of non-color did they audition to give the false impression that race wasn't the only driving factor? And no trans? Boycott! That dog looks Caucasian. Double boycott!!

ANNIE is a piece of schlock. It's slick, from start to finish, but slick is the best it has to offer. It's not bad. It's not good. It's a perfectly mediocre effort by the authors that was polished up and slickly presented by the producers and Mike Nichols, its original director.

It doesn't really matter what anyone does to it. It's not an important piece of work. Any of you on this thread worshiping this silly thing all need to aim a good deal higher.

The original director of ANNIE was Martin Charnin. Mike Nichols was one of the producers--and undoubtedly influenced the changes made to the show from its start at Goodspeed.

Martin Charnin was credited as director.

He had no significant successes as a director before or after ANNIE. The runs of things he directed on Broadway can be measured in days.

If you want to believe Mike Nichols did not polish that show until it shined like the top of the Chrysler Building, that it was actually Martin Charnin who did that, you go right ahead.

Easy Street was filmed twice for the '82 film. The first version started inside the orphanage and then moved outside where a street fair was in progress. When director in name only John Huston saw the results, he made choreographer and actual director Joe Layton redo it on a much smaller scale inside the orphanage; the original was too overblown and over the top.

The footage of the first version has disappeared but we know it existed because of still photos and a few seconds of footage that was used in a documentary about the making of the film.

Meanwhile, here's how it's done. This is from a full boot of the original production later in the run (there aren't very many). Betty Hutton subbing for Alice Ghostley while she was on vacation, Gary Beach as Rooster and Rita Rudner, who got her start as a Broadway dancer, as Lily. Ghostley got great reviews as Hannigan, almost as good as Loudon.

Go Gary, go!

Gary Beach was a beautiful performer. Just wonderful.

R179, the original comment named Mike Nichols as the original director which he was not. Martin Charnin directed the show at Goodspeed before Mike Nichols became involved with the show. Having Nichols aboard greatly improved the show--that is not in dispute.

Shouldn't black Annie be called BLANNIE?

[quote]Taraji P. Henson as Ms. Hannigan.

Worst casting ever. She looks like Miss Lynch in Grease.

[quote]Easy Street was filmed twice for the '82 film.

Between the first filming and the second, Carol Burnett had a chin implant. She really didn't want to do the second take because it was obvious her face had changed.

I love Carol Burnett. I know she's old now, but she's in great shape, they should have had her play Miss Hannigan. She has such great delivery. "Do I hear... [italic] happiness[/italic] in here?"

Leslie Jones is my favorite Annie.

R187 - Yes! (And they gave her the red frizz too!)

What about an all-black version of "The Wizard Of Oz"? No?

r189 You might want to check on that link again.

Harry's big bald melon is so very disturbing. I'm going to have to take a pass on this version.

Can they do a white version of the Wiz?

R192 - Maybe a production of “Roots” cast with all white slaves, and black slave owners, would make BLM and the work crowd happy.

^^Jim Parsons can play Kunta Kinte.

Thanks for posting that R180 -- and I agree, Gary Beach was a beautiful performer. Always a favorite to watch work. And one hell of a sweet guy too. Gone too soon.

Supposedly Bob Fitch (the original Rooster) came up with the majority of the original choreography for that number. He also was the one to suggest to Charnin and Meehan the whole Rooster/Lily posing as Annie's parents which wasn't in the original working script. All uncredited, and Bob isn't the type of guy to embellish, so it's believable. Nichols' show doctoring is also wildly overstated.

[quote] Maybe a production of “Roots” cast with all white slaves, and black slave owners, would make BLM and the work crowd happy.

I'm waiting for the remake of "Gone With The Wind" with Scarlett and Rhett and all the white Southern plantation owners played by blacks and all the slaves played by Asians and whites. It's not such a remote possibility, is it?

I like this so much. I cannot wait to see it. I will watch, and also tape. The secret is getting very talented performers. It looks like NBC finally figure it out. YEAH!

Being Racist is a terrible plight on humanity. It also RUINS performances. This looks outstanding.

[quote]This looks outstanding.

You have no taste.

If she beat out all the other Annies who auditioned then she must really have “it” and be a phenomenal singer. I think the runner up was an Indian girl.

I would pay good money to see a race reversed “Roots”.

Tha’d fuck with the bigots’ heads real good

I want the trans version of Steel Magnolias Live!

[quote] Tha’d fuck with the bigots’ heads real good

I think bigots would enjoy a "reversed Roots" very much. They'd laugh their asses off at it. I think most people would.

Of course you do

I’ve always suspected Martin Charnin’s daughter posts or at least lurks on here.

She’s fit right in in any event.

Two more days!

[quote] I will watch, and also tape.

Are you posting from 1986?

Bleccch. That kid has a harsh belting voice that’s slightly flat.

But I feel sorry for her. She probably has a nightmare stage parent and a mega-ton of pressure.

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow!

The LIVE! show's tomorrow.

You're only a DAY AWAY!

WRONG, R209!!

HCj looks hilarious bald

Forget made-for-TV Black Annie, and watch the reenactment of Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes the next week instead. The casting for the shows is still diverse, but respectfully didn’t alter the race of the characters.

R12 Just saw that announcement this morning... Let's hope someone creates a new thread so we can follow along there!

Sorry!! R212 Just saw that announcement this morning... Let's hope someone creates a new thread so we can follow along there!

It's pronounced BLANNIE, ya dang idget R212!

Why isn't Sandy being played by a cat? Are the producers antipussy?

Why is Daddy Warbucks a man? Can't it be Mommy Warbucks?

Harry Connick Jr looks completely out to sea and while Nicole Scherzinger has proven herself an adept ALW diva, I can’t imagine her as ladylike Grace. Taye Diggs is one of the best looking bald men in America and would have made a terrific Warbucks, he would have been great opposite someone like Renee Elise Goldsberry.

I’m sure Megan Hilty will acquit herself well (though the part she really needs to play is Audrey in Little Shop), but I would have loved to have seen Keke “sorry to this man” Palmer take a crack at Lily. I think she’d be a hoot.

Tituss Burgess is going to be a complete WTF as Rooster.

We love you Miss Hannigan.

Miss Hannigan should be played by Muriel.

I want an African-American FDR!

[quote] Why is Daddy Warbucks a man? Can't it be Mommy Warbucks?

This is literal HATE SPEECH!

It's XOMMY and XADDY!

I don't think I've ever seen an Annie who wore a training bra....until now.

[quote] I don't think I've ever seen an Annie who wore a training bra....until now.

I can see her dirty pillows!

Cancel the show!

Should've asked me. I could've squeezed it in during rehearsals for my other show.

The day after Tomorrow now! I'm excited.

[quote] I love Carol Burnett. I know she's old now, but she's in great shape, they should have had her play Miss Hannigan. She has such great delivery. "Do I hear... happiness in here?"

I was coming to say the same thing. Carol is still active. And, it is always special when a legend revisits a role or show they were famous for. Maybe someone will do a new production of Once Upon a Mattress and cast her in one of the lessor roles.

Andrea McArdle knocks it out of the park in this foursome. That first child is frightening. And SJP for the curious.

Some weird 80s television featuring McCardle and Smith.

I hope it's not too late for someone to coach that adult sized child who looks like a malformed dwarf that her signature song is pronounced tomorr-OH, not tomorr-YAH.

R229 SJP’s voice is the thinnest by far (though I hate Allison Smith’s voice more) but she’s the only one who could remotely act or had any sort of personality. There’s a reason she was chosen (and it’s not her voice). Also, she was tiny for her age - always needed for Annie.

Yup, R228. I love Carol. She's fab. I wish there was a clip of her, "do I hear happiness in hear?" it cracks me up.

Agree with R323, even if she’s the weakest singer of the group, SJP just has it in a way the others don’t.

Nobody has ever managed to sing Tomorrow like Andrea McArdle, but you can see in r229 why it never really happened for her. Her voice has that incredible ping, but her whole vibe is that she’s on her way to beat the crap out some unfortunate girl in the bathroom of her senior prom in Allentown.

It's fun to come to this thread because you get to block a bunch of racists all in one place.

Why in the world are people so upset about the race of the actress playing a fictional cartoon strip character? Hamilton must have made you apoplectic.

Does anyone remember the DRAMA from the late 90s Broadway revival when they canned the actress who played Annie?

Carol Burnett played Hannigan EXACTLY the way you knew she would the moment her name was announced for the role. Not a single thing she does in the film comes as a surprise. Every move she makes we had already seen on her TV show.

I’m excited for this. Taraji should be good.

Not announced yet but this show will have major competition over on ABC Thursday night where George Stephanopoulos will have a bombshell of an exclusive interview with Alec Baldwin. I hear it's seriously.....fascinating.

R239, no contest in my book. I mean, I wasn’t going to watch anyway, but thanks for the tip!

R237 I don’t even know what that means - it’s not exactly a role that calls for subtlety.

It was perfect casting and no ones ever been better as Miss Hannigan, regardless.

[quote] Carol Burnett played Hannigan EXACTLY the way you knew she would

She uses some of the same acting tics she used for the Eunice character.

[quote]Who ever did the costumes and sets for the 82 film captured the era perfectly

That would be Academy Award winner and 15 time Tony nominee and 3 time Tony winner including "Annie" Theoni V. Aldredge. She knew what she was doing.

Told this before. Saw it on Broadway a little late. Annie kneeling on the stage begins to sing "Tomorrow" and it starts. Sandy starts heaving and you could hear the "uh ohhs". Everyone who ever had a dog knew what was about to happen and it did. I believe it was Shelly Bruce as Annie and I swear she never missed a beat. Total pro and I'm sure her ovation was louder that show. The stage had moving belts embedded in it where people in the chorus would sort of pose and move. Annie gets up and someone came out on the belt, stepped off with a rag, cleaned it and stepped back on and off to the wings to laughs and applause. Live theater!

Rofl R244!

Too-morro BLAAARRRRRFFFFFFFF ow! Tomorrow! I'll BLAAARRRRRRFFFFFF you tomorrow!

Harry is a singer but a Jazz singer. He doesn't have a high range and can't harmonize with a kid's high voice.

[quote][R237] I don’t even know what that means

For fuck's sake, Mary. Why not? It's three very direct declarative sentences.

[quote][R237] it’s not exactly a role that calls for subtlety.

No mention in my post about subtlety. It deals only with the lack of anything new and original in Burnett's performance, or specific to this character. Retread. Rehash. She does it well enough, but she should. It's her schtick.

[quote][R237]It was perfect casting and no ones ever been better as Miss Hannigan, regardless.

Now we all know that's not true. Dorothy Loudon set the standard and over 44 years later, it is still the measure for performances of the role.

What Dorothy Loudon did on stage playing to the balcony would have been a much different performance had she done the movie.

LOL - because casting a very rich, old, white guy to adopt a young black girl isn't going to have twitter mobs outraged on multiple levels.

She's a fat orphan? Guess Miss Hannigan wasn't cutting corners after all. Or Annie was stealing food.

The casting for this is all wrong.

R249 it's the "white savior" myth. They turned it into that because they wanted to have a black Annie. So now the play has more meaning, I guess, but probably not what they were intending.

R235 what's even more fun is that the more people you block and the longer the thread gets, the slower it loads and the laggier it gets. Also half the blocks won't stick. But I guess it's a small price to pay if one is offended by jokes and/or nuance.

[quote]Sandy starts heaving and you could hear the "uh ohhs".

Everyone's a critic, R244.

R252, I have absolutely no problem with the thread loading or lagging. If you do, I guess you need a better internet connection. In fact, it makes it easier to read because there are fewer visible replies. Racist "jokes" aren't funny. And I'm an old white guy; I can't imagine how those "jokes" affect people of color.

We saw '82 Annie Aileen Quinn as one of the daughters in a touring production of FIDDLER in the 1990's. She was pretty good.

I remember doing a drama camp one summer and we were going to do excerpts of different shows for the showcase at the end. Annie was one we were going to do, but none of the girls could get Annie right. The teacher had me perform it for them to show them how to do it. She said if she thought she could get by with it she’d have put me on stage in drag, but the girls’ parents would’ve had a fit. In the end we just didn’t include Annie.

Wasn't Quinn one of the Broadway orphans at the time she was cast in the movie?

That's a great story, R244! I saw Annie! at a regional once, the show was pretty good, the set and costumes were nice, and the kids were great too. The poor girl playing Annie! had to remain professional when Sandy decided to run off stage instead of to her. The kid handled the situation well and Sandy was fine for the rest of the show too.

So is this the combination of classic Annie movie and the black reboot Annie movie into one?

Will this Annie be pregnant?

R254 it's literal violence!

You don't have the problem because you aren't using a mobile device. I'm glad for you tho, because you can block to your heart's content. More blocks! More!!

R259 No, she's just fat!

I have the "Annie" Blu-ray signed by Aileen Quinn and the TV movie DVD signed by Audra McDonald and Andrea McArdle.

lol r261.

she's just "big boned."

Little Darfur Orphan Annie

Is Annie on welfare?

I like stories of rich older men and their young girls.

[quote]I like stories of rich older men and their young girls.

As I read that Maurice Chevalier was on TV in Gigi singing Thank Heaven for Little Girls.

So absolutely charming but it's now considered a song about pedophilia. in the last Broadway revival the song was reassigned to Gigi's aunts so no one would get the wrong -- or right -- idea.

Leslie Jones will now be playing Eleanor Roosevelt.

R268 That I could actually see, Leslie Jones is not beautiful but not hideous, she is what I would describe as a handsome woman much like ER. Most ER's on screen are way too beautiful.

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! You're only a day away.

[quote]Tomorrow! Tomorrow! You're only a day away.

So I can cash my motherfuckin' check!

They should have cast THIS woman - she got the look!

"It's Autumn sunrise!"

I just want to watch this, to see Taraji's jacked up hair.

R61 Osakahoma!

Though it’s cultural appropriation, NBC will get a pass.

To me, Aileen Quinn looked exactly as Annie should - freckles, cute, but not overly, and she looked the right age. Some since have been either too tall or too young looking. Andrea of course had the perfect voice for the role. No one comes close to her and probably never will.

Here's a segment with Carol Burnette talking about Annie.

What a sweetheart she is, calling young theatre students personally.

It’s a hard cock life for us!

This kid is cute and personable, and her pitch isn't bad, but her weak warbly undeveloped vibrato and how flat she goes on long notes are both really distracting. A vocal coach could have improved on both of those. No one will ever hold a candle to Andrea, but they could've at least gotten a kid with a real vibrato. Also the clip at R14 they lowered the key on the song for her and she's still screaming the high note in the second syllable of "Tomorrow." Meh.

New trailer.

What do you bitches think?

Thanks R280. That doesn't look too bad. Taraji certainly has comedic timing enough for the role, and Harry Connick, Jr. looks like a sleep paralysis demon but still sounds really good.

Agreed, R279. She's very cute and obviously talented, but yeah, she's flat in spots, her pronunciation of the word "tomorrow" is off. She can belt, but needs more vocal coaching. Since her vibrato isn't great, they should take the song in a different direction and maybe have her sing it more gently.

You can't sing that song gently. That's the problem. It's supposed to be an outpouring of her infectious innocent and irrepressible optimism.

Right, but she's got no vibrato, R283, and she's flat in spots. If she sang it a bit more softly, it can come across as hopeful. Anyway, we'll see how it goes.

Here's footage from the parade.

I'm surprised at how good Harry sounds.

I see your point R284. Harry has always had a lovely rich baritone IMO. He's a really excellent musician too. What he isn't is a charismatic or particularly skilled actor, but he's likable enough. I'm concerned he might be too likable for gruff Daddy Warbucks actually.

She's adorable and very sweet looking but she's WAAAAAAY too old/big to play Annie...she looks like she's about 15.

Actually, she's TOO sweet looking...Annie should look a bit tough.

McArdle was good casting because she looked like a little Scotch/Irish thug.

Brought to you live from beautiful downtown Bethpage Long Island.

This production is being performed live on national television. It's probably not a good idea to find a 10 year old girl to play Annie under such high pressure circumstances. A bit older girl - who is short - and a bit more mature is probably the more dependable bet. Even this girl, obviously not 10 years old, is young for such a pressured situation.

I feel sorry for the girl or girls who are understudying the role of Annie and are working their asses off, but will never be seen or heard by anyone but the assistant director and assistant choreographer.

[quote] This production is being performed live on national television.

I keep forgetting that.

These LIVE! productions are relatively new on television.

Has anyone choked yet? I haven't watched very many.

Also, who has replaced Jane Krakowski? I was hoping for someone fairly well known.

Jane Krakowski was too cracker.

[quote]I feel sorry for the girl or girls who are understudying the role of Annie and are working their asses off, but will never be seen or heard by anyone but the assistant director and assistant choreographer.

It's a hard knock life.

Why did Jane leave such a high profile gig as this?

"Why did Jane leave such a high profile gig as this?"

Her powdery whiteness was a microaggression against the black cast members.

It looks like the girls have been sucking down the BGH-laden cheap US Government milk since they were dumped at the orphanage.

The avearge age of menstruation onset at Miss Hannigan's is about 9.

Miss Hannigan is now a brothel madame?

Will that little factoid be in the program booklet, handed out before the performance?

I'd like a souvenir copy, please!

Covid, R292.

McArdle dropped out too which is a shame. Any word on the replacement Eleanor?

I'd like to watch it, but I gotta wash my hair.

[quote]I feel sorry for the girl or girls who are understudying the role of Annie and are working their asses off, but will never be seen or heard by anyone but the assistant director and assistant choreographer.

The Annie understudy will be in the group of orphans. She will be seen.

It's the standby who likely won't be seen, R288.

Is the understudy white?

R11, same former aircraft plant in Bethpage, now Gold Coast Studios.

Andrea as Hannigan:

She's good, R303!!

I feel like Andrea McArdle's life after starring as Annie must be a hard one. There have been rumors she's had a serious drinking problem, and it's hard not to see why. Imagine having peaked at 12.

Many of the Annies and former cast members have had difficult lives, R305. Years ago there was a documentary on them called "Life After Tomorrow," you can find it online. SJP is featured prominently as well a couple of women who played orphans on Broadway and went on to do the '82 movie. It's a must see if you grew up loving all things Annie.

Some of the girls turned out okay and but all of them spoke about the difficulty of adjusting to life after their early success.

Here's the link if any of you are interested.

Where’d they find the young little Aretha Franklin midget?

I'll probably watch this since tonight is laundry night.

I would love to see LIVE! on NBC production of 1776 for July 4. And, sure, do some radical color-blind casting, like a black man playing Edward Rutledge (who gets to sing "Molasses To Rum" about the slave trade).

I think Miss Hannigan is trickier than a lot lot of people realize - the role comes with the baggage of being one of the all-time great musical theatre comedic villains, but the script of Annie isn’t actually that funny and Miss Hannigan doesn’t have a lot of fool proof slam-dunk laugh lines.

It’s a part that seems to require serious milking and a shameless “me me me” sort of neediness from its actress. It’s why I think Loudon was so indelible.

Andrea sounds fantastic at r303, but neither number evokes more than polite applause and there wasn’t a laugh to be found in her Little Girls.

Is someone going to start a Live! thread?

We should just use this one, R311.

Then start a Part 2 after that. This one should fill up fast.

Okay, but make sure to link them when the time comes, R312.

I think it starts in 45 minutes!

It does, R314, so get ready.

Harry's polishing his head as you read this.....

Damn, I keep forgetting it's live.

The cast must be so nervous!

Imagine if one of them pulled out now.

Who is playing the sensuous Punjab?

Seeing these photos makes me feel kind of meh.

Anyone watching?

Oh boy. She's struggling, particularly on some of the low notes.

R321, I have a friend who just texted me.

He's pissed because Datalounge is in Primetime right now.

Oh, no!

My ears! My ears!

She's flat and sharp all over the place.

I think I heard a few glasses shatter already.

He'll have to rely his comments to you, R323!

My first impressions is this is not good. The kid is off key the orphan scenes so far seem rushed and they seem like they're just reading lines. No natural acting.

Aretha Franklin looks so young these days!

Too dark! Too dark!

Holy flat! And sharp! Yeesh.

They couldn't have found a kid that can sing for this?

I'm not sure she landed a single note where it was supposed to be in the first section of the opening song.

I've seen regional productions better than this. Wish I were kidding.

Her locket necklace somehow got stuck around her ear a moment ago.

She should stop the show and demand that they start over again, ala Patti Lupone.

She shouldn't be Annie. She should be Orphan #7's second understudy.

Molly is awful.

It's not to late to walk off the set, Harry!

This could kill what's left of your career!

Molly has a career ahead of her on reality TV

Oh.

This song the source of the scene in Austin Powers: Goldmember of Dr. Evil and Mini Me in prison.

I hope it gets better.

Christ ,now it will be two hours of you queens bitching all the while you're singing every word. Bye.

Bye, R340. You cunt

The dog is good. Happy, R340?

The dog is the best actor so far.

Thank you, oh merciful commercial break!

Taraji's career is finished after this.

Yay!

I'm amazed the queens over at Broadwayworld Boards don't have a thread on this.

[quote] I'm amazed the queens over at Broadwayworld Boards don't have a thread on this.

It's too black for them.

Is it over?

Oops, I was wrong. They do have a watch thread. My mistake.

They have a, uh, different take so far than we do.

Okay, Herbert Hoover was good.

Do they like it, R349?

I hope our young star isn’t getting a crabby dressing down by the director during this verrry extended commercial break.

They're raving about Celina Smith, R351.

What a trainwreck. But diversity casting!

Rofl R352 that would be hilarious!!

"Now listen here, motherfucker! Get your ass in tune or I SWEAR you'll be replaced mid-show! Do you understand me??!!!"

But there's no way Taraji would stand for that.

I wish it wasn't Primetime.

I'd love to hear what all the Datalounge Broadway queens are thinking right now.

Is this Annie or Precious?

I can tell you what they're thinking, R356!

When did Nicole Shezen-whatever become Asian?

Did Miss Tight Ass Bourgeois appear yet?

So many awful things are going on.

When Nicole Scherzinger is the best part of your production so far, you've made some big mistakes.

Where's the dog?

Nicole is the worst thing in it. Can't act to save her life. And if she back phrases one more beat I'll beat the shit out of her.

Oh god....Harry's acting........

Did they even try to glue down the bald cap?

Poor Harry. He looks like an alien from The Simpsons.

I feel like I’m watching community theater.

I wasn't kidding when I said I've seen better regional productions, R367.

How many parts does Mr. Bumbles play? So far I've counted four.

If you want to cast a black Annie pick a talented one.!

Not to nit pick, but in the "I think I'm Gonna Like it Here" number, a couple of Warbucks' staff were carrying plastic, very modern looking pool toys. Not period appropriate at all.

What a train wreck. Abortion may not be so bad after all.

Yeah, It's bad. Really bad. It could have been a big spectacular and they decided to do it for ten bucks. Shame.

Can we have a Trans play Annie next time around ?

Annie is in all of us, we are Annie.

No one is right for their part. Not a single person so far. The adult chorus is good and that's about it. Everyone else is miscast though Henson had some passable moments as Hannigan.

Isn't Sign from the 82 movie?

Oh boy, here comes Easy Street.

I'm starting to think Jane Krakowski didn't get Covid and just dropped out because she saw what a trainwreck it was shaping up to be.

Same with Andrea, R377.

When will they do Xanadu Live?

"Can we have a Trans play Annie next time around?"

I'd rather be watching Xanadu right now.

Was it me or was someone’s mic out on Easy Street? The voices sounded very uneven to me.

Why'd they change We Got Annie?

"WE GOT ANNIE!"

And we be fucking it up every way we can!

Andrea’s dad is ill and she’s devoted to family. No way would she turn down tv exposure and a paycheck otherwise. Jane is another story.

They took out every ounce of charm from We Got Annie and only kept the yellow dress.

“We got Annie” song is creepy with a middle aged woman flipping her skirt, flashing her legs, butt and crotch. We got Annie for WHAT? Jesus, this show is clueless.

Nicole S. was so out of breath after that dance number she could barely say her lines.

Is Annie about to become part of an underage sex trafficking ring?

It's from the movie, R387, but Nicole's no Anne Reinking.

This Aretha Franklin girl is a very likable Annie--much more so than the three previous filmed Annies--but it's a shame she keeps going off key. Her performance is really quite good. But Harry's fucking flesh colored microphone looks like a giant vein on his head. Awful.

This is pure garbage.

The adult chorus is very good and the sets are pretty fantastic.

Abort! Abort!

Bert Healy was really good!

Harry is just awful. Right from the beginning I have said he was too young and boyish for the role.

Is the show still on?

David Alan Grier would have made a wonderful Warbucks.

Annie looks pregnant.

R397 Unfortunately, yes

As a whole, its actually better than most of the "live" performances have been. The only weak links I see are Harry Connick, Jr and the book. The chorus is better than the cast, although the orphans stand out as well. Taraji is holding her own, but she seems to be trying too hard.

No one has the necessary skills to do this material.

The camera work has been abysmal. Haven't they rehearsed this?

She's okay, R391, don't know that she's that likable though. They really should have cast a kid who can hold a note.

John O’Hurley would be a good Daddy Warbucks. Connick looks like King Kong’s roll on deodorant.

She's not likeable and she has no acting talent. All the leads have the inner life of zombies.

We mostly see Connick's right side and FDR's left side so why would they put the stupid microphones there?

I thought The Wiz was the best of these LIVE broadcasts. This is easily the worst and it’s not even over yet.

Annie, you don’t have to put on the red dress…apparently. Isn’t that right, Sandy? “Barf!”

The Wiz and Peter Pan were better from what I remember.

r398 I don't take Jamie Foxx's leftovers.

Where the fuck is Sandy?

Betty Hutton as Ms. Hannigan when Dotty took some time off.

I’m just shocked they couldn’t find a black girl who could sing? Maybe this girl got nervous tonight? She sounded so off key and was too understated and dull. Would have been fine as one of the orphans but the lead?

Damn.

Is this like the time Kissinger took the role from Pacitti or what? Rumors at the time were that Kissinger's mother was sleeping with one of the directors and they rehearsed the girl behind the scenes, fired Joanna, and but Brittany on as Annie (without the actual understudy ever going on)? Pacitti was a fantastic Annie while Kissinger was extremely weak.

What a stinker.

Total bomb.

Awful and a terrible ending with both Annie and Molly being off key while trying to harmonize.

r38 The Easy Street sequence was totally reshot. It was an outdoor street scene number as originally filmed. That footage is gone forever. The reshoot was more intimate and focused on the characters supposedly.

I wanted to like this but I couldn't make it through the first hour. Tragic mess.

I can't believe that some of you upthread were praising Taraji! Mugging to a degree I've never seen in my life in anyshow/role. And simply just NOT FUNNY.

This is the ugliest looking musical that's been on TV. The costumes are horrible.

"ANNIE LIVE!!"

Cheap looking production.

[quote]Miss Hannigan is now a brothel madame?

In the '82 film Carol Burnett is dressed, wears her makeup, and plays Miss Hannigan like a brothel madame. I found it a lousy choice. Look at Dorothy Louden's drab yet authentic day dress compared to Carol who looks like she wandered in from a bus & truck of "Sweet Charity"!

Like the earlier poster said, Burnett delivers every line exactly how you'd guess and makes every face you'd predict. I thought she was AWFUL! I saw Norwood Smith and Ruth Kobart in the First National tour in 1979. They were terrific!

[quote]Why'd they change We Got Annie?

Because "We Got Annie" is only in the movie, as are the songs "Sign" and "Dumb Dog".

Yes, I know, but they used both "We Got Annie" and "Sign" in tonight's production, R424. "We Got Annie" was changed quite a bit.

[quote]The adult chorus is very good and the sets are pretty fantastic.

The sets are by the very talented, cute and gay NYer Jason Sherwood. I follow him on Instagram.

The over the top choreography in "It's a Hard Knock Life" was totally unnecessary. The orphans are not a drill team, nor performing a Superbowl halftime show. It looked borrowed from "Stomp". They swallowed the sweet lyrics "Santa Claus we never see..." because there was too fucking much going on.

Harry Connick Jr.'s southern drawl is so noticeable when he sings, it really has nothing to do with Oliver Warbucks who isn't warm or folksy. His noice is not robust at all either!

I usually like this number (yes! I know it's not in the '77 production), but this doesn't quite land. It was goodish, but could have been so much better.

[quote] There's no "We Got Annie"

Not quite accurate. “We Got Annie” was in the original Goodspeed production, but was cut for the Broadway version although it’s in the orchestration for the title song.

Charnin and Strouse regretted the cut., and put it back in for the movie but in a rewritten, inferior version.

Now it’s been incorporated into the stage show, as part of the title number. That version is the original not the movie version.

The version of "We Got Annie" that we saw tonight was in no way superior to the film version. The film's choreography and music for the number was delightful, while tonight's was a hot mess. Maybe it was better in the Goodspeed production, but tonight's "We Got Annie" was lacking.

Burnett is best when she channels her mean, drunken loser of a mother.

I think it's an odd show. Nothing much happens. Annie moves in with DW. DW decides he wants to adopt her. Heinous couple pretend to be Annie's parents but are foiled by J Edgar Hoover. DW will support the other orphans too. Everybody dance.

They needed to update it with Madonna as DW and a Malawi child as Annie. In this version, Madonna pays the parents megabucks to go away but Gloria Allred files suit on their behalf and gives a press conference. Malawi orphan gets a modeling contract.

Everyone is miscast. And Annie sings flat, has no vulnerability, introspection or subtle charm. And looks 35 if a day.

R430, it was in no way superior or even equal to ANY version. As has been mentioned several dozen times, it's incomprehensible how and why they couldn't find a lead who could SING, let alone sing LIVE for this show. Just inexcusable.

I'm almost positive I've seen that cut version of "Easy Street" from the 82 film. I believe footage from the outdoor sequence used to exist on YouTube for a time. I don't think it's completely lost??

That said, they absolutely BUTCHERED the choreography and build to "Easy Street" here. It was a showstopper in the original 77 production...hell, even in the bus and truck tours that replicated the Fitch/Gennaro choregraphy! But this thing had no vaudeville charm to it at all. Those three are all too contemporary in demeanor/persona to evoke any of that old school shtick. A missed opportunity!

[quote]The Wiz and Peter Pan were better from what I remember.

Peter Pan was atrocious. It was by far the worst of the live musicals, worse even than this one. The Wiz was actually quite well done.

[quote] The version of "We Got Annie" that we saw tonight was in no way superior to the film version.

That’s not what I said. The ‘82 movie “We Got Annie” is inferior to the original STAGE version from ‘76 at Goodspeed. Tonight’s version was awful.

[quote] has no vulnerability, introspection or subtle charm

I was known for my vulnerability, introspection and subtle charm!

Andrea and Jane dodged a bullet.

"Blandie"

So will this be a show where all the professional critics give it a 10/10 score because they're afraid to criticize it while the audience gives it a 2/10?

Yes, r441!

ALL quota-based casting in these shows makes them "Amazing!" and no one may criticize any show starring a trans woman of color....I mean a wise Latina child....I mean a hodgepodge of POC and other unsuitable actors, because the fact that you the audience can under no circumstances believe them for one moment as their characters is what makes it all worthy!

[quote]It was by far the worst of the live musicals

Have you forgotten my turn as Fraulein Maria already?

[quote]Then start a Part 2 after that. This one should fill up fast.

This post has aged about as well as my anus.

[quote] Those three are all too contemporary in demeanor/persona to evoke any of that old school shtick. A missed opportunity!

That was pretty much everyone’s problem, including the lead. None of them were particularly believable in their roles. I generally like Taraji, but she was just reciting lines last night embellished by weird facial expressions and physical histrionics. The same with Annie. I got no sense from her that she was an 11-year-old orphan, but rather that she had been plopped into the role to belt out numbers on stage. I didn’t care for Harry as DW or the guy who played FDR.

A very odd production.

ANNIE is a shitty show in all its incarnations. The original Broadway production was the best iteration of the show, but the best that can be said about it is that it was very, very, slick. None of the various songs that have come and gone since it opened do anything but attest to the show's weakness which is all in the book. Soon after Annie arrives at the home of Daddy Warbucks, it grinds to a crawl. Nothing happens in the second act that is not wholly dependent on what the FBI is doing off stage. With a phone call or a telegram, everything changes again and again. Bleccch. Bad writing. It can't be fixed and at this point, the second act will never be replaced.

But the choreography and the musical preparation for last night's production were worse than the book. Except for Taraji P. Henson, I give the actors a pass. They can't fix anything that was wrong with that production. Henson just showed the world a gaping hole in her skills and abilities. And what of the director who could find no way to assist this actress who was failing spectacularly? No, don't blame the cast for this mess.

The original film version of Easy Street is glimpsed in the HBO Behind the Scenes from back in the 80s.

R393, did we watch the same broadcast? Those sets were embarrassingly ill-conceived. The whole thing looked like the world’s most expensive high school production of ANNIE.

Yeah, I don't care how "cute" set designer Jason Sherwood is, he's a LOUSY designer with no eye for period details or the needed whimsy to create the world of ANNIE.

When Megan Hilty showed up as the supposed mother of Annie in her brown wig, I thought: "Oh, Deborah Monk! How nice she's working again!"

Megan Hilary played a very black Annie’s mother? Is this for real.

Hilty although Hilarity is apt.

[quote]They needed to update it with Madonna as DW and a Malawi child as Annie.

I can do Malawi! And female!

And I work cheap!

[quote]"Oh, Deborah Monk! How nice she's working again!"

DEBRA

When I saw the trailers that were posted upthread I really hoped that they'd work on the girl's singing, but obviously nope, they didn't. I will never understand why they went with a kid that literally can't hole a note for this. Sure, she's cute and talented, but why cast an Annie who can't sing properly?? The kid has potential but she shouldn't have been in the role last night - same goes for all of the main cast.

I remember the Joanna Pacitti drama and subsequent ABC special...

OK, R437, but how many of were around to actually see the '76 version at the Goodspeed? I was about two at the time, so all I can do is compare the NBC Live version to the one in the movie.

Oh for Heaven's sake watch this....

I never liked this show. I'm glad I didn't see it now.

There's a lot to like about the movie, it's beautifully shot. You have to see it in it's original widescreen which some cable channels don't do and half the movie is gone. For the life of me I'll never understand why John Huston used what feels like the entire "Camille" movie instead of 30 seconds.

This was BAD directing.

Rule #1 - You don’t sit down to START a show stopping number.

And it looks like Meghan was just told to act like a flower child and do whatever she felt like. There is ZERO characterization in this song and they manage to even mess up the built in joke “Mother dear, oh we know you’re down there listening.”

[quote]For the life of me I'll never understand why John Huston used what feels like the entire "Camille" movie instead of 30 seconds.

R460 not to mention that ANNIE takes place in 1933 (when FDR enacted the New Deal) and CAMILLE was released in 1936.

I like Alan Cumming’s take as Rooster in the 1999 ABC production. He was so comically slimy with perverted undertones.

In last night's production, why was there a light up "applause" sign in the Bert Healy scene? Was supposed to be a radio show, no?

Some radio shows had audiences, r464.

Anyone who doesn't like black Annie is RACIST!!!

Race baiter go masturbate somewhere else. She was terrible regardless of skin color.

I liked it. It wasn't the best (The Wiz is that) but it wasn't the complete pile of excrement that Peter Pan was. They should have gone back to filming it more like a movie, though. The audience is pointless.

Taraji was playing Hannigan in the cartoonish way that both Burnett and Loudon did. The only weak link was that Nicole woman who seemed out of place. Though once you've cut your teeth on Ann Reinking, it can be a tough act to follow.

Black Annie's a cunt!

There, I said it.

Not that I really care, but this mess was not entirely LIVE! At the beginning there was a line at the bottom that read something like: "some content prerecorded" or something like that - I couldn't really tell what was prerecorded or not.

The little kid's forehead mike must have slipped out of place because you could not hear ANY of her lines. The kid I really liked was the one that had that AMAZING frizzy hair! Mike problems with the "Easy Street" trio as well. And what was the point of all those extra "orphans" at the beginning and the end, with that decidedly low key ending?

The less said about poor Annie the better. She seemed oddly detached and mechanical, like she was on Zoloft. And the classic red Annie dress was all wrong - it is supposed to have a V neck and pointed collar, and a white waistband. I suppose they went with a blah all red dress because Annie was a tad - dare I say - chubby.

These LIVE! productions have really run their course. I hope this fiasco was the last of them.

The Wendy's commercial with the singing trio was the best thing about it!

I thought it was cute. Y’all are harsh critics.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

The multiple custom tie in commercials were creepy and pandering. It was like one long advertisement.

Welp.

The Woke Cunts ruined yet ANOTHER American classic.

Fuck these fuckers, already.

I'm so sick of them.

r472 this is what the DL has become lately. Constructive criticism is always good. But there are some who will nit-pick because Annie is now black and something different was attempted with production..

Peter Pan would have worked better with a good Peter. Kristen Bell was the first choice but she was either pregnant or had just given birth. Alison whatshername played Peter like a posh schoolboy which was ridiculous.

[quote]and something different was attempted with production

that only works, r476...when it works

R475, I don't care that this Annie was black. I saw an excellent regional production years ago with a Filipino Annie and she was perfect for the role. The difference was that that kid could sing on key and was a natural on stage as opposed to last night's Annie who sang off key and appeared robotic at times. Annie works with kids and adults of any race, but please, make sure they can sing.

Criticism is fine but the same person has said she is flat like 75 times now going back since before she ever performed. So now it’s just bashing. If you keep saying the same exact quote 75 times after the point has been made then it is no longer constructive.

Can't wait for next year's "Dream Girls" with Elle Fanning as Effie White!

All I know is that I want FDR to be trans in a red wig and red dress. For historical accuracy. And give him a tap number already!

I'd be willing to bet a million dollars that Jane Krakowski quit the production after her first costume fitting.

Wasn't ANNIE's costume designer Emilio Sosa one of Project Runway's losers? Or (gasp!) was he one of the winners?

They can put bottle caps on his wheelchair wheels, r482.

I would pay to see that show. R484

The comic strip shows us that Annie is white. That's who she is. That's the character the creator of the strip created.

We need NEW stories for black, asian and latino actors, not sloppy seconds.

Diana Ross IS Annie!

Not again.

All the untapped talent on this thread showing their superior acting/singing/directing and production skills...

I can't sing but I can sing better than that Annie. Not kidding.

It's a product for us, the audience, r489. We have every right to complain if we find the product inferior.

Was this Annie black? And the Miss Harrigan, too? Really? I didn't notice. I don't see "color." I just see TALENT!

So angry, So strident. So much shouting.

[quote]Peter Pan would have worked better with a good Peter. Kristen Bell was the first choice but she was either pregnant or had just given birth. Alison whatshername played Peter like a posh schoolboy which was ridiculous.

Are you forgetting dazed and confused Christopher Walken as Captain Hook? It was as though he had had a stroke moments before the show started. He was pitiful.

I don't know why people are making such an issue of the black Annie, since it was already done in a theatrical release.

[quote]Peter Pan would have worked better with a good Peter.

I thought they should have gone with a teenage boy this time around. The only reason Peter Pan was originally cast with a grown woman on stage is because of the UK's strict child labor laws. That begat a tradition. However, this live performance was only for one night, so a talented boy could have handled it. It would have been refreshing with an actual boy in the role for once. Perhaps a popular teen idol type (but with talent) to draw in viewers.

Ugh! There has never been a filmed version of Annie, feature film or television, that has been even slightly good. Add this one to the list of shitty attempts. Please leave this tired old musical to regional and high school stage productions, where it belongs. And please don't ever revive it on Broadway again.

At least that version R495 was set in modern times. But it was also terrible.

[quote] Was this Annie black? And the Miss Harrigan, too? Really?

The world is black now, didn't you know?

I'm black. You're black. We're all black.

And Woke.

And Trans.

It's the new "reality."

Annie sort of reminds me of Funny Girl. Both are extremely weak musicals, but the original stage productions were elevated by specific performers. Obviously FG had Streisand, and the original Annie had both Andrea McArdle and Dorothy Loudon. Not that either McArdle or Loudon ever reached superstardom like Streisand, but they were excellent in originating their roles in Annie. I've never heard a child performer sing with adult-like pipes like McArdle - her vocals in Annie were astounding. (The only other child performer that comes to mind who sang like an adult is Judy Garland.) And Loudon was just spot-on perfect as Miss Hannigan.

And of course Streisand was able to do the film version of FG, but McArdle had well aged out of the role by the time the first Annie film was made (and Loudon was not a screen actress and would never have gotten such a plum film role), so you could clearly see just how crappy the show really was.

There are plenty of racists here but colorblind casting often comes across as stunt casting and virtue signaling. Frankly everyone was miscast, no matter their color. Even Harry, who has a wonderful voice, was stiff and completely wrong for Daddy Warbucks.

[quote]Annie sort of reminds me of Funny Girl. Both are extremely weak musicals,

Annie is *not* a weak musical, you buffoon.

Yes it is. It's a silly fucking show.

If Andrea had to leave, they could have others cameo:

Alyssa Milano, SJP, Danielle Brisebois all got their start in the musical.

[quote] Alyssa Milano, SJP, Danielle Brisebois all got their start in the musical.

HUH???

I thought Alyssa got her start on that Tony Danza show?

She could barely speak English, with that heavy NY accent when she first started.

Alyssa has come a long way, baby.

Every time a choral number started, the off stage chorus was added and the whole thing sounded ridiculous. 16 chorus people on stage and they sound like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. No. Just no.

None of the choreography grew from the characters. The little girls looked like very modern little rich girls on the US Olympic gymnastics team. None of the gymnastics were needed and ALL of it looked out of character and completely modern. Whatever charm the little girls were able to generate was then sucked out of the show by the choreographer who constantly served up inappropriate front aerials and back aerials. None of that came from the characters and none of it served the characters. Or the show. When the movement is this bad in a musical, the actors are doomed. The chorus dancers in "NYC" and "I Think I'm Going to Like it Here" were moving exactly the same way Nicole Scherzinger moved in her number clawed from the dead hands of Ann Reinking (which had not served Ann Reinking well in the film.) Last night's Grace Farrell was a cross between Ann Sothern in "Private Secretary" and Cyd Charisse in the "Broadway Ballet" sequence from "Singing in the Rain." Neither the director nor the choreographer had any handle on character in this musical based on a cartoon character.

Character is everything in Annie, as none of these people are real. The sound of last night's show was awful, but the director, choreographer, and set designer did no better. Awful.

Celina Smith was very good. Most of the little girls playing Annie over the years have sung flat. She has to belt and when you belt, you're prone to going flat. She's too young to have developed the technique to manage that. All of them are. But she is a good little actress (trapped in a badly written play.) The kid was as good as anyone can be in this wan role and far, far, better than most.

If you want to see how to do a musical live on television, watch this one done in 1957. If they could do it in 1957, we should be able to do it now. Sound design has destroyed the live theater. We'll never get it back.

They could have got the actual original Annie - Kristin what's her name, R504, or even that Joanna, the other one that was fired from the '97 production. Actually, any of them would have been good. Roseanne something....she played an orphan in the original company, then Annie on tour, and then Pepper in the 82 movie is still active in musical theatre would have been a nice touch too. She had a nice, standout voice from what I recall.

YES! Roseanne as Annie.

That I would pay to see.

[quote]Are you forgetting dazed and confused Christopher Walken as Captain Hook?

I love Christopher Walken but he's really getting old and he wasn't a good choice at all for Captain Hook.

This "Annie" felt kind of like what would have happened if the audience stayed after the performance of "Springtime for Hitler" in the original "Producers" film and Dick Shawn didn't take the stage. That's kind of how I felt watching some of this "Annie" tonight. Oh, I enjoy the music and was kind of in the "tired businessman's" kind of mood. But a lot of the casting and staging was wrong and/or pushed, and the technical problems were, as noted above, plentiful. Good to see the Herbert Hoover number, which has been cut from some productions. Harry Connick, Jr. and Nicole Scherzinger's voices both sounded constricted when they sang. Also, Titus Burgess' voice is nothing particularly special unless he screeches out a high note. Tariji actually sounds like she has some pretty good vocal chops there, if she wasn't mugging so much. I think even Loudon would have amped it down for tv.

I guess they got rid of the usual thing of making Warbucks and Grace engaged at the end. Also, there wasn't a Eleanor Roosevelt character anyway, unless I missed her, since Andrea canceled, was there?

[quote]Perhaps a popular teen idol type (but with talent)

There aren't any

[quote]I guess they got rid of the usual thing of making Warbucks and Grace engaged at the end.

The lefties and their anti-marriage propaganda.

Roseanne Sorrintino is her name. She was too old to play Annie in the movie so was cast as Pepper. She had a lovely voice as a youngster, no wonder she was Annie in the touring productions. Unfortunately, there's not a lot left on film aside from this very short clip, skip ahead to 1:35.

[quote]I thought they should have gone with a teenage boy this time around. The only reason Peter Pan was originally cast with a grown woman on stage is because of the UK's strict child labor laws. That begat a tradition. However, this live performance was only for one night, so a talented boy could have handled it. It would have been refreshing with an actual boy in the role for once. Perhaps a popular teen idol type (but with talent) to draw in viewers.

I'm sure they could've used Bryan Singer's Rolodex. And his casting couch.

Speaking of trans I think at least two of the Boylan sisters were. Also one of the orphan girls

I thought so too, and those wigs did no one any favors. Plus didn't they cut the Boylan sisters' original first chorus of "You're Always Fully Dressed Without a Smile"?

I kind of hate the song Tomorrow.

[quote] She seemed oddly detached and mechanical, like she was on Zoloft.

What a vile and horrible thing to say!

It was Xanax.

I love Grace Jones's bizarre version of Tomorrow.

[quote] She seemed oddly detached and mechanical, like she was on Zoloft.

[quote] What a vile and horrible thing to say!

[quote] It was Xanax.

I take Effexor.

[quote]They can put bottle caps on his wheelchair wheels, [R482].

Exactly how would rolling wheels make a tap-tap-tap, R484?

[quote]I kind of hate the song Tomorrow.

R517 = John Huston.

I totally forgot that John Huston directed the film version. He was quite old and sick by then.

[quote]And of course Streisand was able to do the film version of FG, but McArdle had well aged out of the role by the time the first Annie film was made (and Loudon was not a screen actress and would never have gotten such a plum film role), so you could clearly see just how crappy the show really was.

Explain its lengthy run after Loudon and McArdle left, r500.

[quote]Not that I really care, but this mess was not entirely LIVE! At the beginning there was a line at the bottom that read something like: "some content prerecorded" or something like that - I couldn't really tell what was prerecorded or not.

The orchestra was pre-recorded. They sang live to the track.

[quote]Explain its lengthy run after Loudon and McArdle left

Fuck if I know. Explain "Cats" running for 18 years!

Were there any other family friendly musicals on Broadway at the time? Maybe it was just lack of competition.

I'm glad they included 'Sign.' I enjoy that part of the movie the most.

Agreed, r526, fuck if you know.

Don't be angry, dear R529. The sun will come out tomorrow. You can bet your bottom dollar on that!

Having Grace flash her crotch in “We Got Annie” was a choice. And not a good one.

McArdle was really too old for the Broadway production but they went with her because of the voice. You could see Reid Shelton visibly grimace every time he picked her up.

[quote]but McArdle had well aged out of the role by the time the first Annie film was made.

Thank GOD we have her performance as a young Judy Garland in Rainbow. With a bonus of Piper Laurie as Ethel Gumm.

I've never seen it, r533; is it any good?

I want to see a black Judy Garland next.

And I want Toto to be an aardvark.

Fun fact:

Bill Berloni, who trained Sandy and has trained most of the Sandys in all the first class productions of ANNIE since the original and is a fairly renowned animal trainer for stage and film, actually got his start when he was a lowly intern at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1976 and was tasked with going to the local pound to find a dog to play the first Sandy. They then told him to train the dog and that led him to his 40+ years in show biz.

He's a super sweet guy and has been hugely helpful securing rescue dogs through Broadway Barks and on his own for all kinds of people in the theater, including Bernadette Peters, Sutton Foster, Megan Hilty.....and me.

[quote]I've never seen it, [R533]; is it any good?

Not really. But with Don Murray, Donna Pescow and Rue McClanahan, well worth the two hours.

Yes, that's what it appears, r177. But the rest are supposed to be fabulous - Rachel, Ariana DeBose, Mike Faist, David Alvarez and Rita. And several of the gang members make impressions, too, including the guy who plays Chino. Plus it's supposed to look spectacular. So, worth the time, even if the leading man is a disappointment.

I hate that they cut most of the Boylan Sisters' singing, but at least they got to sing in that commercial.

Yes, the problem with Rainbow is the casting of Andrea McArdle. One of Judy Garland's primary traits was her vulnerability, something of which McArdle is completely devoid.

Yeah, McArdle didn't have the acting chops for Rainbow, only the powerhouse voice. IIRC, her "acting choice" throughout the film was to just try and look sad with one, unchanging facial expression.

[quote]I've never seen it, [R533]; is it any good?

It's good if you can overlook Andrea McArdle's shit acting.

Best part:

Judy's mother at audition: Do you know the song "Dinah"?

Harry Akst: I should, I wrote it.

Judy's mother: Key of B

“Baby Gumm is dead!”

R507, you mean Kristen Vigard, who had notable roles on Guiding Light and One Life to Live and was the singing voice for Illeana Douglas in Grace of My Heart.

Will there be a live Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge?

I prefer Annie3: Andrew Transitions.

^Producers made the right choice in canning her.

Annie 4: Orphaned Again!

The song list of Annie3: Andrew Transitions

Ovary Tour

Maybe a Lady

It's a Hard Cock Life

Your Son Will Come Out Tomorrow

We'd Like to Thank You J Edgar Hoover

Little Boys

I, Twink, I'm Gonna Like a Beard

C, I, S,

Meaty Street

You Won't be an Orphan for Schlong

You're Never Really Stressed Without a Pile

Something is Definitely Missing in Your Pants

I Can't Knead Anything, Or Spew

Andrew

A New Dick For Christmas

Annie 5: State Penitentiary

Lol r549!

What about "Annie takes it in the fanny"

No. That would be rude and tasteless.

Annie 666: Antichrist

r553....its Anniechrist

Does Pippi Longstocking make an appearance?

Her stockings are sooo long! 😕

Anne Frank, the Musical

It's been done.

In a musical the actors should be, surprising I know, a good singer

[quote] Anne Frank, the Musical

It’s been done.

Are they discovered because of a big tap number, r559?

[quote] Are they discovered because of a big tap number, [R559]?

Anne’s eleven o’clock number is a wowza. When Betty Buckley heard it, she mailed her Tony back to the American Theatre Wing with a note that said, “I’m not worthy.”

Carol Burnett's Miss Hannigan can't be beat.

Annie 7: All Orphans Go to Heaven

Annie 8: This Time It's Personal

Part 9: Annie I'm Telling You, I'm Not Going

Annie Part Nine- Peppers Revenge.

Wasn't Andrea going to play Eleanor Roosevelt? I didn't see any Eleanor Roosevelt character. Did I miss it?

I was wondering that too, R567.

Annie X: The Prime of Miss Agatha Hannigan

"Annie" isn't a terrible musical. It was a hit for many reasons including its timing....it was a musical about overcoming the Depression that came out when America was fighting a recession. It was a family musical in a period that hadn't had a big family friendly musical hit in a long time. It had a huge (albeit somewhat annoying) hit song that became an anthem. It became the hot dream role for millions of wannabee little actresses (and a few little actors) who all wanted to belt out that annoying hit song.

"Annie" is a musical with terrific songs, a compelling lead character and villain, and a rather weak book.

Plenty of Broadway hits have had weak books.

ANNIE is in the group of shows that depend on kids at the box office. ANNIE, THE LION KING, WICKED, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. They all have a very focused target audience. And all rely on each new year producing a new crop of those kids coming into the appropriate age for each of the shows.

A traditional hit show exhausts its audience as those who are interested see it and move on. With the shows named above, a brand new audience just keeps appearing on the horizon, almost daily. Wisely assembled and presented and carefully marketed, they can run for a long, long, loooooong time.

I saw the original company of ANNIE with the original cast and it was pure heaven. Like the best Shirley Temple movie come to life onstage. Besides all the great things already mentioned, David Mitchell's sets and Theoni V. Aldredge's costumes were brilliantly designed and gave the entire enterprise class and imagination and a tasteful whimsy no longer seen on Broadway.

"Annie 11 - Annie Becomes ANDY"

It doesn't have a weak book, r570. Its book is befitting of a serial comic strip...as it should be.

You left out an important ingredient, r572...charm. It was a charm show that done good.

Annie 12: Death

Here's a scene from NBC's next stage performance: "Trannie Live!" where Annie transitions to Alex, and performs "I Am Changing."

Annie 13: Sandy Visits The Glue Factory

[quote]Carol Burnett's Miss Hannigan can't be beat.

Carol Burnett's Miss Hannigan should be beat.

(Fixed it for ya...)

Sandy's not a horse.

Sandy is a legume.

No, R574. ANNIE has a very weak book. Half way through the first act, Grace Farrell takes Annie out of the orphanage. And... then what? Nothing. Annie does nothing. Warbucks does nothing. Grace does nothing.

J. Edgar Hoover and FDR are very busy. Elsewhere. But on stage, during a performance of ANNIE, once Grace takes the kid out the door... it's ovah.

Hannigan could have been put on trial for child abuse in the 2nd act -- it would have built up her part! Annie and the girls would get to testify and Hannigan could throw herself for mercy on the court. Loudon would've been great!

*

r577...say what you want r577, Alex Newell has pipes on him. You have to recognize that talent. Its rare.

[quote]ANNIE has a very weak book.

The book of the original B'way production was highly praised. A specific rave about it from Walter Kerr in the NYTIMES and a Tony for the book as well.

I remember it being well structured, funny and lively. At the time the show was being hailed as a return to the classic book musical.

Many things have gotten rave reviews that have, over time, shown themselves to either not be that worthy of praise or simply disappear altogether.

And, serious people do NOT trot out the tiresome defense of "Well, it won AWARDS!" Because, plenty of shitty things have won awards. And, plenty of great things didn't win awards.

Though maybe it's better to say Annie has a "slight" book. Because, as its been pointed out, there's really not much in the way of plot. Which is mostly fine...it IS a children's show. The great songs and fun characters/design make up for the simplistic book.

The next iteration has to be Trannie!

It’s a front hole life, for us….

"Company" hasn't a plot, nor does "Meet Me in St. Louis", among other fine musicals.

Annie gets off to a great start: it’s got that fantastic overture; then right into Maybe (a great and underrated “I want” song); Hard Knock Life is a terrific ensemble showpiece for the girls; and then you’ve got a terrific ensemble showpiece for the grownups in We’d Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover; Tomorrow can be excruciating out of context, but watching a little girl belting it out to the mutt she just saved from the doggy gallows gets me every time; and then you have the hilarious nasty sorbet of Hannigan’s Little Girls.

But I agree with R582, the show, which has been crackling for the last half an hour, becomes weirdly inert after Grace takes Annie to stay with Warbucks. Individual numbers can be fantastic when well performed (I Think I’m Gonna Like it Here, NYC, Easy Street, the orphans reprise of Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile), but the second act plots essentially becomes “plucky orphan and the industrialist who loves her are supportive of the idea of a large federal public works project in between hanging out and having mixed emotions about the orphan reuniting with her birth parents’” - it definitely loses steam.

Maybe if Gypsy Rose Lee was looking to adopt? They could be proteges of Mama Rose's new act?

Madame Rose's Torreadorableorphans

A number of shows have great first acts and limp second acts. Wicked, Sunday with the Park with George, Into the Woods, even Carousel.

As far as musical comedy books go, "Annie" is just about as good as it gets.

A number of shows have great first acts and limp second acts...Sunday with the Park with George, Into the Woods,

DUCK!

I guess this means no Buenos Aires?

“Follies” sucked!

Gooch on Easy Street

[quote]Yeah, I don't care how "cute" set designer Jason Sherwood is, he's a LOUSY designer with no eye for period details

Well!

She has STATED her boundaries!

Ovaltine and...

Andrea remembers...

[quote]As far as musical comedy books go, "Annie" is just about as good as it gets.

As far as musical comedy books go, "Hairspray" is just about as good as it gets.