By Sophie Sands 

The lights began to dim, signaling for the audience’s chatter to subside. I relaxed into my plush red seat and watched as warm lights flooded the stage, which featured a backdrop of the Brooklyn Bridge. My mom and I were at the Altria Theater, waiting to view Annie, which is currently on tour across North America. 

Ceiling mural overlooking the audience in the Altria Theater. Photo credit: Sophie Sands.

The musical Annie, originally based on Harold Gray’s comic strip, Little Orphan Annie, premiered on Broadway in 1977. The production, created by Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, has enthralled generations of audiences and become one of the longest-running Broadway shows in history. A popular film adaptation debuted in 1982 and was then remade in 2014. Throughout each version of Annie, there is a central theme of optimism in the face of adversity.

The story of Annie is set in the 1930’s, during the Great Depression. The musical centers around an orphan girl, Annie, who lives in a New York City orphanage. At the orphanage, which is run by the unpleasant and child-hating Miss Hannigan, Annie and the other children are treated cruelly. Annie’s greatest wish is to find her biological parents, who abandoned her when she was a baby. When Christmas arrives, billionaire Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks decides to temporarily take in an orphan. The chosen orphan is Annie, whom Warbucks soon grows to love. Despite his wishes to adopt her himself, Warbucks conducts a search for Annie’s birth parents and publicly offers them reward money for claiming their child. This offer attracts many frauds, and ultimately they learn Annie’s birth parents died years ago. She is then officially adopted by Warbucks.

I have always loved Annie and remember watching the movies repeatedly as a child. Years ago, I also saw the Broadway production in New York City with my mom. I was excited to watch the musical again and to compare it to other versions I had seen. The production I viewed is part of Altria’s Broadway in Richmond series, and it was produced by Jenn Thompson. Thompson was a part of the original Broadway run and played Pepper, Annie’s rival in the orphanage. Taking on the iconic lead role is 11-year-old Rainier “Rainey” Treviño. Other key actors include Christopher Swan as Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks and Stefanie Londino as Miss Hannigan. Before seeing the show, I did not expect the storyline or set to deviate much from the original. My expectations were confirmed, as the plot and characters were just as I remembered them from my childhood. According to an article by Chelsea Jackson in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Treviño said that the production is “very true to Martin Charnin’s original vision of the play. [Thompson] made it very similar to his original ideas.”

Display for Annie within the Altria Theater. Photo credit: Sophie Sands.

My first impressions of the musical were of Thompson’s flawless casting choices. Treviño perfectly portrayed the essence of Annie’s character, from her innocence to her stubborn tenacity. Perhaps the strength of Treviño’s performance drew upon her similarities to Annie. In the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Treviño said that Annie is “very optimistic, tough and very spunky as some would call her. I feel that resonates within myself.” Another amazing casting choice was Stefanie Londino as Miss Hannigan. I found Londino’s performance very funny. Her drunken stagger and well-timed jabs made her one of my favorite characters. I loved her rendition of “Little Girls,” in which she describes her hatred for the girls in her orphanage, and children in general. In a review of the Richmond performance published in Fredericksburg’s The Free Lance-Star, Amanda Montag agrees. She says that Londino “was at her best during the ‘Little Girls’ number, lamenting her life being surrounded by, of course, little girls.” In this scene, Hannigan is harassed by the orphans, who dump newspapers on her and stomp on her toes, making her exasperation more amusing. 

I was very impressed with the other child actors, specifically Jade Smith, who plays Molly, the youngest child in the orphanage. Smith delivered a strong vocal performance and seamlessly performed choreography with the other children. The juxtaposition of her small stature and the enormous confidence she exudes made her stand out to me. Additionally, I thought the scenes shared by Annie and Mr. Warbucks were very light-hearted and fun. The change in Warbucks’ character as he learns to love Annie is beautifully shown by Swan. The dynamic between the actors seemed very natural, and I wish they had more scenes between them.

I think that Thompson’s production of Annie was impressive and honored the original, beloved tale. For over 40 years, Annie has embodied hope and resilience, which are still much-needed today. “I’ve learned that the sun will come out tomorrow literally,” said Treviño, reflecting on her time as Annie. “You don’t always have to be sad. You can make yourself happy by believing in tomorrow; that’s definitely something we all can learn.”