Theatre Review: Annie @ The Regent Theatre

There is always a slightly bigger bounce in my step when I go to a production of Annie – the feel good musical that proved to me that an excellent piece of musical theatre can be so good for the soul. Make no bones about it, this production once again revived my faith in human nature and sent me home with a swelling heart and the unforgettable score winging its way around my brain.

The story of red-haired Annie which first saw the light of day as a comic strip set in the great depression of the 1930s and tells the tale of the orphan (June Young) was left by her parents in the so called care of New York’s municipal home..

Unfortunately for the orphan and the other young girls who are unfortunate enough to be in the establishment, they are overseen by a domineering and alcoholic Miss Hannigan (Claire Sweeney) who uses her charges as slave labour.

After failed attempts to escape, Annie finds a lifeline. Local billionaire Daddy Warbucks (Alex Bourne) has sent his PA Grace Farrell (Tanisha-Mae Brown) to find an orphan to be his guest over the forthcoming Christmas period.

When Warbucks returns to his mansion from a business trip, he is somewhat taken aback to see a young girl as his guest. However, Annie – who has already used her charms to influence Farrell -quickly worms her way into the billionaire’s affections and a magical evening in NYC seals her place in his heart

Daddy soon realises that Annie is the missing piece in his life and makes plans to adopt her. Unfortunately, Annie still lives in hope that her birth parents will return to reclaim her.

Disappointed though he may be, Warbucks uses all his of his money and contacts to track down the missing parents and offers a $50,000 reward if the true parents can be revealed.

Inevitably, this leads to a flood of bogus claimants – none more so than Hannigan’s brother Rooster (Christian Cooper) and his gold-digging partner Lily (Amber Kennedy) to hatch a plot with the orphanage warden to forge certificates and almost have their wicked way.

Sadly for them, Annie has already become great friends with President Franklin D Roosevelt (Carl Sanderson) and the villains of the piece find themselves no match for the force of the Federal services.

I always find the scene in which Annie spends her first night of luxury in New York City one of the best moments in musical theatre and once again I was not left disappointed. The choreography by Nick Winston and set and costumes designed by Colin Richmond combined with all of the cast and  once again made this a memorable moment for me.

However, this one scene is characteristic of the whole production. Young is exactly on point with the feistiness and cuteness that her part demands while Bourne and Sweeney both bring all of their qualities and experience to the stage.

Add in a vivacious group of orphans and a talented cast and the perfect evening is provided. The actors looked as though they were enjoying their performance and the smiles from the stage were reflected back by the audience. And everyone looking on would have loved to take Sandy the dog home with them.

It was encouraging to see so many young people in the audience and that they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Hopefully, this tip-top production will have planted the musical theatre bug in their souls.

The jigsaw pieces that are symbolically woven into the scenery to reflect Annie putting her life together should also reflect the theatre-going lives of the patrons. This is a must-see piece of the theatrical kaleidoscope. As the Boylan Sisters sing “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile” and I am now dressed to the nines.

Annie continues until October 18^th and has a running time of approximately 2 hours 20 minutes including interval. For ticket availability contact atgtickets.com/stoke