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| Cynthia Jones as Miss Hannigan (Tracy Martin) |
Annie
The 5th Avenue Theatre
Through December 30, 2018
Annie, the
musical, may be 40 plus years old, but since it started life as a “period
piece,” set in 1933, it feels as fresh as the day it was written. Sure, it
elevates an oligarch to hero status, though he only “saves” one orphan on
Christmas, but if you look past that part to the simple story of people finding
those who need them, it’s warmly inviting and a bit tear-inducing.
Part of the huge success of Annie has been the music. It contains iconic songs that people have
grown up with for so many years now that the whole audience can practically
break out singing with the cast. Song titles you would recognize include: Tomorrow, Hard Knock Life, Maybe, N.Y.C. and Easy Street!
The story, based on a long-running cartoon strip, Little Orphan Annie, focuses on a sturdy
11-year-old girl in an orphanage who was dropped off at birth with a letter
from her parents saying they would be back to pick her up. Annie (played by Faith Young the night reviewed, who
nails the sturdiness and has solid vocals) longs for her parents to come back,
but weathers the antics of the horrid Ms. Hannigan (a comedy-turn-gem by Cynthia Jones) who takes care of the
orphanage.
Will those dastardly Hannigans steal Annie away and get
money? Will Oliver Warbucks believe them? Can you imagine these questions in
Comic Sans in bubbles in a comic strip?
Of course it’s a happy ending; it’s a Christmas show!
Warbucks gets to be a Daddy and marry his lovely secretary, and Annie gets her
family and the other orphans get help, too.
The uniquely diverse casting of this show, with
African-Americans as both Warbucks and Hannigan and a “mixed-marriage-and-adoption”
ending lend a distinctly modern and “color-blind” feeling to the show. This
kind of casting demonstrates how easy it is to produce top-drawer entertainment
and to do it with an off-hand inclusion that signals a “no big deal” attitude.
This is where The 5th Avenue Theatre, as a company and
organization, has been headed recently and it is to be applauded. We can only
hope that they are working on including similar diversities behind the scenes
in all aspects. If so, they are positioning the company toward a great future
as an example to all such large size theatrical organizations in “how it’s
done.”
Directed by talented actor/director Billie Wildrick, the 5th Avenue production is full of all the right
elements – heart, verve, optimism and great casting. The technical aspects of
musicianship (Caryl Fantel) and
choreography (Kelli Foster Warder)
are top-notch. The ensemble of young girls was enthusiastic and snapped their
uniform choreography out with dispatch!
I should note that these stalwart theater artists put on a
sparkling show the evening after a very long week, including opening night, and
a real security scare during the matinee performance where the company decided
it was safest to cancel that show. So, regardless of their personal exhaustion,
they pulled together for the Sunday evening show and made us all cheer!
For more information, go to www.5thavenue.org
or call 206-625-1900.
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