Thursday 19th January to Saturday 4th February 2017
Annie is a Broadway Musical based on the Harold Gray Comic Strip Little Orphan Annie. Opening in 1977 the original Broadway production ran for nearly six years setting a record for the Alvin Theatre.
Synopsis
Set in 1933 11 year old Annie is in the Municipal Girls Orphanage she decides to escape to find her parents but is caught by Miss Hannigan who runs the orphanage. Eventually she escapes by hiding in the Laundry truck.
She meets a stray dog and pretends it is hers, saving the dog from the dog catcher. She later finds a Hooverville where people made homeless by the Great Depression have come together and formed a community. Unfortunately she is caught by the police and returned to the orphanage.
Grace Farrell, assistant to Billionaire Oliver Warbucks arrives att the orphanage looking for an orphan to spend Christmas with Mr Warbucks. Annie is in Miss Hannigan's office and Grace asks to take her. Miss Hannigan Reluctantly agrees.
Annie is welcomed with open arms into the Warbucks Mansion. Oliver Warlocks and Annie begin to like each other.
Meanwhile at the Orphanage Rooster (brother of Miss Hannigan) and his girlfriend Lily find out where Annie is staying and decide that they could use this to their advantage.
Warlocks seeing the locket round Annie's neck buys her a new one from Tiffany & co. When he gives it to her, she burst's into tears as the locket was the only thing given to her by her parents and she doesn't want a new one. The staff at the mansion vow to try and find her parents.
Annie appears on a Radio Show and Oliver Warlocks offers $50,000 to the couple who can prove that they are her parents. Rooster and Lily arrive with Miss Hannigan disguised as a couple Ralph and Shirley Mudge. They obtain details on Annie's past from Miss Hannigan in an effort to get the reward of which Miss Hannigan will also get a share.
Warlocks brings Annie to Washington where she meets the President. When they return to the Mansion Warlbucks offers to adopt Annie and decide to throw a christmas party inviting the whole orphanage.
Judge Louis Brandeis arrives to begin the adoption proceedings but Mr and Mrs Mudge convince him that they are Annie's parents. Warlocks is not convinced. President Roosevelt arrives with the secret service with news that David and Margaret Bennet were Annie's parents and they died when she was a little girl. Realising that Mr and Mrs Mudge were in fact Rooster and Lily looking to get their hands on the reward the secret service arrest them along with Miss Hannigan.
The Ballywillan version of the show
One of the world’s best-loved musicals comes to the Riverside Theatre, Coleraine, early in 2017 when the award-winning Ballywillan Drama Group present ANNIE for sixteen special performances. Celebrating their 65th Anniversary, Ballywillan have given this famous family musical a complete overhaul from the original 1970’s stage version bringing ANNIE right up to date.
Brian Logan, the show’s Director, has assembled a wonderful cast which features many local theatre stars. Because of the sixteen performance run there are two troupes of orphans and two Annies who alternate performances. After an exhaustive audition process that saw literally hundreds of young girls turn up, Amelia Galbraith and Abigail Mairs won through and jointly secured the starring role of Annie. Other principal players include Maxine McAleenon, Niaomh Rodgers, Alan McClarty, Richard Mairs and Kelly Ann McKillen.
The ANNIE orchestrations have been updated and refreshed and Musical Director, Eric Boyd, is hard at work rehearsing the eighty strong company in their musical numbers.
Sharon Logan, Company Choreographer and Victoria Lagan, Choreographer, have been drilling both adults and children in their various routines. Both children troupes have to be identically trained in order that each team seamlessly fits in with the show’s permanent cast – the choreographers certainly have their work cut out!
Costume Designer, Ewan Campbell, from Utopia Costumes in Scotland is busy designing and making the hundreds of costumes required for this iconic musical. The standard ANNIE costumes that costumiers hire out to music societies are of no use as Brian Logan has reimagined the entire production, giving it a bright new look which means a completely redesigned set of costumes must be produced.
Brian has also been responsible for designing the sets and scenery and, again, his designs are as far away from the standard ANNIE scenery as it is possible to be. His designs play homage to the roots of the original 1930’s cartoon strip Orphan Annie and the various landmark cinematic productions of the musical over the years.
Specsavers, Coleraine, have been announced as Principal Show Sponsors for the next three years which sees this prestigious local business supporting Ballywillan’s main show until 2019.
ANNIE is now booking at the Riverside Theatre on 028 70 123 123 or book on-line at www.riversidetheatre.org.uk. The musical runs for sixteen performances from Thursday 19 January to Saturday 4 February 2017 with evening and matinee performances. There is also an attractive range of ticket offers and concessions, including a School Offer and Family Packages.
