By Lisa Steiner
Annie, The Lied Center for Performing Arts, Thursday March 20, 2025
The Lied Center for Performing Arts is wrapping up its 2024-2025 Broadway season with Annie, the story of three go-getting New Yorkers, including a non-profit owner and two entrepreneurs, just trying to make it in the world, who get foiled by a bunch of brats in an orphanage. Elon Musk is there too and is no help to the trio either, wagging his fingers at government officials left and right to get them taken down.
I’m just kidding. I like to have fun!
This long-beloved musical originally went from comic strip to Broadway in 1977 and has been captivating audiences ever since. We follow Little Orphan Annie (Hazel Vogal) as she tries to discover her parents in 1930’s New York City. She and her fellow “Little Girl” orphans are meagerly tended to by Miss Hannigan (Stefanie Londino), who clearly doesn’t like her job as kid-wrangler. Conditions in the orphanage are scrappy at best, with thin blankets and cold mush close at hand. The world’s richest bachelor, Mr. Oliver Warbucks (Christopher Swan), decides he wants to treat one of the orphans to two weeks at his mansion, culminating in a Christmas party, and Annie playfully tricks her way into being the one selected by Mr. Warbucks’ secretary, Grace Farrell (Julia Nicole Hunter). Mr. Warbucks and Annie form a bond, and he agrees to help Annie find her parents, while also getting more than what he anticipated out of his act of charity. Little do they know that Miss Hannigan, her brother “Rooster” Hannigan (Rhett Guter), and his partner-in-crime (literally) Lily St. Regis (Isabella De Souza Moore) have plans of their own for Annie. And don’t forget about Sandy, Annie’s very own rescue dog, played by Kevin (who even has his own bio in the program).
Annie has well-known songs such as “Tomorrow” and “It’s The Hard Knock Life,” but also features the fantastic adult ensemble in numbers like “NYC,” “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here,” and “I Don’t Need Anything But You.” There’s the delightful “Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” sung by our youth ensemble. And then there’s one of my all-time favorite musical theater songs, the razz-ma-tazz “Easy Street,” sung by our villains. Speaking of, Guter really knocked it out of the park as the smarmy Rooster, with greasy footwork and weasel-like moves across the stage. Londino’s Hannigan had more of a slow burn to her, which was a noteworthy change from the more angry/bitter Hannigans I’ve seen. She oozed, rather than grunted, her way through her sung monologue “Little Girls.”
Maybe this is a pet peeve of mine, but I noticed a lot of belting from Hunter’s Grace in the first act, which surprised me. Typically, Grace sings mainly in her head voice, especially higher in her range. This pinched tone seemed too harsh to me, and also took away some of the Star-To-Be’s oomph when she came on during “NYC”; the Star-To-Be is supposed to wow everyone with her belt. Don’t steal Star-To-Be’s spotlight Grace! The nasally vocals amongst the ensemble and Grace did settle into a lovely full but more classical style at the end of Act I, and continued to please into Act II.
I loved hearing all of the singers backed by the wonderful, live 10-piece orchestra. The choreography by Patricia Wilcox was fun, with time-period dance styles and props used in creative ways. I’ve seen several versions of “Hard Knock Life” with buckets and rags, and also managed to enjoy this version that also included mops and brooms. Vogal and her sister actors had a great handle on their choreography, and the adults burst on the stage with their energy. Everyone was “on it” with their lines, blocking, and scene changes, keeping the pace fast and animated.
I do want to note that there seemed to be a lack of size diversity amongst the adult cast in general. Most of them were about the same height and build, with a few more height variances with the male-presenting actors. There’s no reason that the cast of this show, plot-wise or other reasons, couldn’t have had more variety in who they selected for the cast, particularly the ensemble. In this day and age, people of all sizes – tall short, thin, “average”, plus-size, etc. – audition for shows and are crazy talented. Perhaps this is something the directors and Hardt Castings could keep in mind for the future.
Overall, this production of Annie is highly charming and will have everyone tapping their toes and feeling warm in their hearts. I always like to remind people that Annie is much more than a gaggle of girls, with plenty of great ensemble numbers, incredible music, and entertainment for people of all ages.
If You Go: Annie plays at the Lied Center March 21-23, with two shows on Saturday and Sunday. To get tickets, go to www.liedcenter.org or call the ticket office at 402-472-4747. If you’re on a budget, don’t forget to watch for rush tickets on the Lied Center’s social media pages!
Lisa Steiner is a long-time lover of theater and the arts who enjoys performing, music directing, and filling the role of patron. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University, where she was also a staff writer, layout designer, and production editor for The Reveille newspaper. During the day, Lisa works for the Department of Health and Human Services. In her free time, Lisa enjoys trying to keep up with her two cats, Lucy and Francine.
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