Annie Charms Stadium Audiences

Annie is a classic, beloved, American musical, and it comes with high expectations. Add to those expectations the unknown factors of a cast made up largely of children and the unpredictability of having a dog on stage. Kudos go to RISE for a great production of this challenging and charming play.

The performance had a solid start with a few mishaps and some nerves at the opening, but by the second half the performers settled down and the musical numbers were outstanding. 

The play began with newsreels on large screen, running from 1922 and the Roaring 20's, to the stock market crash and the great depression, helping to set the tone of the time period and providing helpful historic background, especially to younger children with no reference point for the Great Depression.

Faith Coffey shone as Annie. The young actor did a great job portraying the spunky side of the character as well as the cute, and her voice really held up against the other adult voices on stage.

The Orphans (girls' ensemble) also did a great job overall. Numbers like Hard Knock Life and Maybe were a little weak but they brought the house down during the second act with their rendition of You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile. This was definitely the best song of the night. The girls were energetic and their voices were strong, and Sophie Blackman as Molly really stood out from the crowd. Her bio says this role is her first “non-animal” role in a production. She was cute, precocious and the perfect Molly.  

Stacey Greer had the tough job of following in Carol Burnett’s footsteps as Mrs. Hannigan. No one can ever best the Burnett’s performance of Mrs. Hannigan from the movie version of Annie. Greer, however, not only nailed the look and costume of Mrs. Hannigan, her movements were dead on and her vocal performances were very good.

The best performance of the night came from an unexpected place. Roger MacDonald as Daddy Warbucks wowed the audience. Normally, the Daddy Warbucks’ role is a little two dimensional and almost like a supporting role; but not in this production. Roger had the strongest, clearest voice of the whole cast. He managed to make Daddy Warbucks funny and heartwarming, bringing sensitivity to the role. The combination of the songs Something was Missing and I don’t’ Need Anything but You made many in the audience tear up.

Unintended laughs came from Sandy the dog played by a golden retriever named Indy. It was his first stage role and he was a little skittish. Instead of being a distraction, the nervous dog added to the play's cuteness factor.

The best reviews of the night were from Hilde Perrin, age 9,  who said the performance was "Amazing!" and Maeve Perrin, age 11, who said "That was fun!" Both girls proceeded to sing Tomorrow, all the way home.

Overall The RISE production of Annie is great way to spend an evening.

There is still time to catch Annie at the Stadium Theatre with two more performances this weekend: 7:30 p.m. this evening, and a final show Sunday at 2 p.m.