Leapin' Lizards! The irrepressible comic strip heroine takes center stage in one of the world's best-loved musicals.
COSTA MESA—FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Truthfully, I doubt that there has been a day since its debut opening in the spring of 1977 when that rising sun has not shone on ANNIE.
This hugely popular Tony-Award-winning musical ran almost six years at the now Neil Simon Theatre and has been revived on Broadway three times, has had 14 U.S. Tours, 38 foreign productions, two stage sequels, twelve movies, umpteen TV specials, two novelizations, and more regional, community, children's, college, high school, junior high, and grade school productions than the freckles dotting the faces of Annie and her orphan pals.
So it should be fully expected that the touring production of ANNIE, directed by Jenn Thompson and choreographed by Patricia Wilcox, would eventually arrive at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. And sure enough, ANNIE is playing for six days only on the Segerstrom Stage, February 18th through the 23rd in a week filled with preteen ogled-eyed, hopped-up kids cheering the pixie redhead on with all the stops out! This cupcake of a show has mythic underpinnings — parents missing, an unsinkable hero, wrongs righted, pure innocence confronting black hearts — it’s all here and supremely first-rate in a grand, uplifting presentation.
Based on the well-oiled "Little Orphan Annie" serial comic strips from the roaring 20’s, ANNIE the musical, with a finespun omnibus by Thomas Meehan and score by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, is set in Depression Era New York City during the days of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The musical tells the story of 11-year-old red-headed Annie (Hazel Vogel in the titular role) who escapes a Dickensian orphan’s home under the brutal thumb of demented matron Miss Hannigan (Stefanie Londino, who’s “drippin’ with little girls”) only to end up as a Christmas guest of “Richie Rich uberwealthy” Oliver Warbucks (Christopher Swan) — whose business-focused heart melts at the optimistic charm of his temporary charge — and his classy secretary (and Annie’s loyal ally), Grace Farrell (a warm and winning Julia Nicole Hunter).
Having been abandoned a decade before at the orphanage door, Annie believes her parents are still alive and will come back to rescue her from a life of poverty. Her quest is to finally know her mother and father and be a normal family. But Miss Hannigan’s equally vile con-artist brother, Rooster (a slippery, menacing Rhett Guter), always looking for easy street, and his dimwitted but deliciously tacky moll, Lily St. Regis (Isabella De Souza Moore making the most of her every appearance), have different ideas as they hatch a get-rich-quick scheme to pass as Annie’s parents in order to collect a reward offered by Warbucks.
Ms. Vogel is clear-eyed, sharp-witted and straightforward, with a brassy singing voice that evokes the Annie we have all come to know — a tough, streetwise urchin who is the heart and soul of the show. Her sunny disposition is typified by the musical's well-known anthem, "Tomorrow." She's completely focused, never falling into cutesy mannerisms, and she commands attention whenever she's onstage. The other orphans complement her well, especially adorable Molly (Olive Ross-Kline), who gets plenty of opportunities to steal hearts.
The show has exceptional key roles. The main gambit, of course, is filling the role of villainous orphanage proprietrix Miss Hannigan (Stefanie Londino, who, three Annie tours later, is still an inveterate scene-stealer). She displays her usual comedic chops here, but you would think her decidedly good looks should work against her. The caricature of Miss Hannigan should be somewhat frowzy, depressed she’s living in an orphanage, imbibing many quarts of bathtub gin, mean enough to make even non-orphans tremble, and driven by a predatory — even kittenish — back-up-against-the-wall desperation for any eligible man’s affections. Funnily enough, Ms. Londino pulverizes the role, all the while comporting and grinding herself as though auditioning for Minsky’s follies. Her voice also moves around quite a bit, shifting from sweetly inflected requests to growled commands with sudden ferocity.
Stage veteran Christopher Swan (best known for his national tours in productions like “Hairspray” and “Cinderella”), ably combining comedy and warmth as he falls under the moppet’s spell, steals the show in the role of Oliver Warbucks. He starts off with a rousing rendition of “N.Y.C.” and is especially touching in his waltz solo, “Something Was Missing.” In a star turn, Mr. Swan brings a mellifluous baritone voice and a solid physical presence to Daddy Warbucks, the man who never knew what was missing in his life until he met the spirited teenybopper.
The design team has done marvels with their touring company resources than have many Broadway house designers. Set designer Wilson Chin provides a marvelous orphanage, a classy Warbucks mansion, delectable depth of field with simplicity and high-quality pieces for the outside scenes. Costumes by Alejo Vietti work remarkably well throughout, from orphan rags to fancy rich duds and the essential Annie-in-curly-wig-and-red-dress get up that approximates the cartoon figure exactly. Broadway and West End stalwart Philip S. Rosenberg has programmed his lights with delicacy where required, and sound by Ken Travis is vibrant and true.
Speaking of orphan rags, the other little girls — featuring Olive Ross-Kline, Aria Valentine Aldea, Eva Lizette Carreon, Anna Dillon, Kylie Noelle Patterson, and Nora West — perform admirably, building their percussive stomping of “It’s a Hard Knock Life” and “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” into two all-orphan banger hits.
While Annie and her fellow orphans and her faithful dog Sandy (Kevin; Cooper is U/S) are winning their share of sentimental applause, others in the cast fill their animated roles with zest, and there are showstoppers aplenty, thanks in part, to a marvelous, full-on live orchestra (conducted by Andrew David Sotomeyer) delivering one gem after another.
Nick Abbott, for instance, juggles several roles at once and shines in all: as Drake the butler, Bundles McCloskey, Fred McCracken and a mix of ensemble duties. Savannah Fisher is terrific as The Star to Be; Matt Gibson is great as Bert Healy; The Boylans were played by Savannah Fisher, Alloria Frayser and Caroline Glazier; and FDR’s Mark Woodard could not have been better.
SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS, CRC & CROSSROADS LIVE NORTH AMERICA PRESENT — ANNIE; Book by THOMAS MEEHAN; Music by CHARLES STROUSE; Lyrics by MARTIN CHARNIN; Original Production Directed by MARTIN CHARNIN; Based on “LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE;” by Permission of Tribune Content Agency LLC; Directed by JENN THOMPSON; Choreographed by PATRICIA WILCOX; Orchestrations by DAN DELANGE; Music Director ANDREW DAVID SOTOMAYOR; Music Supervisor MATTHEW SMEDAL; Music Coordinator TALITHA FEHR; Scenic Design by WILSON CHIN; Costume Design by ALEJO VIETTI; Based on Lighting Design by PHILIP S. ROSENBERG; Sound Design by KEN TRAVIS; Hair & Wig Design by ASHLEY RAE CALLAHAN; Production Manager HEATHER CHOCKLEY; General Manager DEANA MARIE KIRSCH; Company Manager ROYCE MATTHEWS; Executive Producer ANGELA ROWLES; Production Stage Manager BRIGHAM JOHNSON.
STARRING: HAZEL VOGEL; STEFANIE LONDINO; CHRISTOPHER SWAN
WITH: RHETT GUTER; JULIA NICOLE HUNTER; ISABELLA DE SOUZA MOORE; MARK WOODARD; ARIA VALENTINA ALDEA; EVA LIZETTE CARREON; ANNA DILLON; KYLIE NOELLE PATTERSON; OLIVE ROSS-KLINE; NORA WEST; NICK ABBOTT; ANTHONY DASILVA; SAVANNAH FISHER; ALLORIA FRAYSER; BROOKE OLIVIA GATTO; MATT GIBSON; CAROLINE GLAZIER; DANNY LINDGREN; RYAN MULVANEY; MELINDA PARRETT; DREW TANABE; STEPHANIE WAHL; KEVIN & COOPER. DANCE CAPTAIN: RYAN MULVANEY; ASST. DANCE CAPTAIN: STEPHANIE WAHL
UNDERSTUDIES: KYLIE NOELLE PATTERSON – Annie; NICK ABBOTT, MARK WOODARD – Oliver Warbucks; MELINDA PARRETT, STEPHANIE WAHL – Miss Hannigan; ALLORIA FRAYSER, CAROLINE GLAZIER – Grace Farrell; ANTHONY DASILVA, DANNY LINDREN – Rooster Hannigan; NICK ABBOTT, DANNY LINDGREN – FDR; CAROLINE GLAZIER, STEPHANIE WAHL – Lily; EVA LIZETTE CARREON – Molly; COOPER – Sandy.
ANNIE performs February 18th through 23rd, Tuesday – Friday at 7:30pm; Saturday at 2pm & 7:30pm; Sunday at 1pm and 6:30pm in Segerstrom Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Two hours, 30 minutes, including one 15-min intermission. For Tickets contact Box Office at (714) 556-2787 or visit www.scfta.org/
Chris Daniels
Arts & Entertainment Reviewer The Show Report
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