Annie (4 stars)

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ANNIE2_PhotobyHagenHopkins

 

I somehow managed to go through my entire childhood without ever watching the Annie movies. The few songs I knew kind of bugged me. Annie, generally described as plucky seemed like an annoying upstart. So I wasn’t super-enthused about heading to the show last night, but my 4 year old step-daughter has been singing the songs for months now and knows the whole story and all the differences between the 1982 film and the 1999 one. So, when Annie came to town there was no way we could miss it.

So I was pleasantly surprised by how charmed I was by the show. It’s a lovely story of course: a hero, some (not particularly evil, and very funny) villains, a plot thwarted, a happy ending. I may or may not have ended up a little teary. Miss 4 was humming (possibly to the annoyance of those around us) from before the curtain went up.

I was seriously impressed by the cast. The children were exceptionally talented, all brilliant performers with so much energy and skill. Sue Pollard as Miss Hannigan was very funny and David McAlister was very strong as Oliver Warbucks. But Zoe Fifield as Annie was spectacular.

The production, direct from the UK is of a very high standard; lovely sets and costumes. It’s a very polished show and a great introduction to musical theatre for the littlies.

It’s on at The Civic until the 6th July.