2008: Annie

Annie.  Music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, book by Thomas Meehan.  Presented by Canberra Philharmonic Society directed by Jim McMullen, musical director Ian McLean, choreographer Lisa Buckley.  Costumes by Jill De Rooy, set designer Brian Sudding.  At Erindale Theatre 4-20 September, Wed-Sat 7.30pm., Sat 2pm.  Bookings: 6247 4456 or ticketing@philo.org.au

This is a very successful production of an enduring musical.  There are plenty of reasons for seeing it, and none that I can think of for staying away.

I tend to cringe when style does not match the demands of the writing, but McMullen, McLean and Buckley have produced just the right touch for what is in essence a warm-hearted social satire with a bit of an edge.  Our attitude, watching the seriously angry little orphan girls in the opening scene, is immediately established.  Madeline Barclay (Annie/Molly) and Shelby Frame (Molly/Annie) easily took on the roles which they alternate through the season, while the whole group clearly understood the mood, the music and choreography, a credit to all three directors working with such young performers.

Then Kate Tricks took command as Miss Hanigan, and the show never looked back.  As the plot develops, class conflict and political power are brought to the fore through taking the musical forms of America in the 1920s and 30s into a cartoon style in singing, dance and costume which at times reminded me of the cut and thrust of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht.  When the Hoovervillians living on the street turn on us, the audience, the point is made and the relevance of the billionaire Daddy Warbucks turning to the Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal is made clear.  One could even find oneself thinking about this year’s upcoming US election.

But the good thing is that the style keeps the humour flowing, even through the second half, which is not as well written as the first.  The sentimentality which could easily bubble up is kept in check, and the appropriate result on opening night was plenty of applause for a bravura show.  Casting for singing and acting was excellent all round, with Daniel Wells as Warbucks particularly pleasing to my mind.  Special praise too for set artist Ian Croker with Sudding and the construction team for using the fly-in sets so effectively. And it was great to see scene changes integrated into the action and done in time to the music.  Smooth transitions like this are essential to keep the drama flying rather than flagging.  Eclipse lighting and sound team got the design right too, and most technical things worked well on the big test of opening night.

The result was that I enjoyed Annie on many different levels, and can certainly recommend the show for young and old.

©Frank McKone, Canberra