Annie -- Theatre Under the Stars

Story in 2 Sentences:
Annie is an orphan. She gets adopted and ends the Great Depression.

People who should see this show:
Little girls who want to be Annie
Little boys who want to be girls so they can be Annie
Stagemoms
My hubby, who likes to compare his choreography to others'

What can you say about Annie? I remember being a little boy who wanted to be a little girl so I could play Annie, standing in line for blocks to see the movie on opening night, only to be told it was sold out. We went to see The Muppets Take Manhattan instead -- or am I mixing memories?

In order to be fair, I need to separate my review into sections.

The musical itself
Is just not very good. I know, it won a Tony, but -- face it -- the competition was not very stiff that year. I love "It's a Hard-Knock Life" and I don't mind "Tomorrow," but the other songs are boring and repetitive. The story is all very pie-in-the-sky, and I don't think it's fun to be fed elitist propaganda with a thin veneer of quasi-socialism for 2 hours, even when the mouthpiece is a little kid with a great voice. Also, it's a boring retelling of a familiar story, the only thing freshening it up being a sassy orphan. Punky Brewster was way better.

I also wanted to be Punky Brewster.

Glynis Leyshon's production
As good as Annie can get. The set was good, the costumes were good, the staging and choreography were fine, the performances were fine. The band was a bit rough.

Plays until August 21

Some Highlights:
Michelle Creber's Annie: oh so saccharin, but the kid can definitely sing
Michelle Creber's dog Max's Sandy: dogs are cute
The first 10 minutes or so: "Hard-Knock Life" is fun
The wine at intermission