A rousing orphans' chorus line in Media Theatre's 'Annie'
The eight little girls who play the orphans are the best thing about Media Theatre's production of Annie, which opened last weekend - they are adorable, and good singers and dancers, too. And while they don't steal the show, they leave an indelible mark on it. I found myself thinking of them long after the Sunday matinee.
The eight little girls who play the orphans are the best thing about Media Theatre's production of Annie, which opened last weekend - they are adorable, and good singers and dancers, too. And while they don't steal the show, they leave an indelible mark on it. I found myself thinking of them long after the Sunday matinee.
Except for Tori Heinlein, the 10-year-old who plays Annie nightly, I can't tell you who they are; the show has a revolving cast of kids, so two girls play each role. For a chorus line - which is what they essentially are in the now-classic musical (book by Thomas Meehan, also of The Producers, Hairspray; tunes by Charles Strouse - Bye Bye Birdie - and lyrics by Martin Charnin), they were rousing in song in the performance I saw.
Heinlein herself is a sweet, engaging Annie, although her reactions sometimes seem inattentive after she becomes the recipient of the largesse of Daddy Warbucks (the full-voiced Paul Jackel), particularly during occasional tête-à-têtes between herself and Mr. Moneybags.
For her warmth and singing voice, Elisa Matthews is a standout as Warbucks' administrative assistant. Another high point is Rob Klimowski's set of sliding scrims and projected backdrop of wonderful old New York City images that become part of the scenes (though I wish the equipment hadn't failed momentarily on Sunday, just as we came to the part of a song in which Annie and Daddy Warbucks hit Times Square).
At that performance, the pleasant production itself was off a beat during much of the first act; it seemed as if someone had asked the characters to pause a nanosecond before responding to one another. Some first-act songs also verged on down-tempo - but not Heinlein's solid "Tomorrow" or the rousing "Easy Street," delivered in Alisa Stamps' peppy choreography by Janet Rowley, Reggie Whitehead, and Wanda Sykes.
Although Heinlein plays the title role, Sykes juices the production with her celeb-power. The stand-up comic, talk-show host, and regular on TV's Curb Your Enthusiasm plays Miss Hannigan, the poor excuse for a caretaker at a New York orphanage during the Great Depression.
It's Sykes' musical theater debut, and she does well as a gravel-voiced hoofer. Her Hannigan is neither the overdone lush nor the menacing life force sometimes seen in the role; she's more the opposite - a don't-gimme-lip overseer whose psyche is too worn out to care much about anything, even the radio serials she constantly visits.
Sykes will take a monthlong holiday break from Annie after Dec. 12, at which time the versatile Mary Martello will step into the role. Sykes returns for the last week of performances, Jan. 12-16.
Jesse Cline directs the show, which coalesces in the second half when Franklin D. Roosevelt (Dan Schiff) becomes part of the plot. It never puts its laugh lines over, though. They're stymied at the foot of the stage, unable to cross into the audience.
On the other hand, the musical numbers come off nicely. The orchestra is particularly good - and then there are those little girls, boosting the charm exponentially.
Annie
Playing at Media Theatre, 104 E. State St., Media, through Jan. 16.
Tickets: $37-$54. Information: 610-891-0100; www.mediatheatre.org. EndText