‘Annie’ brings surge of girl power
Skylight’s new production features capable children, cartoonish adults
Skylight Music Theatre’s new production of “Annie” runs on a plentiful yet often overlooked natural resource: girl power.
“Tomorrow,” woven throughout the story line, is the show’s signature song and mission statement. But “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” as directed and choreographed here by Molly Rhode and performed by 11 mop-wielding girls without an adult onstage, is this production’s masterpiece, earning vigorous applause from an enthusiastic audience Friday at the Broadway Theatre Center.
The beleaguered orphans’ solidarity in this Depressionera setting also shows the adults here a way out of their fearful self-centeredness.
Seven children’s roles in “Annie” are double-cast. I saw the Sky cast featuring capable KyLee Hennes of Hubertus as Annie. What I liked most about her performance was the active, attentive way she took in the other characters, her face frequently glowing with interest. Her Sandy was Skippy, a proud little miniature schnauzer, Pomeranian and rat terrier mix. The girls around Hennes were terrific, with Taylor Arnstein and Lorelei Wesselowski in particular catching my eye.
“Annie” grew out of a comic strip, and some of the adult characters here are cartoonish, none more so than Miss Hannigan, the embittered bottle-nipping orphanage director. Carrie Hitchcock goes all in on Hannigan’s ridiculousness, giving the girls the foil they need. In contrast, Diane Lane is pure elegance as Grace, the kindhearted secretary who brings Annie to Oliver Warbucks’ mansion.
The billionaire Warbucks is a classic self-made American success story, all drive and little emotional intelligence (i.e., a single man who doesn’t take notice of Grace as a woman until the end of the show).
Broadway veteran Andrew Varela shows us Warbucks gradually warming to Annie, a girl more like him than he ever would have imagined.
The adult ensemble drives this musical, too, both in the streetscape of “N.Y.C.” and in scenes featuring the Warbucks staff. Alex Campea is the majordomo we would all want; Katie Berg has a knock-out cameo at the end of “N.Y.C.”; James Carrington amuses as a Foley artist in a radio scene; and Dylan Bolin delivers an avuncular FDR, performing in a wheelchair.
“Annie” is not the ideal show for Lou Grant and other people who hate spunk. Not only is it unapologetically optimistic, it’s frequently nostalgic: Here Republicans and Democrats joke with each other while looking for solutions instead of trying to destroy the other side. But if you’d welcome a little encouragement to stick out your chin and grin, this is the show for you.