I’ve seen just about every major musical, but not this one. It’s been filed in my too-twee-for-me compartment. January offers tempted me to give it a go, and I was completely surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It’s a touring production brought in to the West End but the production values and performances are no second best.
Orphan Annie is obsessed about finding the parents who abandoned her eleven years before. She escapes from Miss Hannigan’s cruel institution, but gets caught after a brief spell hanging out with the depression era homeless. Billionaire Warbucks decides to host an orphan for Christmas and his PA Grace chooses Annie, against Miss Hannigan’s wishes. Warbucks and his entire staff fall for her and he decides to adopt her, but when he presents her with a new locket she says she’d rather find the parents who gave her the old one, so he launches a search with the help of the FBI and the President (he’s well connected, this man). The only couple who come forward are fakes, so the adoption goes ahead and everyone is happy, except Miss Hannigan and her brother and his girlfriend, who get arrested.
It’s all simple stuff and it’s very sentimental, but it surprised me by how much the Great Depression setting featured. There was also a touch of A Christmas Carol about it. Nikolai Foster’s production is slick and snappy, with excellent designs by Colin Richmond (the set has a touch of Matilda about it) and nifty choreography by Nick Winston. There wasn’t a weak link in the casting. Meera Syal made a great baddie and her strong voice was a revelation. Alex Bourne has great presence as Warbucks and great chemistry with Annie. On the night I went, Isobel Khan played Annie terrifically and you can’t help falling in love with her six fellow orphans, Team Madison that night. It seemed a particularly happy company, and their enthusiasm and joy was so infectious I melted and removed it from the too-twee-for-me compartment.
A delightful surprise.
Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog 
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