Craig Revel Horwood in Annie at Leicester Curve and Touring. Picture: Paul Coltas
Annie was reviewed at Leicester Curve. The UK tour continues until 25 November 2023.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Everyone’s favourite curly-haired orphan Annie is back on the road again to sing her troubles away once more. The plucky young weather-forecasting optimist first hit our stages nearly 50 years ago when its original Broadway production swept the Tony Awards in 1977. The show has been an evergreen favourite since, regularly seen either in the West End or on tour, which it’s doing again now in a new production which has launched at Leicester’s Curve before heading out across the country .
Left an at orphanage as a baby, Annie (played on press night by Zoe Akinyosade) has spent 11 years hoping for the day when her parents will return to claim her. Until then, she’s one of many unfortunate youngsters under the “care” of villainous harpy Miss Hannigan (Craig Revel Horwood). One day, fortune smiles on Annie, and she’s chosen to spend the Christmas break at the home of lonely billionaire Oliver Warbucks (Alex Bourne), who has everything he could ever need but longs for a child. The two become inseparable, but their happiness is threatened when Miss Hannigan’s brother Rooster (Paul French) and girlfriend Lily St Regis (Billie-Kay) concoct a plan to fraudulently declare themselves Annie’s true parents in the hopes of bagging a cash reward.
Annie he musical gets a lot of stick because, like Annie the character, it wears its heart on its sleeve and refuses to let anything bring a cloud over its search for sunny optimism. Though abandoned, neglected and mistreated, Annie tries her best to find the positive in everything, truly believing that “the sun will come out tomorrow”, and this unabashed hopefulness shines through every moment of this heart-warming and uplifting musical.
Some have called it “twee”, and while it’s true that it lacks the darker edge of other child-led shows such as Oliver! or Matilda, Annie brings a simplistic joy that is hard to fault. The score (Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin) still sounds great nearly a half century on, with a roster of songs that haven’t lost their charm, and neither has Thomas Meehan’s sharp book which remains funny and touching.
Once a show reaches a certain age, the line between “timeless classic” and “dated museum piece” can become incredibly feint, but this production shows Annie at her wide-eyed adorable best. Director Nikolai Foster shows great affection for the material, not trying to modernise anything here and letting the charms of a simpler time speak for themselves, while keeping the piece pacey and engaging.
Colin Richmond’s set looks great, perhaps a little too reminiscent of Matilda’s framing and replacing books with jigsaw puzzle pieces, but it looks fantastic and is used to great effect, as is Ben Cracknell’s lighting design. Choreography (Nick Winston) is brilliantly thought out and delivered, both by the energetic child cast and the adult ensemble.
The scene-stealing role of Miss Hannigan must be on most character actresses’ bucket lists, and having it played here by Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood runs the risk of turning it into a panto dame caricature. Luckily, Horwood plays it just right, finding the right balance between hamming it up just enough while also demonstrating the skills that launched his musical theatre career back in the 1980s. Being the “name” in the show, it could’ve been very easy for Horwood to “phone it in” but he really throws himself into it and delivers.
The rest of the principal actors all do well, particularly Alex Bourne and Amelia Adams as Warbucks and Grace Farrell respectively. It’s also great to see French returning to Curve (he was Tin Man in the venue’s The Wizard Of Oz), successful and entertaining this time around as Rooster. The role of Annie is shared by three young performers, and on the night I attended nine-year-old Zoe Akinyosade gave a revelatory performance. To lead a show, learn so many lines and songs and steps, and be hugely likeable and engaging at such a young age is truly remarkable. Akinyosade is an absolute superstar in the making, and for her, the sun really will come out tomorrow in the rest of her inevitable career.
Curve’s Annie comes at a time when we all need reminding that brighter times will hopefully be just around the corner, and if there’s one thing musical theatre excels at, it’s bringing us some sunny optimism just when we need it. Annie has all the heart, joy, plucky charm and timeless songs to make us remember that it’s not always a ‘Hard Knock Life’. Don’t wait until ‘Tomorrow’, go and see it today.
Rob Bartley
- Note – The role of Miss Hannigan is shared across the tour between Craig Revel Horwood, Paul O’Grady, Jodie Prenger and Elaine C Smith. See individual venues for details.