Annie

You’d need to have a heart of stone not to love this Annie. And heart is something Packemin’s joyous production has in trumps.

If you’ve been on another planet and missed out on this musical and its film versions over the last four decades, put simply it’s the tale of an 11-year-old orphan girl who finds her way into the heart of a cynical billionaire businessman, set to a sassy Broadway score, and enlivened by a hoard of captivating kids and a trio of vaudeville villains.

It’s the warmth of two key performances which gives this production such heart, Rodney Dobson’s initially gruff Oliver ‘Daddy’ Warbucks and Melody Beck’s radiant Grace Farrell. They invest the show with the warm, believable, tangible love for this little girl which inhabits any really good production of Annie, while creating strong impressions vocally. I’ve never seen better interpretations of these roles. 

Have I already risked overusing words like warmth? Heart too!

Well let’s move on to the kids – kids galore. In addition to the core group of nine named orphan girls, there are three rotating ensembles of about 25 kids each. The featured orphans are all capable young performers – their solo dialogue and musical lines can so easily be lost, but the projection and delivery of all these girls was excellent. While youngest orphan Molly (Shaely Commins) steals many a scene (that’s as much in the writing as in the delightful precociousness of performers like this little charmer), all the girls present confident individual characters. The members of the bigger orphan ensemble shine with high energy, enthusiasm and an obvious sense of delight at being on stage. The only criticism I’d have in the orphans’ scenes doesn’t relate to the kids, but a wish that their staging had been a trifle more imaginative on the occasions when they were basically sitting on the floor in groups.

At the centre of it all, though, is that red-headed 11-year-old orphan moppet. It’s Annie’s energy, optimism and zest for life that is at the … core of this show, not to mention a great set of pipes to deliver showtunes like ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘Maybe’. Nine-year-old Stella Barahona is totally at home on the big Riverside stage, and holds the audience in its sizeable auditorium in the palm of her hand throughout the demanding role, thanks to an abundance of those qualities.

If anyone is going to get in the way of a heart-warming ending, it’s the heartless trio of vaudeville, broad comedy baddies Miss Hannigan, Rooster and Lily St Regis, with their song and dance / pantomime combo. Heart and warmth may be the cornerstone of other roles, but these three are pure shtick.

Returning to the role of Miss Hannigan, which she played in the 2000 professional tour, Amanda Muggleton brings the full bag of tricks and a cringe-worthy snort to her delusional comic villain archetype. Christopher Horsey’s hoofing nasty Rooster is a genuinely sinister piece of work. Aimee Timmins’ dumb (yet knowing) blonde Lily is a delicious stereotype, who brings a terrific physicality to her portrayal. Together they click splendidly.

Act 1 bubbles along delightfully, but just when you think it couldn’t get better,  young diva-in-the-making Alessandra Bizanelli bursts on stage, utterly nailing her scene-stealing cameo as Star To Be. This HSC student has a to-die-for Broadway belt voice and a vibrant personality.

Packemin is a Pro-Am company, with professionals in key roles and community theatre performers playing supporting roles and forming the ensemble. And Packemin attracts excellent ensemble members, many with principal experience in other companies. The ensemble brings zest and discipline to their numbers, reaching a peak in their crisp, lively work in the NYC number. As servants in the Warbucks mansion, occasionally the ensemble seems a little too tightly clustered upstage around the staircase, but that’s a staging decision rather than any reflection on the commitment or quality of the participation of this excellent ensemble.

A highlight of the ‘am’ contribution in supporting roles in this 'Pro-am' production comes in the Roosevelt cabinet room scene. Led by community theatre stalwart Christopher Hamilton as President Roosevelt, the ‘Tomorrow’ reprise delights the audience as much as anything else in the show. Many thought the celebrity casting of Alan Jones as Roosevelt in the last professional production was a dodgy choice, and it’s certain Christopher could give Mr. Jones a definitive lesson in just how the role should be played.

Simon Greer’s design works very well, with fluid, well-choreographed visible changes executed with the help of even the tiniest kids, along with judicious flying. Norma Desmond’s Sunset Blvd mansion from Willoughby Theatre Company crosses America successfully to fit very comfortably into New York as the Warbucks Mansion, moving smoothly on and off the stage in full view.

Peter Hayward’s orchestra provides a vibrant Broadway sound from start to finish, while Sean Clark (lighting) and Simon Koenig (sound) generally round out the production nicely with excellent, supportive technicals.

WC Fields warned about working with children and animals. While these kids were surely a joy to work with, you have to spare a thought for Primrose, who plays Annie’s dog Sandy. Exemplary throughout months of rehearsals according to director Luke Joslin, she obviously had a bad case of stage fright on opening night. Primrose is reprising her role, so hopefully this canine trooper will quickly get used to the lights and crowds.

Annie remains a perfect little gem of a musical, even if it’s nearly 40 years old, and based on a comic strip launched 90 years ago.

So, please excuse me if I’ve drawn on a narrow descriptive range at times. Going to the thesaurus for a couple of synonyms, it really is the sincerity in Packemin’s production, which gives this Annie real ticker.

If you love joyous musical theatre, this is just your ticket.

Neil Litchfield

Photographer: Grant Leslie 

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