Review: The Sun Doesn't Come Out On 'Annie'
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Done by Roy Hine, the late artistic director, the show starts out at the orphanage with six little beds around the stage. Above the stage are "Annie" comic drawings, and there are "neon" signs around the theater above the audience's heads.
It's not an extravagant stage, but then again, "Annie" is no "Burlesque". It's the overly familiar story of an orphan who has more bounce in her step than a pack of kangaroos. Set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, Annie only wants to find her real parents, but ends up the adopted child of billionaire Oliver Warbucks.
And who sometimes doesn't want a billionaire for a daddy?
Like the show itself, the songs are so well known that even Jay-Z borrowed "It's a Hard-Knock Life" for one of his raps years ago. And who hasn't gotten "Tomorrow" stuck in their head to the point of madness?
For the production of "Annie" this time around, director and choreographer Scott Michaels doesn't take any artistic license with the musical. He lets it play out like you've seen it over and over again. There are no surprises, no thrills, no changes. Just "Annie".
Playing Annie this year is Shaniah Ramsey, a 10-year-old red head who turns 11 Saturday. Audiences will be pleased to find that Ramsey can sing, and she didn't forget or fumble over her lines opening night Dec. 3 when I saw the show. From where I was sitting - way in the back, last row - I couldn't necessarily tell if Ramsey was emoting any feeling other than joy, but I could definitely hear the excitement in the little girl's voice.
As I was leaving the theater, I heard one woman say how adorable Ramsey was in the show. I'll take her word on that.
There definitely were some comical moments in the show.
In the opening scene, there's a fight among some of the orphans. It came across more like a women's prison fight than a playground scuffle. With the other orphans yelling, "Fight, fight, fight," it was definitely an interesting way to begin the show before Annie broke it up.
Running the orphanage is Miss Hannigan. Ashley Pankow inhabits the character like a drunken Carol Burnett or Karen Walker. Pankow is one of the few actors on the stage in this version of "Annie" that brought more to her character than just what was in the script. She just walked on stage and she at least got a grin out of me, usually more.
Hannigan's brother, Rooster (Jake Klinkhammer), and his woman Lilly (Jennifer Dow), try and swindle Warbucks out of $50,000 by saying they're Annie's real parents.
Lilly is a lot like many of the other characters Dow has played in recent years at the Wagon Wheel. She's not too smart, probably a floozy and has a New England (New Jersey?) accent. Dow can play this kind of character blind folded, but I've seen her play more complex characters that I'd bet my entire DVD collection she can still play.
Klinkhammer is becoming a regular performer on the Wagon Wheel stage, and that's a good thing for the audiences as Klinkhammer has talent. He has no problem being the villain in Annie, but again, he's a better actor than this role. Klinkhammer's performance reminded me of the weasels from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", and that works because that's the kind of guy Rooster is.
The big bald guy, Warbucks, is played by Mickey Fisher. He does fine in the role, but he doesn't come off as intimidating. Warbucks is an intimidating guy, who makes everyone flinch, until he meets Annie. Fisher just doesn't intimidate as Warbucks. In fact, except for the bald head, I couldn't see Fisher as Warbucks at all.
One supporting role that provided some fun in this production of "Annie" Friday was Drake, the butler, played by Greg Pragel. He just delivered his character, his lines and all that jazz on stage in such a way that Pragel seemed like Drake. Many shows about rich people have the "blink and you'll miss them" butlers and maids built in, but Pragel makes his butler personable enough that you won't miss him.
Playing several roles, including that of President Roosevelt, is Mike Yocum. Yocum doesn't have to stretch much as an actor to go from playing the cop to the president for this show, but he's good at making the quick switch. It's kind of like the game "Where's Waldo?" only at the Wagon Wheel, it's more like "Where's Yocum?"
There's not much more I can say about this production of "Annie". If you've seen it once at the Wagon Wheel, you've seen it a million times before. The characters aren't deep, and the themes are simple. It's a kid's show that young kids might enjoy.
But unless you've got a young kid - preferably a girl - who has never seen any production of "Annie" before, this version might have you looking at your watch.
My rating (out of four): 2.
"Annie" is at the Wagon Wheel now through Dec. 19.[[In-content Ad]]Single adult tickets are $30 for all shows. Tickets for students 13 through college are $16 and children 12 and under are $12. Special rates are available for groups of 15 or more.
To order tickets, or for more information about upcoming events at the Wagon Wheel, call the box office at 574-267-8041, toll free at 866-823-2618, or visit online at www.wagonwheeltheatre.com
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Done by Roy Hine, the late artistic director, the show starts out at the orphanage with six little beds around the stage. Above the stage are "Annie" comic drawings, and there are "neon" signs around the theater above the audience's heads.
It's not an extravagant stage, but then again, "Annie" is no "Burlesque". It's the overly familiar story of an orphan who has more bounce in her step than a pack of kangaroos. Set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, Annie only wants to find her real parents, but ends up the adopted child of billionaire Oliver Warbucks.
And who sometimes doesn't want a billionaire for a daddy?
Like the show itself, the songs are so well known that even Jay-Z borrowed "It's a Hard-Knock Life" for one of his raps years ago. And who hasn't gotten "Tomorrow" stuck in their head to the point of madness?
For the production of "Annie" this time around, director and choreographer Scott Michaels doesn't take any artistic license with the musical. He lets it play out like you've seen it over and over again. There are no surprises, no thrills, no changes. Just "Annie".
Playing Annie this year is Shaniah Ramsey, a 10-year-old red head who turns 11 Saturday. Audiences will be pleased to find that Ramsey can sing, and she didn't forget or fumble over her lines opening night Dec. 3 when I saw the show. From where I was sitting - way in the back, last row - I couldn't necessarily tell if Ramsey was emoting any feeling other than joy, but I could definitely hear the excitement in the little girl's voice.
As I was leaving the theater, I heard one woman say how adorable Ramsey was in the show. I'll take her word on that.
There definitely were some comical moments in the show.
In the opening scene, there's a fight among some of the orphans. It came across more like a women's prison fight than a playground scuffle. With the other orphans yelling, "Fight, fight, fight," it was definitely an interesting way to begin the show before Annie broke it up.
Running the orphanage is Miss Hannigan. Ashley Pankow inhabits the character like a drunken Carol Burnett or Karen Walker. Pankow is one of the few actors on the stage in this version of "Annie" that brought more to her character than just what was in the script. She just walked on stage and she at least got a grin out of me, usually more.
Hannigan's brother, Rooster (Jake Klinkhammer), and his woman Lilly (Jennifer Dow), try and swindle Warbucks out of $50,000 by saying they're Annie's real parents.
Lilly is a lot like many of the other characters Dow has played in recent years at the Wagon Wheel. She's not too smart, probably a floozy and has a New England (New Jersey?) accent. Dow can play this kind of character blind folded, but I've seen her play more complex characters that I'd bet my entire DVD collection she can still play.
Klinkhammer is becoming a regular performer on the Wagon Wheel stage, and that's a good thing for the audiences as Klinkhammer has talent. He has no problem being the villain in Annie, but again, he's a better actor than this role. Klinkhammer's performance reminded me of the weasels from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", and that works because that's the kind of guy Rooster is.
The big bald guy, Warbucks, is played by Mickey Fisher. He does fine in the role, but he doesn't come off as intimidating. Warbucks is an intimidating guy, who makes everyone flinch, until he meets Annie. Fisher just doesn't intimidate as Warbucks. In fact, except for the bald head, I couldn't see Fisher as Warbucks at all.
One supporting role that provided some fun in this production of "Annie" Friday was Drake, the butler, played by Greg Pragel. He just delivered his character, his lines and all that jazz on stage in such a way that Pragel seemed like Drake. Many shows about rich people have the "blink and you'll miss them" butlers and maids built in, but Pragel makes his butler personable enough that you won't miss him.
Playing several roles, including that of President Roosevelt, is Mike Yocum. Yocum doesn't have to stretch much as an actor to go from playing the cop to the president for this show, but he's good at making the quick switch. It's kind of like the game "Where's Waldo?" only at the Wagon Wheel, it's more like "Where's Yocum?"
There's not much more I can say about this production of "Annie". If you've seen it once at the Wagon Wheel, you've seen it a million times before. The characters aren't deep, and the themes are simple. It's a kid's show that young kids might enjoy.
But unless you've got a young kid - preferably a girl - who has never seen any production of "Annie" before, this version might have you looking at your watch.
My rating (out of four): 2.
"Annie" is at the Wagon Wheel now through Dec. 19.[[In-content Ad]]Single adult tickets are $30 for all shows. Tickets for students 13 through college are $16 and children 12 and under are $12. Special rates are available for groups of 15 or more.
To order tickets, or for more information about upcoming events at the Wagon Wheel, call the box office at 574-267-8041, toll free at 866-823-2618, or visit online at www.wagonwheeltheatre.com
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