by Zoë Broom
It is one of those musicals where you might think you know exactly what you are going to get, a little red-haired orphan, a billionaire, a rather badly behaved dog and, of course, Tomorrow.
But more than 45 years after Annie first arrived on Broadway, there is a reason this much-loved musical continues to win over audiences.
The latest UK touring production opened at Hull New Theatre on Tuesday, September 8, bringing with it all the warmth, humour and instantly recognisable songs that have made Annie a family favourite for generations.
Set in New York during the Great Depression, the story follows 11-year-old Annie, who has spent most of her life in an orphanage run by the formidable and frequently intoxicated Miss Hannigan.
Annie remains convinced that the parents who left her there as a baby will one day return for her and, despite everything life throws at her, her optimism is almost impossible to dent.
Her fortunes change dramatically when Grace Farrell arrives at the orphanage looking for a child to spend Christmas at the home of billionaire businessman Oliver Warbucks.
And from the grim confines of Miss Hannigan’s orphanage to the considerable splendour of the Warbucks mansion, Annie suddenly finds herself in a very different world.
The young performer taking the title role on opening night was excellent, confidently carrying a huge part of the production on her shoulders and more than holding her own alongside the adult cast.
She also has some of the show’s biggest songs to deliver, not least Tomorrow which is probably the number most closely associated with Annie, and one which inevitably received a warm response from the audience.
The other young performers are equally important, with Annie’s fellow orphans bringing bags of energy and plenty of mischief to proceedings.
Their rendition of It’s the Hard Knock Life is one of the early highlights and there are plenty of laughs to be had from their attempts to survive life under Miss Hannigan.
But if Annie provides the heart of the show, Claire Sweeney gets to have an awful lot of the fun.
As Miss Hannigan she manages the impressive feat of being thoroughly horrible and extremely funny at the same time.
Staggering around the orphanage with a drink never too far away, she despises the children in her care and makes very little effort to hide it.
Sweeney throws herself into the role, playing up both Hannigan’s nastiness and her more ridiculous side and getting some of the biggest laughs of the evening in the process.
Her exasperation with the orphans and with life in general provides a steady stream of comedy, while Little Girls gives Sweeney the opportunity to really make the character her own.
Things become even more entertaining when Hannigan is joined by her scheming brother Rooster and his girlfriend Lily St. Regis.
The trio’s increasingly outrageous plan to pass Rooster and Lily off as Annie’s long-lost parents provides some of the show’s funniest moments, while their performance of Easy Street is another highlight.
At the opposite end of Annie’s rapidly changing fortunes is Oliver Warbucks.
Alex Bourne is excellent as the imposing billionaire, initially somewhat bewildered by the arrival of an 11-year-old girl in his meticulously ordered life but gradually, and rather sweetly, completely won over by her.
Their developing relationship gives the show much of its warmth, particularly as Warbucks’ efforts to help Annie find her real parents begin to reveal just how much she has come to mean to him.
And then there is Sandy. Annie’s four-legged friend might not have an enormous amount of stage time, but that hardly matters. His appearance inevitably prompted an audible collective “aww” from the audience and, frankly, he only had to wander on stage to win everybody over.
Visually, the production captures both sides of Annie’s world well, moving from the bleak orphanage and Depression-era streets of New York to the altogether grander surroundings of the Warbucks mansion.
There are some darker themes beneath all the songs and laughter, including poverty, abandonment and the desperation of families struggling during the Great Depression, but Annie never allows them to overwhelm its sense of optimism.
And that, ultimately, is what has kept the musical going for so long.
For all its villains and hardships, this remains an unapologetically feel-good story about hope, finding a family and believing that things can change for the better.
It also helps that the songs are so firmly embedded in popular culture.
Alongside Tomorrow, It’s the Hard Knock Life and Easy Street come Maybe, NYC and I Don’t Need Anything But You, songs that even those who have never previously seen the stage show are likely to recognise.
There is plenty for adults to enjoy among the family-friendly fun too. Much of that comes courtesy of Miss Hannigan, with Sweeney’s expressions, delivery and increasingly desperate behaviour often proving just as funny as the lines themselves.
By the time the famous red dress finally makes its appearance, it is difficult not to have been swept along by Annie’s seemingly indestructible optimism.
More than four decades Annie clearly still has the ability to brighten an evening.
Annie runs at Hull New Theatre until Sunday, September 13.