Annie "The sun'll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow - there'll be sun." These words of encouragement and optimism underline the theme of "Annie" - Annie, herself, a metaphorical figure standing for courage and optimism in the face of hard times, pessimism and depair. The musical, by Martin Charnin, Charles Strouse ("Bye, Bye Birdie") and Thomas Meehan, was produced in 1976 and ran for 2,377 performances. Today it is enjoying a successful revival on Broadway. Li'l Orphan Annie was a popular comic strip character of the 30's and 40's in the American newspapers. The creators of the musical borrowed the character, knowing that an orphan wins an audience's immediate attention and elicits a sympathetic response - remember Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist and Heathcliff.

The musical was performed during June-July 1998 and was brought back by popular demand for two performances during the following November. We have gotten much positive feedback about the show, many people remarking on how well the orphans did, especially Naomi Ellenson and Hava Munishor, who played the title role on different nights. After a bit of confusion, we got the dogs who played Sandy (Teva and Briget) to play their part to perfection, so that the "Tomorrow" number - sung by Annie when she is in the streets of New York with only a dog for company - was one of the highlights of the show.

The story revolves around Annie, an orphan whose high spirits arouse the contempt of Miss Hannigan (Cheryl Meirovich), the orphanage director. When Annie is invited to the grand home of Oliver Warbucks (Marvin Meital), a loving relationship develops between them, assisted by the caring attention of Warbucks' secretary, Grace Farrel (Aviva Barazini). Miss Hannigan, along with her miscreant brother, Rooster (Jack Halpert), and his girlfriend Lily (Jodi Karpes), plot to extort money from Warbucks. Of course, as in all traditional musicals, evil is doomed and good prevails - Annie remains with "Daddy Warbucks" and the villians are punished.

The musical featured many lively, uplifting chorus numbers which were ably directed by Sue Hendrickson. The many dance numbers were choreogaphed by Rosa Howden. Our talented accompanist, Diane Herman, again performed her magic on the synthesizer. The entire production was directed by Leah Stoller.

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