Theatre Works Shines with 'Annie'
By Frank O'Donnell
Valley Breeze Entertainment Writer
WOONSOCKET – What can you say about Annie?
The story about the Depression-era moptop red-headed orphan is a perennial favorite among community theater groups. At least once a year, you can count on it being produced within a 20-mile radius of your house.
This year is no exception. In fact, if you expand the radius just a bit, you can actually catch two concurrent productions of "Annie" right now – one in Woonsocket, the other in Westerly.
Over the weekend, I caught the Woonsocket version, put on by the folks at Theatre Works.
In case you've never seen it, here's a quick synopsis of the plot.
Orphanage. The Depression. Mean housemistress. Redhead hopes parents will return. Richest man on planet takes redheaded home for the holidays. Mean housemistress and meaner brother plot to thwart adoption and make some cash. The sun will come up tomorrow.
Okay, now that that's out of the way, how's the Theatre Works version?
First, a quick caveat. I'm not a huge fan of "Annie." So to be fair to this production, I brought along three of my own children, only one of whom has seen the show before. I figured I'd gauge the show by their reactions.
Kayla thought the orphans were adorable, and enjoyed Nicole Cayer in the title role.
Patrick was amused by Connie Anderson's portrayal of Miss Hannigan, and especially liked some of her wisecracking lines. For instance, when she's telling her brother's girlfriend Lily St. Regis about Oliver Warbucks, Lily says, "You mean the millionaire?"
"No, you stupid hotel," cracks Miss Hannigan, "the billionaire!"
Keri liked the music. She was already familiar with some of it from a variety of talent shows, and had once helped out with a performance of "Hard Knock Life."
Overall, my kids enjoyed the show, and have been singing some of the songs for the past couple of days.
I've got to agree with Patrick. Connie Anderson does an excellent job as Miss Hannigan, a role she reprised from City Night's production last year. This year's version has a bit more of an edge, which really helps. Miss Hannigan likes an occasional nip, and Anderson can pull off being drunk while still being able to negotiate a song-and-dance routine.
John Pacheco is good as Hannigan's con artist brother, Rooster. Unlike other Roosters I've seen in the past, this one drips schmooze, which really helps him sell "Easy Street," the song-and-dance bit he does with Anderson and Jessica Roch, who plays his girlfriend.
I've also got to agree with Kayla. Nicole Cayer does a nice job as Annie. Her singing is good, and the best part is, she doesn't try to exceed her range. She stays in it even if it means avoiding some high notes. Believe me, that's a very good thing.
And Kayla's right about the other orphans. They are cute, and their rendition of "Hard Knock Life" is outstanding. Ariana Pacheco is wrap-her-up-and-take-her-home adorable as Molly, especially in the scene where she imitates Miss Hannigan behind her back.
And I've got to give kudos to David Payton for some quick thinking. In his role as Officer Ward, he stops Annie and her dog Sandy (played by Nakita) on the street. He's sure he's seen the dog wandering around stray, and takes the dog away from Annie. "Prove to me it's your dog," he says." If he responds to his name, I'll know it's yours."
But no matter what Cayer did, this dog was not moving. Payton even tried to push the dog toward her, with no luck. There was a pregnant pause there, and people in the audience were starting to buzz a bit. "Ah, here you go, kid," said Payton, standing up and walking the dog over to Cayer. "Every time I've ever had a dog, he never answered to his name either. This dog is yours!"
That's one of the moments that makes live theater so much fun.
All in all, Theatre Works' "Annie" is enjoyable – designed for the kid in all of us.
The Valley Breeze, Weekend section, November 21, 2002.