''Annie Warbucks'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

with a book by Thomas Meehan, music by

Charles Strouse Charles Strouse (born June 7, 1928) is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to such Broadway musicals as '' Bye Bye Birdie'', ''Applause'', and '' Annie''. Life and career Strouse was born in New York City, to Jewis ...

, and lyrics by

Martin Charnin Martin Charnin (November 24, 1934 – July 6, 2019) was an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the musical '' Annie.'' Life and career Charnin was born in New York ...

. A

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the 1977

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

-winning hit '' Annie'', based on

Harold Gray Harold Lincoln Gray (January 20, 1894 – May 9, 1968) was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the newspaper comic strip ''Little Orphan Annie''. Early life Harold Gray was born in Kankakee, Illinois on January 20, 1894, to Este ...

's ''

Little Orphan Annie ''Little Orphan Annie'' is a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem " Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and it made its debut on ...

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

, it begins immediately after ''Annie'' ends.

Plot

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

morning in 1933, when Child Welfare Commissioner Harriet Doyle (replacing the original's Miss Hannigan as the villain of the piece) arrives on the scene to inform

Daddy Warbucks Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks is a fictional character from the comic strip ''Little Orphan Annie''. He made his first appearance in the New York ''Daily News'' in the ''Annie'' strip on September 27, 1924. In the series he is said to be around 52 year ...

he must marry within sixty days or else the child will be returned to the

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or a ...

. Daddy Warbucks' whirlwind search for a fitting bride uncovers not only a plot by Doyle and her daughter Sheila Kelly to strip him of his fortune, but also his true feelings for his long-time assistant, Grace Farrell. A gaggle of cute little girls seeking parents and President Franklin D. Roosevelt return to take part in the shenanigans.

Background

''Annie Warbucks'' was the second attempt at an ''Annie'' sequel. The first, entitled ''Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge'', opened on December 22, 1989, at the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in Washington, D.C., to universally dismal reviews. Extensive efforts to get it into shape for a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

opening failed, and the project was abandoned.

Production history

''Annie Warbucks'' was developed in a workshop at the

Goodspeed Opera House Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut. A distinctive feature of the view from the Connecticut River, th ...

, directed by Charnin and

choreographed Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

by Peter Gennaro and under the direction of Michael P. Price, Executive Director. The musical played several out-of-town tryouts, starting at the Marriott Lincolnshire, Chicago in February through April 1992 and then the Drury Lane in Oak Brook, Illinois, followed by a five city United States tour, including San Diego in October 1992. It was originally planned that ''Annie Warbucks'' would open on

, but a "major investor pulled out". Some characters were cut and the budget reduced, leading to delays. The

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

production opened on August 9, 1993, Produced by Ben Sprecher, William Miller and Dennis Grimaldi, at the

Variety Arts Theatre Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

. The cast included

Harve Presnell George Harvey Presnell (September 14, 1933 – June 30, 2009) was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid-1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States. His career re ...

as Warbucks,

Donna McKechnie Donna McKechnie (born November 16, 1942) is an American musical theater dancer, singer, actress, and choreographer. She is known for her professional and personal relationship with choreographer Michael Bennett, with whom she collaborated on ...

as Sheila Kelly, and

Kathryn Zaremba Kathryn Lauren Zaremba (born September 24, 1983) is an American writer, illustrator, surface designer, business woman, singer, and former actress. She is best known for her roles as Annie Bennett Warbucks in the 1993 musical '' Annie Warbucks'' a ...

in the title role. The show broke all off-Broadway box office records for the time, running for 200 performances.'Annie' Sequel Closing", ''The New York Times'', January 28, 1994, Section C; p.13 The producers considered moving the show from the Variety Arts Theater to Broadway, and they secured $2.5 million from an investor for a move to Broadway, but discovered they couldn't make the move in time to be eligible for

consideration, which was a big part of the reason for moving in the first place. A provision in the Tony rules required that a show had to transfer to a Tony-eligible theatre within 30 weeks of its original opening in order to qualify for any nominations. The investor pulled out, ending the plans.

Reception

''Annie Warbucks'' received a strongly positive review from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', with David Richards writing, "Kathryn Zaremba, can deliver a punch line and tug a heartstring with the best of them. Her face is that of the littlest angel; her resilience that of a dead-end kid. If no one else in the cast of "Annie Warbucks" lifted a finger, Miss Zaremba would still carry the show over the finish line on her tiny shoulders of steel....Happily, the evidence of busy fingers is everywhere. Charles Strouse's score—full of peppy melodies and bright banjo rhythms—is one of the composer's best....There are plenty of laughs in the book by Thomas Meehan and the lyrics by Martin Charnin, who also functions as the remarkably clear-eyed director.... Bravely blinking back tears, Ms. (Donna) McKechnie explains that life deals you a lousy hand, "But You Go On," and proceeds to build the first-act torch song to a blaze. . Ms. McKechnie is in great form. ..."Annie Warbucks" provides enough of the familiar fun to qualify as more than a postscript. The predisposed shouldn't be disappointed, while the wary may well be won over."

Musical numbers

;Act 1 *"Overture" - Orchestra *"A New Deal for Christmas" - All *"Annie Ain't Just Annie Anymore" - Annie, Warbucks, Grace, Drake, The Staff *"Above the Law" - Commissioner Doyle *"Changes" - Warbucks, Annie *"The Other Woman" - The Orphans *"The Other Woman (reprise)" - The Orphans *"That's the Kind of Woman" - Drake, Annie, Warbucks, Servants *"A Younger Man" - Warbucks *"But You Go On" - Mrs. Kelly *"Above the Law (reprise)" - Commissioner Doyle, Mrs. Kelly *"I Got Me" - Annie, The Orphans *"I Got Me (reprise)" - Annie ;Act 2 *"Love" - Ella *"Love (reprise)" - Annie, C.G. *"Somebody's Gotta Do Somethin'" - Annie, The Patersons, Roosevelt, Grace, The White House Staff *"Leave It to the Girls" - Commissioner Doyle, Mrs. Kelly *"All Dolled Up" - The Orphans, Annie, Warbucks, Grace, Roosevelt, The Patersons, Drake, The Staff *"The Tenement Lullaby" - Mrs. Kelly *"It Would Have Been Wonderful" - Grace *"When You Smile" - Warbucks, Annie *"Wedding, Wedding" - Company *"I Always Knew" - Annie

References

External links

Lortel Archives listing

''Annie Warbucks''
at the Music Theatre International website {{Charles Strouse 1993 musicals Off-Broadway musicals Musicals based on comic strips Sequel plays Musicals by Thomas Meehan (writer) Musicals by Charles Strouse Little Orphan Annie