Annie Preview Thread — Page 11

Jordan,
If you note in my commentary i don't state that you could not see the full set, but understand how it could read as very flat from that angle.
As far as Blankenbuehler, I only state that it was a welcome surprise to see that it was a very different style than what we have seen from him... not that it was great.
Yes, I was also told that things are changing daily.. that is what previews are for after all. You make it sound as though it is an absolute disaster. I very respectfully disagree.

(Edit: if you would like me to speak at some length of my problems with the production, I am more than happy to. Overall, I found it to be a very winning production.)

Updated On: 10/16/12 at 12:36 PM

LOL! Well it was no MARY, MARY. But to be fair, what is...?

And by "big changes" I don't mean preview tweaking. I mean BIG changes. We'll see if they happen, though.

To broadwayguy2,
Curious what show you went to. I saw show on sat and also noticed a couple mishaps but loved Annie's performance as well.

"And hearing this morning from friends that BIG things might be changing with this show since they know it's not working, either."

It's true then. Loretta Swit is being brought in as the new Hannigan.

At last a role worthy of La Swit's magnificent talents!!!!!!!!

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I saw this last night. Here are my brief thoughts. Lilla is sensational, as is Anthony Warlow and Brynn O'Malley (who might've been my surprise favorite). Liked Rooster, couldn't stand Lily. Finneran, eh. Why does she look like a tranny?

The sets are beautiful. And the sets were fabulous. Loved the rotating "rooms." Never seen a production of Annie before, but thoroughly enjoyed myself. I thought the show was succinct, moved nicely, and everyone was on their game. My only gripe is that I was sitting in the front row after winning lottery and the orchestra sometimes overpowered the dialogue. Maybe it was just where I was sitting, but I missed some of the lines.

Patrick Healy interviewed Finneran, and she has some interesting things to say about the role.

"The hardest thing in musical comedy is to be economical with my performance, to avoid being over-the-top for the sake of it," Ms. Finneran said. "I'm feeling more pressure about "Annie" than anything else I've done."
NYTimes Article

I think what Finneran's saying is that she wants to make Hannigan a real person and not a cartoon, which is something I fully support. As she asserts in the Times piece, she's someone who really utilizes the preview period to flesh out her characterization, and I have no doubt she's doing that s we speak.

It's interesting how polarizing her performance appears to be- some people are accusing her of being completely over the top and recycling her tricks from PROMISES, PROMISES, and other people are saying she's severely underplaying it. It's amazing how folks can watch the same thing and see two completely extreme opposite ends of the spectrum. I'm sure what she's doing is evolving, of course, but not that much.

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Updated On: 10/18/12 at 12:17 AM

Did anyone see show tonight or last night (Wednesday Thursday)? Any thoughts on Annie or Hannigan?

On Thursday, Taylor Richardson was Annie and Jaidyn Young covered Duffy. Richardson was excellent in the title role.

Any idea why Richardson, as opposed to Annie standby Young, is going on instead of the latter?

Yeah, Marty ain't happy with James AT ALL.

Taylor and Jaidyn on tonight like Thursday.

Here's the thing.. and this is not to be seen as a defense of Lapine's direction. (Though I did love much and took isuues with some key things).

I think Charnin would / will take issue with ANYONE else's direction of that show. Good, bad or indifferent. So I take that with a major grain of salt. In fact, I would personally take Charnin's dislike (after the last few productions he has staged) to be a sign that I am on the right track.


As far as Crawford vs Richardson vs Young:
To the best of my knowledge, Crawford has indeed been battling illness and they would, of course, rather play it safe than sorry. As per usual, understudies and stand-bys aren't fully rehearsed until after a show is frozen. Richardson has ONE role to understudy, whereas Young as four roles to learn. At this point, it should be expected that Richardson is a tad more up on the game of having learned the role.

Here's how I believe the process works and please correct me but I'm feeling pretty confident here: Crawford is clearly Annie and clearly sick. The voice is always the last thing to recover. Richardson, understudy, will be Annie whenever Crawford is sick or needs time off such as a Wednesday or Saturday matinee as long as there is enough time to make the audience aware of the switch such as the slip of paper in the playbill or a sign in the foyer area. Young would only step in as Annie if something happened in the middle of the production such as a twisted ankle or the like. However, if that happened right now Richardson would be the clear choice as she's done it and has done it exceptionally well. They certainly never planned for Richardson to fill in until after opening night and I'm certain they are breathing a great sigh of relief that she not only made it through but carried the show. From what I hear Young is also extremely talented and given time she will be ready when needed.

I saw the show last night and it was the first time seeing a full stage production. In the end I totally enjoyed it. There were moments that were a little blah but who cares, the house was packed and everyone was having a good time. It was sad to miss Lilla Crawford but Taylor Richardson gave a wonderful performance - she was working at her Noo Yawk accent at first but once she tore into "Tomorrow" with Sandy there was nothing to critique of her performance; she was spot on. The crowd was cheering loudly when she belted those final notes. During "When I'm stuck with a day that's grey and lonely" she, to me, sounded a lot like Andrea on the OBC. The orphans were adorable and Molly was a real standout - that's obvious, her being the youngest, but she really did a great job. (Personal note on the subject matter - when she's crying, "Momma! Momma!" at the beginning and Annie comforts her, even just hearing that on the OBC album made me cry, same for last night)

Katie as Miss Hannigan didn't really do it for me. Those who critiqued her performance earlier in the thread were spot on - she played up the drunk part a bit too much, and came across as scary but flat (I much prefer Dorothy Loudon's performance). Someone mentioned that the orphans were part of the "Easy Street" number, I don't remember them being in it last night; that number was a bit of a dud so I probably lost interest anyway. I loved Anthony Warlow and Brynn O'Malley, Clarke Thorell and J. Elaine Marcos were good, with J. Elaine not being an Asian stereotype at all. "You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile" and "The Cabinet Meeting" scenes were two of the best of the evening, they were very well done.

As far as the set - get rid of the clothesline at the beginning! Next - the orphanage was unique but did look a little flimsy - I was a bit worried for Katie at one point because in one scene it looked like part of the set was going to come down on her and the orphans' heads. Daddy Warbucks' mansion as a storybook was a very interesting set design, and was stunning for the Christmas scene.

The overture controversy - oh, the overture, please bring it back! So annoying when it's playing and the newsreel that tells you nothing you don't already know cuts into it.

Updated On: 10/20/12 at 02:10 PM