NBC's ANNIE LIVE! (2021) - News & Discussion Thread — Page 23

Auggie27 said: ""Easy Street" reminded us what the show was/is. But the ugly designs -- that vacuous studio with floating dinner theater/TV special sets, period-indifferent costuming, bad wigs -- squelch too much of the good. Putting an dimly lit audience around the action -- but what, 100 feet away? -- just felt bizarre. And then suddenly, there's an "Annie Live!" sign illuminated during an intimate moment. It still looks like a promo with highlights rather than the broadcast. Nothing hung together. Direction, concept, and overall tackiness genuinely disappointed. The 1930s offer a chance for a slice of authentic urban Americana (Google the original). Nothing came close to that."

Imagine, a one night TV special using TV special sets. The nerve of those people! It makes much more sense to sink money into large sets for a tradition that garners ever depleting ratings. They definitely should have done that, ya know, rather than assembling a stellar cast that, over all, did a pretty darn good job. Damn them for letting a musical look so... theatrical on screen.

I ultimately enjoyed it. I had a few minor quibbles along the way (and I usually am one to rip these live presentations apart) but all in all I thought it was well done.

I will say, however, that Titus Burgess and Megan Hilty were the two EXTREME stand-out highlights of the whole show. Gee! Imagine that! True, experienced Broadway musical comedy talents doing the utmost BEST (by far) in a Broadway musical comedy presentation. Whod've ever thunk it?!?!?!

I rarely comment, but I saw the original cast of “Annie” and the only filmed version to come close to that amazing production was the 1999 one. This felt cheap and cobbled together. Miss Hannigan was shrill and so over acted that it was embarrassing to watch, Dorothy Louden brought the house down with her performance. The set was college caliber at best. The pacing was slow and I have no idea what happened to the ending except they couldn’t decide if they wanted to sing “Annie” or “New Deal for Christmas.” This is why many in the general public hate musicals.

I'm not a fan of ANNIE, generally speaking. Too many little children, screaming.(and this was true here - since there aren't a lot of children that can actually act well (yet) just have them say their lines REALLY loudly.) Too darn sweet for my tastes. That being said, I thought it was definitely one of the better "live" performances done. I thought both the vocals and the choreo were outstanding. The acting was a mixed bag - all around. (Note: I only watched about 1/2 - but will probably finish the rest over the weekend.)

I watched it. I thought it was fine. I saw the original production in 1978 just before Andrea McArdle left for the West End production. I have seen various incarnations of this show, and nothing comes close to the original. I'm sorry they cut, You Won't Be an Orphan For Long, and that they fiddled around with Act 2. I enjoyed the dancing, but I thought the vocals of the ensemble were wasted. I enjoyed Megan Hilty and Titus Burgess the best.

All in all, serviceable, and at this point in entertainment, given the ongoing pandemic and such, that's really all they needed, a solid inoffensive contender like the first go-round with Sound of Music in order to justify prioritizing such projects again. (In fact, that's an apt comparison, as the parallels are numerous: largely faithful script, some musical interpolations from the most known film ["Sign" and "We Got Annie," which though it was written for the show at one point is best known for its film appearance], okay-ish casting with the lightest possible interpretation of star power, some noticeable flubbing of lines around where I would assume the Eleanor Roosevelt cameo was supposed to be, etc.)

Most people did not dig what Taraji was laying down, but she was playing to the back row and not to the cameras and, in my opinion, turned in a solid performance given that (I'd like to see what she could do with Mrs. Lovett, for example), as, indeed, were most of the kids. If anything, the busy camera work seemed to try too hard to split the difference between live show and film; if you're going truly live, with a live audience, maybe shooting it more like, say, Cathy Rigby's Peter Pan or other pro-shots is the key. Treat it like what it is, in other words.

The one aspect that particularly bothered me was the pacing. Congrats on managing to fit in as much of the show as one could, but dear God, do we need that much room for commercials that we have to speed through it like a bat out of hell? I barely had a second to breathe between "Maybe" and "Tomorrow."

Updated On: 12/3/21 at 09:20 AM

Harry isn’t bald and didn’t want to shave his head. That’s why.



I thought it was terrific. I was Strouse’s archivist and lived with him for a while. It was terrific, true to his vision, and little Celina was astonishing.

Besides Scherzinger's vocal choices at some parts, she gave a stellar performance. When we came back from commercial and she was in that yellow dress I teared up. And then that dance!! She's fabulous. Everyone was a real pro in this.

I had a really good time last night! Sure, there were bumps (I had more quibbles with the backs of cameras showing up than anything to do with that cast, set, or whatever), but it was overall a lot of fun. I've always liked (if not loved) Annie, and this hit most of the right buttons. I was wondering if they'd surprise us with a new Eleanor Roosevelt, but it was probably too short an amount of time.

LizzieCurry said: "I had a really good time last night! Sure, there were bumps (I had more quibbles with the backs of cameras showing up than anything to do with that cast, set, or whatever), but it was overall a lot of fun. I've always liked (if not loved) Annie, and this hit most of the right buttons. I was wondering if they'd surprise us with a new Eleanor Roosevelt, but it was probably too short an amount of time."



I completely agree

Not sure how anyone could have watched last night and found nothing kind to say. How could someone not be amazed by Celina’s skill at such an age?

iluvtheatertrash said: "Not sure how anyone could have watched last night and found nothing kind to say. How could someone not be amazed by Celina’s skill at such an age?"

Apparently you’re not aware she’s a series regular on the Tyler Perry series YOUNG DYLAN, therefore she is experienced working with cameras, learning scripts, working with other actors and camera blocking, etc. The only addition was she was singing. She wasn’t “discovered” at Taco Bell.

I have always had a soft spot for Annie, seeing it first as young child in an All-Spanish production, and then wearing off the color of my cousin's VHS. One of the issues I find with more recent revivals/movies is that it's tough to find the balance between the dark parts of the story and the reality of having so many children around. IMHO it's not really a kid's show. Curry and Peters are VERY touchy in the movie, Burnett's Ms. Hannigan is a horny drunk, her advances at the various men that walk through the orphanage are NOT subtle, and it's fairly clear that she hits the children. I think this raises the stakes and makes you want to root for Annie and the orphans more (similar to Oliver).

I thought last night's broadcast did a good job of finding this balance. Rooster/Lily played up the camp (which made up for lack of sexual chemistry), and Henson always had that "I am funny but I will still whip yo ass" energy that kept you guessing the whole show. If I recall, in her first entrance, she pushes Annie to the ground, which I thought was bold. I

As an aside, I LOVE "Sign" and think it's genius and funny, but only because I've heard it (and possibly sang it in my room) about 1000 times - It' "I guess I'll never know the feeling, of running fingers through your hair!" (LOL!), and last night there were sound, diction, pacing issues, as well as some necessary lyric updates which took away from it. Not to mention, clear limitations in the staging - I am guessing they Finney/Burnett needed several takes to get it right.

I also loved the nods they made to the earlier versions, particularly the yellow dress and to me Hilty was channeling Peters, particularly during the Easy Street dance breaks.

For some reason, I kept hearing something similar to stage manger directions for 3/4 of the show ("Grace continues to dance with the 'servants' and joins Ms. Pugh playing the piano). It was very odd, anyone else get that?

Anyway, all in all a much needed visit with my 9yr. old self!