Young People’s Theatre premiered its production of the musical favourite Annie (TYA) last Thursday night to a full house. The production features musical theatre legend Louise Pitre as Miss Hannigan and two-time Juno-nominee Sterling Jarvis as Oliver Warbucks, along with newcomer Jenny Weisz (RBC Emerging Artist) in the title role of Annie.
This version of Annie (TYA) has been condensed to 80 minutes in order to accomodate the youngest audience members. The story is more of a ‘feel good’ story, in that many of the more serious aspects are omitted. This is most likely due to time but also keeping the little ones in mind. There were moments where some serious aspects of the story were touched upon, but not enough to give it the depth we’re used to, for this play. The main point that Annie’s experience has been less than favourable still resonates throughout the show, however.
The show still includes some of Broadway’s most popular show tunes, including Tomorrow, It’s the Hard Knock Life and Easy Street. In the title role, Jenny Weisz does a decent job overall, but I’d be curious to see a younger girl in the main role. Somehow, I did not connect with Annie as much as I normally would. The young members of the audience did seem to like her, though. Given this is a production aimed at school-aged children, it works.
The production also stars Jess Abramovitch, Mary Antonini, Richard Binsley, Jessie Cox (RBC Emerging Artist), Ramona Gilmour-Darling, Natalia Gracious (RBC Emerging Artist), W. Joseph Matheson, Dale R. Miller, Nicole Norsworthy (RBC Emerging Artist), Natasha O’Brien and Shawna Van Omme. As an ensemble, they do well. I did enjoy their version of N.Y.C. (pictured below).
The creative team includes Musical Director Diane Leah, Set & Props Designer Teresa Pryzbylski, Costume Designer Melanie McNeill, Choreographer Nicola Pantin, Lighting Designer Michael Walton, Sound Designer Michael Laird, and Stage Manager Kristin McCollum. I will give big kudos to Walton on his lighting design; it works really well with the minimal staging available. Quite imaginative, actually.
For my fellow adult audience members, Annie (TYA) may seem a bit ‘watered down’ perhaps. But for the intended audience, I think it will still be interesting and a good introduction to musical theatre as well. For those of you who enjoy musical theatre and have children or know children who like the arts, this makes an enjoyable outing.
