Synopsis, Cast List and Musical Numbers
Act 1.
It is 1933 and eleven-year-old Annie is in
the Municipal Girls Orphanage, along with Molly, who is six,
Kate, who is seven, Tessie, who is ten, July, who is
thirteen, Pepper, who is twelve and Duffy, who is thirteen.
When Molly awakes from a bad dream at 3:00AM, Annie comforts
her. Molly then asks her to read the note Annie's parents
gave her in 1922, when she was left at the doorstep of the
orphanage. The note says that her parents will come pick her
up, so Annie is always hopeful that they are still out there
("Maybe").
Annie decides to escape to find her parents, but is
caught by the orphanage supervisor Miss Hannigan, who is
currently suffering from a hangover. Miss Hannigan is
angered by this and forces all the girls to vigorously clean
the orphanage ("Hard Knock Life"). Shortly after, Mr
Bundles, the laundry man, comes in to pick up the blankets.
While Miss Hannigan is flirting with him, Annie climbs into
the laundry basket and the orphans cover her up with
blankets. Once Miss Hannigan realizes Annie is gone, the
other orphans express their frustration ("Hard Knock Life
Reprise").
Annie successfully escapes, running into a
friendly stray dog. As she comforts him, she tells him of
better days yet to come ("Tomorrow"). The dog catcher is
after him, so Annie pretends he is hers by calling him
Sandy. Though at first unsuccessful, he is convinced, and
she continues. She later finds a Hooverville, where people
made homeless by the Great Depression have come together as
a community ("Hooverville (We'd Like To Thank You, Herbert
Hoover)"). However, a cop sent by Hannigan catches her and
brings her back.
Grace Farrell, assistant to the billionaire Oliver Warbucks,
comes to the orphanage asking for an orphan to come to his
house for the Christmas holiday. Because Annie was in Miss
Hannigan's office, Grace asks to take Annie, and Hannigan
reluctantly agrees. Once Grace has left, Miss Hannigan
explodes with her hatred for all the girls in the orphanage
("Little Girls").
Meanwhile, at the Warbucks Mansion, the servants and staff
welcome Annie with open arms ("I Think I'm Gonna Like it
Here"). When Oliver Warbucks comes back though, he is very
moody and not too happy to have an orphan in his house. He
asks Grace to take Annie to a movie, but she persuades him
to come. As Annie and Warbucks begin to like each other,
they enjoy a fabulous night in New York City ("NYC").
Back at the orphanage, Miss Hannigan's brother, Rooster, and
his floozy girlfriend, Lily St. Regis, pay a visit. Miss
Hannigan mentions that Annie is staying at a billionaire's
house, and Rooster and Lily think they could use this
situation to get rich, though they don't yet know how ("Easy
Street").
Warbucks sees the locket around Annie's neck, and buys her a
new one from Tiffany & Co. However, Annie bursts into tears
saying it was the only thing left by her parents, and
refuses to accept a new one. Grace and the Warbucks' staff
then pledge to find Annie's parents no matter what it takes
("You Won't be an Orphan For Long").
Act 2.
Annie soon appears on the radio, on a show
by Bert Healy, singing Maybe. On the show, Warbucks
announces that he is offering 50,000 dollars to the couple
that proves to be her parents. Healy then sings a song for
everyone with the Boylan sisters ("You're Never Fully
Dressed Without a Smile"). The girls in the orphanage happen
to be listening, and decide to have fun and dance around and
sing the song they've just heard ("Fully Dressed Children").
When Miss Hannigan hears, she barges in and demands to know
what was happening. Molly announces that Annie was on the
radio, and that there is a $50,000 reward for her parents.
Miss Hannigan is anything but pleased. Shortly after, a
couple named Ralph and Shirley Mudge come in, saying they
left a little girl here eleven years ago and have come back
for her. Miss Hannigan is shocked. The Mudges soon reveal
themselves to be Rooster and Lily, and explain their plan
for the reward. They request information about Annie from
Miss Hannigan for one third of the money, though she demands
one half for this service, and tells them about the note and
the locket. They develop a complete plan ("Easy Street
Reprise").
Back at the mansion, hundreds of couples are showing up,
though all are confirmed to be fakes by Grace, because none
knew about the locket. Warbucks brings Annie to Washington
D.C. where she requests to meet the president. FDR asks her
to stay, and she begins to sing Tomorrow, though shushed by
the cabinet. Roosevelt however, believes that people must be
optimistic during tough times, and commands his cabinet to
sing ("Cabinet Tomorrow"). Once back at the mansion,
Warbucks tells Annie how much he loves her ("Something Was
Missing"). Because Annie's parents have not shown up,
Warbucks announces he would like to adopt Annie ("I Don't
Need Anything But You"). They decide to throw a Christmas
party, and Annie wants to invite Miss Hannigan and the
orphans. While preparing, the delighted staff tell of how
Annie's arrival has changed their lives ("Annie").
Judge Louis Brandeis shows up to begin the adoption
proceedings, but is interrupted by Mr. and Mrs. Mudge
(Rooster and Lily in disguise) who come to pick up Annie.
Grace and Oliver are shocked, because they know about the
note and the locket. Still, Warbucks doesn't think they are
Annie's real parents. Warbucks requests that Annie be
allowed to stay one more night for the Christmas party, and
then be taken away to their supposed Pig Farm in New Jersey.
Early that morning, she wishes she could have been adopted,
and not sent off with her "parents" ("Maybe Reprise").
However, it is revealed by FDR, who shows up, that her
parents are actually Margaret and David Bennett, who died
when she was a baby. They then figure out that Mr. and Mrs.
Mudge are really Rooster and Lily just as they show up to
claim Annie and the money. They, along with Miss Hannigan,
are arrested by the Secret Service, and everyone is
delighted by FDR's new deal for the economy ("New Deal for
Christmas").
List of
Characters
A MAN
AN ANNOUNCER
AN USSHERETTE
ANNETTE A French
Maid
ANNIE Spunky, friendly, big-voiced, street-wise urchin--one
of the orphans
Age 11 A - high F Mezzo-Soprano
APPLE SELLER
ARTIE
BERT HEALY Radio
Personality
BOYLAN SISTERS Bonnie, Connie, Ronnie; Singing sisters,
perform on "Oxydent's Hour of Smiles" radio program
BUNDLES McCLOSKEY The Laundryman
CECILLE A French Maid
CORDELL HULL Male Cabinet member
DOG CATCHERS
DRAKE Warbucks's
English Butler
DUFFY The biggest orphan
Age 13
EDDIE Francis Perkins Female Cabinet member
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT The President
C-flat - E-sharp Baritone
FRED McCRACKEN Radio Personality
GRACE FARRELL Faithful Assistant to Warbucks
A - high G Soprano
HAROLD ICKES Male Cabinet member
HENRY MORGENTHAU Male Cabinet member
HONOR GUARD
HOOVERVILLE
DENIZEN
IRA
JIMMY JOHNSON
JULY The quietest
orphan Age 13
JUSTICE BRANDEIS
KALTENBORN's VOICE
KATE The next to
littlest orphan Age 7
LILY Rooster's floozy girlfriend D - high G Soprano
LOUIS HOWE Associate to Roosevelt
LT. WARD
MARY
MISS HANNIGAN
Cantankerous and mean old orphanage director
A - A flat Mezzo-Soprano
MOLLY The littlest orphan Age 6
MRS. GREER The Housekeeper
MRS. PUGH The Cook
NBC PAGE
OLIVER WARBUCKS
Warm-hearted, stiff-collared host to Annie for 2 weeks at
Christmas
C - high F Baritone
PEGGY PEPPER The toughest orphan Age 12
ROOSTER Miss Hannigan's no-good brother
B - high G Baritone
SECOND COP
SOPHIE The Kettle
SOUND EFFECTS MAN
STAR TO BE
TESSIE The cry
baby orphan Age 10
WACKY Radio Personality
Musical numbers
Extracts from the songs below can be heard at
http://www.mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000005
Act 1
-
Overture — Orchestra
-
Maybe — Annie & Orphans
-
Hard Knock Life — Annie & Orphans
-
Hard Knock Life (Reprise) — Orphans
-
Tomorrow — Annie
-
Hooverville (We'd Like to Thank You Herbert Hoover) —Hooverville-ites
-
Little Girls — Miss Hannigan
-
Little Girls (Reprise) — Miss Hannigan
-
I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here — Grace, Annie & Servants
-
N.Y.C. — Warbucks, Grace, Annie, Star-to-Be, Chorus
-
Easy Street — Rooster, Miss Hannigan, Lily
-
You Won't Be an Orphan for Long - Grace & Warbucks
-
Maybe (Reprise one) — Annie
Act 2
-
Maybe (Reprise two) — Annie
-
You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile — Bert Healy,
Boylan Sisters
-
You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile (Children) —
Orphans
-
Easy Street (Reprise) — Rooster, Miss Hannigan, Lily
-
Tomorrow (Cabinet Reprise) — Annie, Roosevelt, Warbucks,
Cabinet
-
Something Was Missing —Warbucks
-
I Don't Need Anything But You — Warbucks & Annie
-
Annie — Grace, Drake & Servants
-
Maybe (Reprise three) — Annie
-
New Deal for
Christmas — Warbucks & Servants