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July 6, 2012

‘Annie’ lives up to reputation at Derby Dinner Playhouse

By CHARLES WHALEY newsroom@newsandtribune.com

CLARKSVILLE — That lovable Depression-era comic-strip orphan with the saucer eyes and a tag-along mutt named Sandy is just what the country needs today to get us all back up to speed.

Derby Dinner Playhouse, in its fresh-as-a-daisy staging of “Annie,” the Tony-Award winning musical by Thomas Meehan, Martin Charnin, and Charles Strouse, makes an enjoyably strong case for such a solution to the nation’s problems.

Theatre producer Bekki Jo Schneider in remarks at Thursday’s press opening noted clear-cut unemployment similarities between then and now. The show, she said, teaches us we’ve got to have hope -- and hope comes from children.

“It’s a Hard-Knock Life,” Annie and her orphan chums sing as they dance with mop buckets after mean old orphanage manager Miss Hannigan [a hilariously nasty Elizabeth Loos] punishes them for staying up late during one of Annie’s attempts to run away. Loos is a riot singing of her distaste for “Little Girls.”

Lauren Petrey was a poised, heart-melting Annie on press night, alternating in the role with Kennedy Kruse. All other orphans are double-cast with young performers from the Kentuckiana area.

Things start looking up for Annie when Grace Farrell [elegant Colette Delaney] visits the orphanage to choose a child to spend Christmas at the Fifth Avenue mansion of billionaire Oliver Warbucks [wonder how he made his money?]. She picks Annie.

The hard-nosed Warbucks [Jeff March, persuasive as a tycoon accustomed to barking orders], nudged by his secretary Grace and his large household staff, falls under Annie’s spell while treating her to luxurious living. Though he wants to adopt her, he promises to track down for Annie the parents who left her at the orphanage 11 years ago.

Miss Hannigan’s ne’er-do-well brother Rooster [Matthew Brennan] and his slutty girlfriend Lilly St. Regis, “named for the hotel” [Megan Bliss] almost succeed in passing themselves off as Annie’s parents.

These three scoundrels tear up the stage with their sassy, show-stopping song and dance about their intention to live on “Easy Street.”

Naturally, Warbucks brings Annie together with President Franklin D. Roosevelt [Paul Kerr, who wields a mean cigarette holder] for a sing-along about Annie’s faith in “Tomorrow.” FDR forces even strait-laced Harold Ickes [a neat cameo by Kevin Crain] to join in.

Derby Dinner’s associate producer Lee Buckholz directed the huge cast with obvious affection for the material.

Heather Paige Folsom’s choreography was flawlessly integrated while Sharon Murray Harrah’s costumes [patched clothes for orphans, Annie’s red coat and dainty dresses from her stay with Warbucks, Grace’s gorgeous gown that opened Warbuck’s eyes to her at a mansion party, Miss Hannigan’s overdone frumpish choices] deftly illuminated the era.

 As Annie and orphans remind us, though, “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.”

 “Annie’ runs through Aug. 12. For tickets and information: 812-288-8281, toll free 877-898-8577, or www.derbydinner.com.

 

 

 

 

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