- By Barbara Brenner
- Entertainment
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"Many people mistakenly believe they've seen this show before," says Steinhagen, "when in reality they're remembering the movie, which is quite different, or reduced versions that they've seen at middle schools. I think people will be pleasantly surprised by the depth of the characters."
Annie (Erin Hilgartner) longs to escape the depression-era orphanage run by the rotten Miss Hannigan (Ilana Wallenstein) to find her birth parents, whom she holds out hope of one day discovering. Grace (Keara Byron), the lovely assistant to billionaire Oliver Warbucks (Brendan Coyle), brings Annie to his fifth Avenue mansion for Christmas knowing how much each of them would benefit from having a family. Hannigan and her brother known as "Rooster" (Michael Sloan) and his floozy girlfriend Lily St. Regis (Elisheva Glaser) hatch a scheme to steal Annie and thousands of dollars from Warbucks, and everyone works to stop them – all the way up to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Caleb Harris).
"As I read the script, I couldn't believe how topical this play still is," says Steinhagen. "There's a scene where the president weighs the benefits of a government economic stimulus to help the unemployment rate!" Steinhagen asserts that even more timeless is the theme of family. "Annie and Warbucks each have such beautiful character arcs. They are perfectly matched in their fierce independence and the loneliness that comes with building walls around your heart." Steinhagen believes that "your own heart will break and swell as you see them grow to learn to love and discover the joy of being a family."
Music director Andy Collopy and choreographer Steven Dean Moore have worked hard to prepare this cast of artists ranging from grades six through twelve. "So many of the songs are familiar favorites, and the numbers choreographed by Steve have his signature on them with energy and purpose, while Andy always coaches young people to stronger vocal performances," says R2P's other Co-Artistic Director Gail Belokur. In addition to strong performances by the cast, the design team has collaborated to bring new life to this familiar piece. "After coming off the monumental Christmas Carol, and facing a modest timeline and budget, resident designer Tyler M. Perry has done it again," says Belokur, "Tyler has taken a fresh approach by using negative space to create a feeling of size and openness for the mansion and projected imagery to evoke the graphic origins of this comic strip come to life." Lighting designer Jennette Kollmann and costume designer Abbey Steere worked closely with Perry to create a unified look. The show begins largely in shades of gray and transitions to bursts of color as Annie's journey progresses.
The show runs one weekend only: January 11-13 at the State Theatre of Ithaca, with performances on Friday and Saturday at 7pm, Sunday at 2pm.
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