\u201cHey, hobo man; hey, Dapper Dan \u2014 you\u2019ve both got your style!\u201d croons a man\u2019s voice out of an old-fashioned console radio. The girls of the New York City Municipal Orphanage sing along, \u201cBut brother, you\u2019re never fully dressed without a smile!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Importantly, a smile on its own is not enough. You will also need to buy some clothes.<\/p>\n
But for most people in Great Depression-era Manhattan, the cost of clothing \u2014 and everything else, for that matter \u2014 hurts. Enter \u201cAnnie,\u201d the rags-to-riches musical that follows the titular orphan as she finds her way into the mansion and heart of billionaire Oliver Warbucks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve seen the 1982 film, you know the rest \u2014 more or less. The stage musical, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin and book by Thomas Meehan , boasts a wryer sense of humor and a more mature political conscience than its movie adaptation. All the more reason to get yourself to Berkeley Playhouse, where this all-around spectacular production opened last Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Within the show\u2019s huge and uniformly talented cast, the orphans are the main attraction. We owe it all to director and choreographer Megan McGrath, who has achieved the incredible feat of training two separate youth ensembles to play the orphans for alternate performances.<\/p>\n
On opening night, an exuberant Tessie (Darci Siva) turned a one-handed cartwheel, while gentle Kate (Nora Farivar), cheerful Duffy (Mackenzie Paige Preisler) and thoughtful July (Chana Weintraub) mellowed out the group. Alice Song gave a standout performance as Molly, a tiny acrobat with a huge attitude.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Miss Hannigan (Sarah Bylsma) staggers around the orphanage wielding a flask like a scepter and shouting orders which the girls mostly ignore. When her weird brother Rooster Hannigan (Liam Cody) arrives in town with a scheme to kidnap Annie \u2014 and, in the process, scam Warbucks out of 50,000 dollars \u2014 who\u2019d blame her for hopping onboard?<\/p>\n
Everyone, it turns out. We\u2019re not supposed to cheer for the Hannigans, who have a little money and would like a little more. But we may cheer for \u201cDaddy\u201d Warbucks, who has a lot of money and would like a lot more. Don\u2019t worry, we can trust him: he\u2019s a \u201cDaddy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
To be fair, Brendan Simon plays Warbucks as the most likeable capitalist you can imagine, with his huge frame, melodious voice and tendency to become flustered by Annie\u2019s sheer adorableness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Annie, ten-year-old Emma Jilizian dazzles. Confident and steady on her feet, with a clear, lovely voice, Jilizian\u2019s rendition of \u201cMaybe\u201d \u2014 \u201cWon\u2019t you please come get your baby?\u201d she sings softly to her absent parents \u2014 hits the audience right in the gut.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jilizian equally holds her own in the Oval Office, where she leads former President Franklin D. Roosevelt\u2019s cabinet in a rousing chorus of \u201cTomorrow,\u201d tracing a tricky harmony line while the adults gaze at her in awe. A moment later, in a fun bit of revisionism, they invent the New Deal. Apparently, President Roosevelt (Adam Saville) is much quicker to grant the wishes of little girls than those of his voters.<\/p>\n
Icky? A little. Yet this production is careful to acknowledge the unfairness of the world it dramatizes\u00a0 \u2014 Annie rescues a stray dog, but another pup goes to the pound; Miss Hannigan openly envies the advantages of Warbucks\u2019s secretary Grace (Melinda Meeng); the same actors who depict the down-on-their-luck residents of a shantytown also depict Warbucks\u2019 well-groomed, well-paid staff.<\/p>\n
But even through a critical eye, the show looks gorgeous. Thanks to scenic designer Jenna Forder, the shantytown, all aglitter with shiny cookware and salvaged knick-knacks, is just as eye-catching as the Warbucks mansion. And sure, they\u2019ve both got their style \u2014 but most of us would choose the mansion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Better, too, to be Annie, who ends up with the richest man in the world for a father, rather than some other little girl. Cuteness pays dividends.<\/p>\n
As for me, I\u2019m rooting for Pepper (the fantastic Ellie Smith), a scrappy, overlooked orphan who can be spotted in a corner of the Warbucks mansion quietly making friends with the chief of police. This kid is on her way to the top \u2014 no Daddy required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cHey, hobo man; hey, Dapper Dan \u2014 you\u2019ve both got your style!\u201d croons a man\u2019s voice out of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[32192,32200,32183,764,32184,32190,32199,32187,32196,32195,32191,32204,32194,32202,32198,32185,32188,32203,32193,29898,32197,143,145,144,32186,32201,32189],"class_list":{"0":"post-49735","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-adam-saville","9":"tag-alice-song","10":"tag-annie","11":"tag-berkeley","12":"tag-berkeley-playhouse","13":"tag-brendan-simon","14":"tag-chana-weintraub","15":"tag-charles-strouse","16":"tag-darci-siva","17":"tag-ellie-smith","18":"tag-emma-jilizian","19":"tag-great-depression","20":"tag-jenna-forder","21":"tag-liam-cody","22":"tag-mackenzie-paige-preisler","23":"tag-manhattan","24":"tag-martin-charnin","25":"tag-megan-mcgrath","26":"tag-melinda-meeng","27":"tag-new-deal","28":"tag-nora-farivar","29":"tag-oakland","30":"tag-oakland-headlines","31":"tag-oakland-news","32":"tag-oliver-warbucks","33":"tag-sarah-bylsma","34":"tag-thomas-meehan"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}