Review: Though lively with Aurora performances and direction, ‘Annie’ perpetuates dated ideas

Few musicals in the American theater canon are as immediately recognizable as Annie, a seminal tale that feels so ingratiated into our consciousness, one may be surprised to learn that it’s only as old as 1977. The reason for the musical’s staying power, however, has more to do with its snappy neoliberal optimism than the strength of its book, leaving individual productions to lean into the former virtues to cover the latter deficiencies. The current production at Aurora Theatre, running through September 13, performs this balancing act with zeal, but one has to wonder if this timeless classic has lost some of its luster.

Directed by Bethany Irby Okie, this staging of Annie benefits immensely from lively and entertaining performances. Twenty children make up the cast of orphans, split into two 10-person groups called the Sunny and Sandy cast. The Sunny cast took the stage at the reviewed performance, and their enthusiasm was palpable every time they appeared. Not only that, but they delivered genuinely impressive group vocals during numbers such as It’s a Hard Knock Life.”

Mary Taylor, the Sunny cast’s Annie (she shares the role with Eve Oliver), is also a powerhouse soloist, delivering full-chested high notes in songs like “Tomorrow” with a vocal control beyond her years. 

The most finely calibrated performer onstage is Wendy Melkonian as the devious Miss Hannigan. Melkonian effortlessly conveys the character’s corrosiveness while also finding the more complex layers of a woman who is stuck in a job that she hates with few prospects for her life. The actor seems to have a sharp understanding of when to make Hannigan at once sympathetic, sleazy, funny and despicable, and it makes for a magnetic performance.

She also has an easy chemistry with Lawrence Flowers’ Rooster, who gives a fun character performance with stand-out vocals.

The production moves well due to Okie’s well-paced direction; the choreography by Kari Twyman Walker is sharp; and Jon Sandmaier’s adaptable set design is able to shift deftly from squalid city streets to opulent high-rises.

The crux of the show’s problems lies with the characterization of Mr. Warbucks, whose internal arc is abbreviated to a footnote. Chris Damiano gives a perfectly serviceable performance, exuding just the right brand of New England elite in his tone and cadence, but the script rides on his connection with Annie, which is only given to us in shorthand. 

The character of Mr. Warbucks is meant to be a stand-in for the idealized American work ethic, the hardworking benevolent capitalist who solves all of the play’s problems through sheer wealth and generosity — yet we’re also introduced to him as the man who sent his assistant to go shopping for an orphan. The resolution to this contradiction is meant to be that he learns to care for others by caring for Annie, but again, that character beat is all but missing.

To be clear, Annie is not a bad musical so much as it has simply aged past its prime. In the current political and economic landscape, a musical that combats nihilism and despair is a welcome breath of fresh air, but one that does so by positioning an affluent capitalist as the uncomplicated savior of the story is bound to face some ideological friction.

Okie and the folks at Aurora Theatre have put together a perfectly competent production that I’m sure will be good fun for the kids in the audience. However, one is left wondering if it’s perhaps time for this supposedly timeless classic to be retired — or at least relegated to children’s theater. 

Where and When

Aurora Theatre’s Annie is on the Clyde & Sandra Strickland Grand Stage through September 13. Tickets start around $45.
128 East Pike St., Lawrenceville.

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Luke Evans is an Atlanta-based writer, critic and dramaturg. He covers theater for ArtsATL and Broadway World Atlanta and has worked with theaters such as the Alliance, Actor’s Express, Out Front Theatre and Woodstock Arts. He’s a graduate of Oglethorpe University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree, and the University of Houston, where he earned his master’s.