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REVIEW
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✭✭✭✭☆ 4/5
ANNIE
 
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend on Sea
27th May to 1st June 2019
Annie and her gang of little orphans stomped up at Southend last night with a perfectly timed stop off for the Half Term school holidays.  

Annie has always been a firm favourite with kids - the story of the little red headed orphan who manages to break away from the New York orphanage and the dastardly clutches of the grotesque, Miss Hannigan, aways seems to have been around.  This is probably because the original Broadway production opened in 1977.  The West End production kicked off in 1978 and then of course we've had the film versions in 1982, 1999 and the latest one in 2014.  Annie has reached generations over the decades and she remains as popular as ever.

Last night's Annie was local lass, Ava Smith, who is making her professional debut on the UK Tour and she belted out all the numbers with the confidence one would expect in the role of the feisty red headed 11 year old.  She tackles Maybe, and the iconic, Tomorrow, with gusto and aplomb with Amber the dog playing Sandy only ever so slightly upstaging the cast with her various appearances on stage.

Craig Revel Horwood returns to Southend as Miss Hannigan and what a treat he is, completely embodying the role of the nasty orphanage matron.  In fact, if I didn’t know any better, I would have happily accepted that this was an actual woman - he certainly has a set of great pins and my goodness does he use them!   Strictly fans won't be disappointed; Easy Street, the number he performs with Rooster (Richard Meek) and Lily played by the delightful Jenny Gayner, another local, is a great dance number and - he can sing - Little Girls isn’t the easiest number to carry off but he does it fantastically well.
Richard and Jenny make a great team as the nasty couple wanting to lure Annie away by tricking Warbucks into thinking they are her natural parents and it's great to see Jenny strutting her fabulous self on stage in her home town, much to the delight of the audience.

Oliver ‘Daddy’ Warbucks, the billionaire businessman who opens his home and eventually his heart to Annie is played by a wonderful Alex Bourne.  Some keen eyed theatre-goers may also remember Alex from his panto appearance with Gok Wan and Brian Conley in Robinson Crusoe.  Alex has really made the part of Daddy Warbucks his own with some lovely touches. Any sign of Warbucks being a grumpy businessman soon diminish by the time Annie works her sassy cuteness on the singleton billionaire.   Something was Missing is one of the most touching and heartfelt numbers of the show.  Carolyn Maitland plays the part of Warbucks' assistant, Grace Farrell, beautifully.

The fabulous ensemble are full of pizzazz and NYC is a great song and dance number highlighting the talents of Nick Winston's choregraphy, which includes some fabulous tap dancing sailors.  Another great ensemble piece is You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile, which again is  brilliantly staged, as is the Bert Healy Radio Show which transitions to the orphans on their sewing machines in another great number.  

There is a pre-conceived assumption that this musical is one that can be a little overly sentimental and a tad squeaky clean, however, for this production Director, Nikolai Foster, has cut a big chunk of saccharine from the show and given it a realism that is befitting of a modern day audience.  The girls playing the orphans (last night it was Team Empire State) portray very natural and truthful performances, with not even one flicker of a stage school jazz hand threatening to make an appearance; well, almost.  Yes, the songs are exactly the same but Foster has a cast that can do something just as brilliantly as singing and dancing - they can act.  All of them.  
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The Cliff's Pavilion was healthily packed to the brim with an audience made up predominantly of excitable children with parents who were possibly trying to steer their offspring away from the merch table, with its impressive array of Annie memorabilia ranging from key-rings to cushions, back-backs to t-shirts and hoodies.  NB:  parents, check the bank balance before you come! That said, there is a huge, beautifully produced souvenir programme full of photographs, interviews and stacks of Annie info that costs a very reasonable £6 and well worth the dosh, in my opinion.

This latest production of ANNIE is one that will really appeal to audiences of all ages.  Don't miss out - tickets are selling well this week!

To see  ANNIE at Southend's Cliffs Pavilion go online to www.southendtheatres.org.uk for tickets

The smash-hit production of ANNIE comes to Southend for one week only direct from London’s West End. This 
‘glorious revival’ (The Times) stars Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood as the tyrannical Miss Hannigan!
Set in 1930s New York during The Great Depression, brave young Annie is forced to live a life of misery at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. Her luck soon changes when she’s chosen to spend a fairytale Christmas with famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks. Meanwhile, spiteful Miss Hannigan has other ideas and hatches a plan to spoil Annie’s search for her true family…
With its Tony® award-winning book and score, including the unforgettable songs It’s The Hard-Knock Life, Easy Street, I Don’t Need Anything But You and Tomorrow, you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll love it!

​Mon - Thu 7.30pm - £44.00, £41.00, £34.00. Premium £49.00
Fri and Sat 2.30pm & 7.30pm - £46.00, £44.00, £39.00. Premium £51.00
Wed 2.30pm - £41.00, £39.00, £32.00. Premium £46.00
Concessions £2.50 off (exc Fri and Sat performances)
Senior Citizen Midweek matinee special £34.00, £29.00 (exc. groups)

Prices shown are inclusive of any applicable booking fees. Groups of 10+ please call 01702 351135 to buy fee-free

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