Annie is a
Broadway musical based upon the popular
Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by
Charles Strouse, lyrics by
Martin Charnin, and the
book by
Thomas Meehan. The musical ran for nearly six years on Broadway, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre (now the
Neil Simon Theatre).
It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical's songs "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard-Knock Life" are its more popular pieces.
Plot synopsis
It is
1933 and eleven-year-old Annie is in the
Municipal Girls Orphanage, along with Molly, who is six, Kate, who is seven, Tessie, who is ten, July, who is twelve, Pepper, who is twelve and Duffy, who is thirteen. When Molly awakes from a bad dream at 3:00AM, Annie comforts her. Molly then asks her to read the note her parents gave her in
1922, when she was left at the doorstep of the orphanage. The note says that her parents will come pick her up, so Annie is always hopeful that they are still out there ("Maybe").
Annie decides to escape to find her parents, but is caught by the orphanage
supervisor Miss Hannigan, who is currently suffering from a hangover. Miss Hannigan is angered by this and forces all the girls to vigorously clean the
orphanage ("It's the Hard Knock Life"). Shortly after, Mr Bundles, the laundry man, comes in to pick up the blankets. While Miss Hannigan is flirting with him, Annie climbs into the laundry basket and the orphans cover her up with blankets. Once Miss Hannigan realizes Annie is gone, the other orphans express their frustration ("It's the Hard Knock Life Reprise").
