Annie is the Gateway’s Christmas show, so let’s say this pudding is tasty sometimes, but also pretty lumpy.
Stylistically, director Josh Epstein’s production is inconsistent — and that’s partly because, stylistically, Annie is a tricky musical.
Based on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie, it’s about a 12-year-old orphan who’s living in a New York City orphanage run by the sadistic (also drunken and slutty) Miss Hannigan. When the billionaire Oliver Warbucks is looking for an orphan to invite into his Fifth Avenue mansion for two weeks over Christmas, Annie gets the nod. This infuriates Miss Hannigan. So, when Warbucks offers $50,000 to anyone who can prove they’re Annie’s parents, Miss Hannigan colludes with her criminally minded brother Rooster and his girlfriend Lily St. Regis: Rooster and Lily will pretend to be Annie’s missing mom and dad, grab the money, and — I always forget this part — murder Annie. (Yes, this is dark for a family show, but kids can take it.)
As you can probably tell from this synopsis, productions of Annie require outsized (and comic) villainy balanced by pure optimism and vulnerability from Annie.
Azaleah Korn, who’s playing Annie, can really sing and she’s an open, confident performer, but my take is the Epstein has set her down the wrong path. He has directed her to play the character’s emotions naturalistically, so we don’t get the supercharged hit of stylized innocence we need. And her vulnerability is largely missing.
I’m going to get nerdy now, but, as we’re considering style, I think it’s instructive to compare Jennifer Copping’s work as Miss Hannigan to Josh Gaetz’s characterization of Hannigan’s brother Rooster. Gaetz is inspired. Dressed by costumer Donny Tejani in an appropriately garish plaid suit, Gaetz’s Rooster is so vivaciously evil and so committed to his eccentricities — life flows through him in his swivel-hipped dancing, for instance — that you can’t help but enjoy the bad guy.
In contrast, Copping’s portrait of Miss Hannigan looks deliberate. She’s got the size right — her performance is big — but that size isn’t getting fueled from inside. These villains are both clowns and Copping hasn’t found the spontaneity of her clown yet.
On the other hand, Charlie Gallant, who’s playing Warbucks, the chief good guy, hits all the right notes, including the brusqueness that quickly melts into paternal tenderness. Elle Hanson is givin’ ‘er in a touching and funny performance as Molly, the youngest orphan. And Sarah Cantuba adds elegance and an extra layer of warmth as Warbucks’s assistant, Grace.
Artistically, the most consistently excellent element of this production, the piece that runs through the show and pays off most reliably, is Nicol Spinola’s choreography. In big group numbers, there are often three or four sets of dancers, each set on a different, but complementary choreographic track. The arms keep exploding like fireworks. The feet stomp and threaten to break into tapdancing. There’s a repeating motif in which the dancers leap forward on one foot, the other leg raised behind, arms crooked (one forward, one back), like a hornpipe. That move is pure exuberance. It’s a testament to this cast that they pull off Spinola’s complicated choreography with such exhilarating joy and precision.
Ryan Cormack’s minimalist set, which manages to go maximalist when it transforms into the Warbucks mansion, is also very handsome. And Tejani adds another level of fun in his costumes.
Under Sean Bayntun’s direction, the orchestra, which is hidden behind black curtains in the upper lobby, sounds remarkably rich for a six-piece ensemble.
Unfortunately, not everything works well on the auditory level, however. I don’t know what was going on opening night, but the mix sounded off — by a lot. Lack of crispness and balance made the actors hard to understand, both speaking and singing. And that wasn’t just my experience at the back of the main floor; friends who were sitting in the second row reported the same difficulty.
So, this Annie is a bit of a grab bag, but it contains enough strong work that a good portion of the musical’s charm shines through.
ANNIE Book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charini. Directed by Josh Epstein. A Gateway Theatre production. At the Gateway Theatre until January 3. (Tickets and information)
PHOTO CREDIT: Elle Hanson, Azaleah Korn, and Katie Bradshaw (Photo by David Cooper)
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