Brooke RobertsonFor 30 years, a beloved red-headed orphan has enthralled audiences with her charm, spunk and hope for tomorrow. “Annie,” one of Broadway’s most successful musicals is coming to the Christopher Cohan Center for two performances on Monday and Tuesday at 7 p.m. and is sure to have a new generation of fans tapping their toes until the final curtain.
This classic musical has once again been brought to the stage behind the direction of Martin Charnin, the original lyricist from the 1977 premier of “Annie” on Broadway. With original music by Charles Strause, original book by Thomas Meehan and the addition of Tony Award-winning set designer Ming Cho Lee’s fresh look, the Chicago Tribune proclaimed it as “one of the best musicals ever.”
The show is a part of a series of Broadway productions that will appear at the PAC this season. Other series scheduled feature classical music and dance productions.
“We chose ‘Annie’ because it worked well with the dates we had and we’ve had the show before with a successful turnout,” said Peter Wilt, programs manager for Cal Poly Arts.
This musical, set during the Great Depression, follows Annie from her hard-knock days at The Municipal Orphanage in New York City to her happy ending in the loving care of Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks.
Along the way, she and her fellow ragamuffin orphans endure the wrath of their maladjusted caretaker Miss Hannigan who makes life at the orphanage unpleasant, to say the least. As the song goes, “instead of kisses they got kicked.”
Annie, determined to find her real parents, runs away from the orphanage and finds herself in a battle over her real parents and, ultimately, her future.
With some of the most widely recognized songs in musical theater such as “It’s a Hard-Knock Life” and “Tomorrow,” the optimistic attitude of the show’s title character will have audiences members old and new humming along.
Given the nature of the production, Wilt expects that the audience will be mainly families with young children, especially those with young girls who would be able to better relate to the characters. Also, he expects that Broadway fans, in general, will likely be in attendance.
“Really, this show is for anyone who is looking for a feel good experience,” he said.
Normal ticket prices for performances at the PAC range from $44 to $68. However, given that “Annie” is geared towards a younger audience, special ticket prices are being offered. For children under age 16, tickets are $20 and adult prices are offered at a 20 percent discount.
So far, tickets for the two performances have been selling well at the box office, but have not sold out.
“It’s filling up,” said senior theater major Lindsey Geibel who works at the PAC ticket office. “I think it’s going to start to fill up even more as it gets closer.”
Tickets may be purchased at the PAC ticket office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.