The RSD Dramatic Society brought the streets of 1930s New York to life through their brilliant production of ‘Annie’. The show is a worldwide musical phenomenon, with a simple story. Annie is an 11-year-old girl who was left on the doorstep of Ms Hannigan’s orphanage as a baby and now she is determined to escape and find her real parents.

Andrea Agnew in Y10 played the title role of Annie, portraying the perfect combination of street-smarts and optimism needed to outwit the selfish Ms Hannigan in her escape bid. Andrea was on stage for most of the production and involved in many big numbers, both as a solo performer and with various groups of fellow cast members. Her voice was superb throughout, with wonderful clarity and tone plus a sharp diction with just a hint of New York sass coming through on iconic songs such as ‘Tomorrow’. Sustaining this for four nights was incredible and a huge credit to Andrea. Well done, you were amazing Andrea!

The musical touches on themes of resilience, optimism, and the power of kindness and it is full of big showstopping song and dance routines to warm the hearts of the audience. One of the best is ‘The Hard Knock Life’, belted out by the large group of junior girls playing Annie’s orphan pals. Their rascally charm was a highlight throughout the show, epitomised by Isabella Kinkade in the role of the youngest and smallest orphan, Molly, who brazenly mimics Miss Hannigan’s boozing. You were all brilliant girls. The audience loved your energy and togetherness.

Megan Chambers played Ms Hannigan with real panache, full of New York edge and personal bitterness, swigging her drink and dismissing the needs of the orphans as she searches for a rich man to bring her a life on ‘Easy Street’. Megan’s singing had a superb balance of silky melody and power ballad and her acting was first rate, commanding the stage with her movement and facial reactions. Congratulations Megan!

When Annie runs away from the orphanage to seek out her parents, she roams the streets of the city and makes a new friend, the stray dog Sandy. This was a real heartwarming moment for the audience, as Sandy, played by Mrs Trouton’s dog Joey, wandered across stage as if he owned it, wagging his tail and loving all the attention. I hear that cheese was a key feature in every scene for Joey but he was such a good boy he has to have a special mention.

It is during this time in New York that we see the poverty of the Depression with lots of families living in slums and relying upon soup kitchens to survive. The stage was packed with the large ensemble cast delivering a huge performance of ‘Hooverville’, including lots of dance moves, the first of several big showstopping moments on the night.

Returned to the orphanage, and with her dream of finding her parents fading, Annie’s luck changes with the visit of the elegant Miss Grace Farrell, played by Joanna Ashfield, the personal assistant to billionaire Oliver Warbucks. Miss Farrell wishes to give a child the opportunity to spend Christmas in the Warbuck’s mansion on 5th Avenue and she chooses Annie.

Annie is welcomed into the mansion with open arms by the head butler, Drake, played by Jonathan McKenzie, and soon meets the workaholic Warbucks, played by Jamie Crainey. Initially, Warbucks isn’t keen on orphan Annie but Drake and Grace help Annie to wear him down, soften his heart and see how much fun they can have together. Jamie had to sing and perform like the other lead characters but he also had to portray a character who changes and shows different sides to his personality, and that required a skilful and subtle acting performance. Jamie did all this brilliantly. The support provided by Joanna as Grace, and Jonathan as Drake, helped hugely with this whole enterprise of transforming the aloof, driven businessman to caring father figure. Congratulations to you all!

Mr Warbucks is well-connected and he takes Annie to meet President Roosevelt, played by Stephen Wylie, where they discuss the economic crisis. The Roosevelt team is struggling for solutions but Annie sheds some light on the crisis by telling them all that the sun will always shine tomorrow, so you have to keep on trying. Enthused by the optimism of Annie, the President declares a ‘New Deal’ for America.

One good deed deserves another and the resources of the FBI are put on the case to find Annie’s parents. Warbucks is determined to help Annie find her parents if that’s what will make her happy but her impact upon him has been so powerful that he wishes to adopt her. News of the search for Annie’s parents is made clear by radio show host Bert Healey, played by Redison Lau, and his singers, with Warbucks offering a $50k reward for the couple to come forward. Ms Hannigan’s criminal brother, Rooster, played by Daniel Needham, and his scheming girlfriend, Lily, played by Mia Cassidy, plot with Miss Hannigan to cheat their way to the reward and give themselves that life on easy street they crave. But their plotting is rumbled and they are caught by the police. Annie learns the truth, that her parents died when she was a baby, and her adoption by Warbucks is completed. In true ‘happy ending’ style, there are even Christmas presents for all the orphans too!

The cast treated us to quality acting, singing and dancing performances while the production team and backstage crew gave us the contrasting images of millionaires’ row and human destitution in 1930s big city USA. We had new lighting kit thanks to the generosity of the RSD Parents Association and the school invested in a new laser projector to create imaginative backdrops. Our thanks to Jim McKeown who designed the backdrop projections and operated these at each performance. It is exciting to see our productions become even more professional.

The teams in charge of costumes, make-up and hair, sound & lighting, set construction & painting, ticket sales and programme design, plus a host of other activities, brought the show to life. We also benefitted hugely from Jamie-Lee Meneely’s expert choreography and the musicianship of our performers in the band, drawn mainly from RSD staff and pupils. The razzmatazz of a musical is found in that live performance quality and our thanks go to everyone who helped the production hit such heights. We were anticipating a show of crowd-pleasing hits, great drama and lots of fun and the cast and crew more than delivered!

Last, but certainly not least, our thanks go to Mr Cuddy (Producer & Musical Director), Mr McDowell (Director), Mr Henning (Assistant Musical Director), Ms Anderson (Assistant Producer) and Mrs Trouton (Assistant Director & Head of Costumes). Over many months they pulled the show together, guiding the cast and crew every step of the way. As Annie herself proclaims, “you don’t realise how much you miss it until you have been away from it”. Congratulations to all involved in the production.

Thanks to Molly Nelson (Year 14) and Dr Burnett for collaborating on this detailed review.