Annie is a musical that holds a special place in the hearts of many. With a classic storyline, endearing moments throughout the show and fantastic songs, it is a production that holds great nostalgia and is accessible for the whole family, making it no surprise that John Frost decided to bring it back to Australia for a national tour this year. Indeed, the crowd on opening night was packed full of families, which is very much reflective of the demographic of the show. 

At its heart, Annie is a very simple musical, focussed around the story of Annie as she navigates the orphanage where she was left by her parents before being taken into the care of billionaire Oliver Warbucks, who takes a shine to her and chooses to adopt her. As a result, the production team have assembled a star-studded cast for this show, with Anthony Warlow, Debora Krizak and Greg Page (of Yellow Wiggle fame) all taking starring roles. Yet, ultimately, the show lives and dies by the character of Annie and Dakota Chanel was absolutely fantastic in the titular role, showing skill well beyond her years. Her performance was assured and her voice clear in the higher register in which “Tomorrow”, her main song, sits, leading to a very compelling take on the character. Chanel interacted well with the other children in the orphanage and handled the onstage dog very well, even though the dog was clearly uncomfortable at points, bursting into a scratching fit halfway through one scene. 

The rest of the cast was also sublime with Krizak, as Ms Hannigan, combining particularly well with Mackenzie Dunn and Keanu Gonzalez for a marvellous rendition of “Easy Street”, which has done the rounds on social media in the opening week of the production. All three performers were completely at ease on stage, bringing incredible charisma to the stage and lightening up some of the moments where the show had the potential to drag. For one of the musical’s most iconic songs, they made sure that they brought their absolute best and it ended up as a true highlight of the night. 

Warlow also made the best of the relatively limited role of Oliver Warbucks, showing off his vocal colour in “NYC”. As one of Australia’s foremost theatre performers, Warlow’s class was on display throughout with a polished performance. Page also managed to steal the show with fantastic presence in his limited scenes as Franklin D. Roosevelt, with a fantastic comedic presence and authority on stage (even if his American accent was decidedly shaky at some points). One can only hope that we see Page in some more theatre shows in the future as his unique and iconic skillset (unsurprisingly) translates very well to the musical theatre stage. 

The rest of the ensemble were also fantastic in the show, with high quality vocals and extremely precise choreography throughout the 2.5 hour runtime. The production was also of the highest quality, with cartoon-like visuals taking the audience through the streets of New York at various points in the production, very much conveying the true sense of Manhattan. It was whimsical and extremely well done, adding a new dimension to the classic production. 

Ultimately, as iconic as Annie is, the production needs to continually evolve to stay relevant and the cast and production team have done a superb job to ensure that this show ticks all the boxes. The talent on display, both from the adult and child cast, was phenomenal and the production was superb as well. There’s no doubt that this show will entertain families around Sydney but there’s something for all theatre fans as well as those seeking to relive some nostalgia. A fantastic performance!

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Annie plays at the Capitol Theatre until 21^st June . For more information, click here.

All photo credits: Daniel Boud (Annie is played by Stephanie McNamara in the production photographs)