ANNIE The Broadway Musical: Now Playing at Mastercard Theatres Marina Bay Sands Singapore [Review & Media Call Snippets]

Annie The Broadway Musical Now Playing at the Mastercard Theatres, Marina Bay Sands Singapore [Review & Media Call]

Her name's Annie. Just Annie. She's curly and well, fiery. 

 

Annie!  Yes, I finally met that curly little red-headed orphan in the flesh.  Annie is back in Singapore and is now playing at the Mastercard Theatres of the Marina Bay Sands for a limited season only.

WAIT, ANNIE WHO?

If you aren't familiar yet, 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.  Directed by original lyricist and director Martin Charnin for the 19th time, this production of ANNIE is a brand new physical incarnation of the iconic Tony Award®-winning original. The musical's songs "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard Knock Life" are among its most popular musical numbers.

Inspired by the famous comic strip Little Orphan Annie which first ran in the New York Daily News in 1924, this uplifting rags-to-riches story of fiery young Annie’s journey from the hard-knock, dingy New York orphanage managed by Miss Hannigan to the luxurious home of billionaire businessman Oliver Warbucks, has become one of the best-loved family musicals of all time. 

heidi gray as annie, gilgamesh taggett as oliver warbucks

 [PIC COURTESY OF ANNIE THE BROADWAY MUSICAL PRODUCTION]

The beloved score for ANNIE includes “Maybe”, “It’s the Hard Knock Life”, “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile”, “Easy Street”, “I Don’t Need Anything But You” and the eternal anthem of optimism, “Tomorrow”. ANNIE remains one of the biggest Broadway musical hits ever.  

Media Call

interviewing the two, both are full of humour. 

annie's really a smart kid, daddy warbucks? 'beary' huggable!

such rapport! 

both having the exact same reaction when i tried to shoot my first question.

i bet they didn't rehearse this okeiツ

PERFORMING EASY STREET:

LUCY WERNER AS LILY, garrett deagon as rooster & 

lynn andrews as miss hannigan 

the rest of the annie orphan kids.

One time or another you may have heard Annie sing,

"The sun will come out tomorrow, 
bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, 
there'll be sun."

Reasons Why It's Worth Spending The Bottom Dollar Watching ANNIE

Annie's Innocence, Heartache & Sandy

Annie's story is non-complex but it triumphed in bringing its audience deeply into the life of its main character, Annie the orphan. Annie charmed not only the politicians, the household staff of rich industrialist and cold-hearted Oliver Warbucks alike but our hearts as well. Annie herself and the cast left us pining for more of their company after the show has ended. Within this musical are personal stories, ones of hopeless situations, longing, deceit and naive optimism.

Annie has musical theatergoers nodding along, summoning smiles & unstoppable laughter however it also dishes out own experiences about their longing for now gone loved ones, there is always something to empathize with; in fact it's too much that it actually hurts. It made me miss my father - again and again. Those times wherein he plays the guitar and was singing to me in his beautiful Elvis Presley voice.

It was a painful night you see. Behind the laughter, there was this constant pain of loss. I tried to nurse it but then there goes Annie's dog bestfriend, Sandy in which the audience adored. A border collie dog breed who was trained for only 2 weeks and yet he looks like he was a pro on stage. It's only last year that my dog passed away and seeing Sandy made me miss his warm furry hugs.

Well kudos to Sandy- he owned the stage effortlessly, no form of barking needed to collect oohs and aahhs from the audience for that matter. Your sides will hurt just listening to the tyrannical villain, Miss Hannigan' dialogues - she delivered her comedic lines with victory. The rest of the orphan kids are spelt with a capital A-dorable. That Molly is something - sinister but cute. 

Heidi Gray portrayed Annie so well that when she learnt of her parents passing, your heart will ache with her. 

Revisiting History & Tapping One's Personal Outlook on Life

I've noticed the grayish color scheme incorporated into the set, visuals and costumes. It signifies the history pertaining to The Great Depression. It's the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world during the 1930s. It sends the actual bleakness of life during that period and glad that they have avoided all the blacks this time. 

From the dingy orphanage of grayish mood and foul living, Annie will bring to you Warbucks' mansion - a vivid and a much brighter change in life awaits.  It suddenly felt like Christmas with the decors, faux snow and all. Yes, few more days and it's the holiday season again, yay!

Annie's spirit is fueled by the belief that her parents will come back for her, no matter how long it takes. Now if an 11-year old girl can do that, how are we adults supposed to measure ours?

The musical teaches one how to not give up in life even if you feel you're at its downest. It's either you stop in your tracks and rot there or move on anyways. Annie is an epitome of how one can continue surviving, go with the flow; for if you fail, life will smack you back down with nothing but ruthless apathy. 

 [PIC COURTESY OF ANNIE THE BROADWAY MUSICAL PRODUCTION]

The Crowd-Pleasers & New York City Vibe.

Significantly, this is a musical play done by its heart alongside its visuals. How not to be in love with New York City? There's a beautiful NYC palette displayed on stage, mostly digital scenery yes but it sends out this chilly, warmhearted romance developing between a father and a daughter. Music and lyrics are memorable, same goes for the kids who tickled our minds sans the extreme naughtiness.

Don't miss out the crowd-pleasers, Miss. Hannigan and President Roosevelt, both having this funny bag of tricks up in their sleeves. You won't be able to escape Miss Hannigan's comedic clutches. The dance routine in Easy Street were done with savoir faire, the trio is a force to reckon with when it comes to musical production. As what the kids say, "I love you Miss Hannigan." After watching her, you will, too. 

interviewing lynn andrews who plays miss hannigan. 

just look at her facial expressions!

Brusque and brawny (yet softy!) Oliver Warbucks is just too perfect for his role. Watch out for the scene wherein Annie was singing "Tomorrow" to Pres. Roosevelt. You'll be singing along with her - inside your mind of course, unless you wanna be elbowed by your theatre seatmate in case you sang it out loud.

It's best to bring along your kids and family to catch Annie, uhm, maybe tomorrow?  A simple story with a simple twist of fate, an infectiously happy cast and a zippy salvo to a word we oftentimes set aside - optimism. 

annie 

24 August – 11 September 2016
The MasterCard Theatres, Marina Bay Sands

PERFORMANCE TIMES:
Tue – Fri: 7.30pm
Sat: 2pm & 7.30pm
Sun: 1pm & 6pm


TICKET PRICE:
From $65-$175
*Excludes the booking fee of SGD$4 per ticket


BOOKINGS:
INTERNET: http://entertainment.marinabaysands.com/events/annie0916 or http://www.sistic.com.sg/events/annie0916
PHONE: +65 6688.8826

IN PERSON AT:
Marina Bay Sands Box Offices (Museum, Theatres, SkyPark, Retail Mall and Hotel Tower 1 Lobby).
For more information please log onto – www.MarinaBaySands.com

THANKS FOR LOOKING ♡

DISCLOSURE: Author was invited to the press/media call/media screening night. All opinions and thoughts expressed in this post are her own and remain 100% uninfluenced. All images are the property of wickeRmoss unless stated otherwise. Use of these images without any consent is prohibited. 

Annie The Broadway Musical Now Playing at the Mastercard Theatres, Marina Bay Sands Singapore [Review & Media Call]