Reviewed by Tony Annicone
The first show of The Community Players 97th season is “Annie” which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. This show is based on Harold Gray’s comic strip Little Orphan Annie, it won 7 Tony Awards and ran for 2,377 performances. With a combination of street smarts and optimism, Annie rises from next to nothing in 1930’s New York. She is determined to find her parents, who left her in the orphanage years ago in the clutches of the evil Miss Hannigan. With the help of the other orphans, Annie manages to foil Hannigan’s greedy plans and find a family with billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his secretary, Grace and Annie’s lovable dog, Sandy. It has insightful direction by Brian Mulvey, topnotch music direction by Ron Procopio who plays lead keyboards and conducts a 7 piece orchestra and some energetic dance numbers by Leslie Racine Vazquez. Their combined expertise wins the cast a resounding standing ovation at the close of the show.
