Ryde Academy brought some NYC Street smarts in their abridged school production of the popular Broadway musical “Annie” by Charles Strauss.
For those of you not of a theatre kid persuasion, “Annie” tells of a young orphan growing up in a shady boarding house run by the infamous Miss Hannigan (Evie, on form with her bustling Bronx manners and sneering rendition of the song “Little Girls”).
Our titular hero (played in superb ginger wig and with charm by Abby) makes a break for freedom and ends up the winner of a billionaire’s decision to have a child from the orphanage stay with him in his luxury penthouse. However her idyllic life is threatened by several suitably scheming and seedy con artists (Jason and Isis) as she searches for her real parents… gosh it really is a hard knock life for this little girl.
She did however hold her own despite almost being upstaged by a suprise cameo from the furriest member of the cast, a small dog I sadly didn’t find out the name of. Hardly making a dog’s dinner of its song number, it was thoroughly adorable.
Alfie as Mr Warbucks had a natural air to his delivery and held the audiences attention well. Catherine also as Grace had some nice comedic reactions and is really making a name for herself as a young upcoming character actress on the island. I do however think that Rafe was a tad underused in his small parts as he had a lot of charisma and I am eager to see him in a bigger role.
The dancers and chorus ably backed the action happening on the minimalist stage with periactoids allowing for seamless transitions from scene to scene. Seriously why don’t more productions have periactoids?
The singing was tuneful and despite a few technical hiccups with microphones, the cast bravely tackled the difficult score and song timings.
Ryde Academy apparently are using this show to raise funds for a big upcoming budget buster of a production, however they used the space they had well and the show was not lacking in pzzaz and sparkle, despite for many of the cast it was their first, and there were understandably some nerves throughout.
Colour me eager to see their next production and well done to the whole creative team showing what you can do with a homemade set and minimal staging. In just under an hour, they told a tight script that just about allowed for the dramatic moments to shine.
I think I’m going to like it here!
Reviewed by Olly Fry
IWtheatre 