Annie Live!
| Annie Live! | |
|---|---|
 Promotional Logo | |
| Genre | Musical |
| Based on | |
| Written by | Thomas Meehan |
| Directed by |
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| Starring | |
| Composers | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Production locations | Bethpage, New York |
| Running time | 127 mins |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | December 2, 2021 |
Annie Live! is a musical television special that aired on NBC on December 2, 2021. It was a performance of the 1977 musical Annie, which is based on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray.[1]
The special starred newcomer Celina Smith as the titular role, Harry Connick Jr. as Daddy Warbucks, Taraji P. Henson as Miss Hannigan, Nicole Scherzinger as Grace Farrell, Tituss Burgess as Rooster Hannigan, and Megan Hilty as Lily St. Regis. The special was directed by Lear deBessonet and Alex Rudzinski.[2]
Plot
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2021) |
Eleven-year-old orphan, Annie, is adopted by billionaire Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks, much to the dismay of the cruel and overprotective orphanage owner Miss Hannigan who gets involved in a scheme with her criminal brother Rooster Hannigan and his girlfriend Lily St. Regis.
Oliver Warbucks goes on a radio commercial to offer a $50,000 (equivalent to $1,177,000 in 2023) reward to Annie's parents to come forward. Rooster and Lily devise a plan to pose as Annie's parents. However, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and his staff determine that Annie's parents are dead. Miss Hanningan comes in and exposes Rooster and Lily and they are arrested.
Cast
- Celina Smith as Annie Bennett Warbucks
- Harry Connick Jr. as Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks
- Taraji P. Henson as Miss Hannigan
- Nicole Scherzinger as Grace Farrell, chief of staff to Oliver Warbucks
- Tituss Burgess as Rooster Hannigan
- Megan Hilty as Lily St. Regis
- Jeff Kready as Bert Healy
- Alan Toy as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- McKenzie Kurtz as Star to Be
- Arwen Monzon-Sanders as Duffy
- Audrey Cymone as Pepper
- Cate Elefante as Kate
- Felice Kakaletris as Molly
- Sophie Knapp as July
- Tessa Frascogna as Tessie
- Jacob Keith Watson as Mr. Bundles
Musical numbers
- "Overture" – Orchestra
- "Maybe" – Annie and Orphans
- "It's the Hard-Knock Life" – Annie and Orphans
- "It's the Hard Knock Life" (Reprise)" † – Orphans
- "Tomorrow" – Annie
- "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover" – Hooverville-ites
- "Little Girls" – Miss Hannigan
- "Little Girls" (Reprise)" † – Miss Hannigan
- "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" – Grace, Annie, and Staff
- "N.Y.C." – Warbucks, Grace, Annie, Star to Be, and New Yorkers
- "Sign" * – Miss Hannigan and Warbucks
- "Easy Street" – Rooster, Miss Hannigan, and Lily
- "We Got Annie" * – Grace and Staff
- "Maybe (Reprise)" † - Grace and Annie
- "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" – Bert Healy, Boylan Sisters, and Orphans
- "Easy Street (Reprise)" † - Rooster and Lily
- "Tomorrow (Cabinet Reprise)" – Annie, F.D.R., Warbucks, and Cabinet
- "Something Was Missing" – Warbucks
- "I Don't Need Anything But You" – Annie, Warbucks, and Staff
- "Maybe (Warbucks' Reprise)" – Warbucks
- "Annie/I Don't Need Anything But You (Reprise)" † – Company
- "A New Deal For Christmas" - Company
- "Tomorrow" (Finale) – Company
- † Denote reprises that were not included on the accompanying soundtrack.
- * Denote songs written for the 1982 film adaptation.
Production
Development
The project was announced by NBC on May 12, 2021 with Alex Rudzinski as the live television director and Lear deBessonet as the program director. It was also announced that Sergio Trujillo would choreograph the production. Other members of the production team included Emilio Sosa as costume designer, Jason Sherwood as scenic designer and Stephen Oremus providing new orchestrations. The special was executive produced by Rudzinski, Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron. Rehearsals began in October in New York.
On June 8, 2021, it was announced that Taraji P. Henson had been cast as Miss Hannigan in the production.[3] Later, more casting was announced including Harry Connick Jr. as Daddy Warbucks,[4] Nicole Scherzinger as Grace Farrell,[5] Tituss Burgess as Rooster Hannigan,[6] and Jane Krakowski as Lily St. Regis.[7]
In June 2021, NBC also announced that they would be holding a nationwide audition for the titular role, similarly to the casting of Shanice Williams as Dorothy Gale in The Wiz Live! and Maddie Baillio as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray Live![8] Celina Smith was ultimately cast as Annie.[9]
In November 2021, Krakowski stepped down from her role due to a breakthrough case of COVID-19 and would be replaced by Megan Hilty.[10] Also, it was announced that Andrea McArdle, who originated the role of Annie on Broadway, had been cast as Eleanor Roosevelt.[11] McArdle, however, stepped away from the production in late November due to the hospitalization of her father. The part was subsequently written out, however McArdle still appears on the cast recording.[12]
Filming
The broadcast was filmed at Gold Coast Studios in Bethpage, New York.
Release
The special premiered on NBC on December 2, 2021.[3]
Reception
The special, which was broadcast on December 2, 2021 by NBC, received 5.34 million viewers during its airing.[13] After a week, the number of viewers rose to 6.29 million.[14]
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022
|
Costume Designers Guild Awards | Excellence in Variety, Reality-Competition or Live Television | Emilio Sosa | Nominated | [15] |
| NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special | Taraji P. Henson | Won | [16] | |
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special | Tituss Burgess | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited Series) | Celina Smith | Nominated |
Past screen productions
The production was the fourth on-screen version of the musical following the 1982 theatrical film starring Carol Burnett and the late Albert Finney (in which the songs "Sign" and "We Got Annie" were taken from), the 1999 television film starring Kathy Bates and Victor Garber and the 2014 theatrical film starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx.
References
- ^ "'Annie Live!' Musical Event Coming to NBC This Holiday Season". MSN. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
- ^ "Harry Connick Jr. Joins NBC's Annie Live! as "Daddy" Warbucks". Yahoo!. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
- ^ a b "Taraji P. Henson to Star as Miss Hannigan in NBC's Annie Live!". E! Online. June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (June 28, 2021). "'Annie Live!': Harry Connick Jr Set To Play Daddy Warbucks In NBC Musical". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
- ^ Evans, Greg (August 5, 2021). "Nicole Scherzinger Joins Cast Of NBC's 'Annie Live!'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
- ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (August 11, 2021). "Tituss Burgess Joins Cast Of NBC's 'Annie Live!' Musical Event". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ Evans, Greg (September 1, 2021). "Jane Krakowski Joins NBC's 'Annie Live!', Reuniting With 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' Co-star Tituss Burgess". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ "NBC sends out online casting call for title role in 'Annie Live!'- How to audition". WTEN. June 22, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ Bjornson, Greta (August 24, 2021). "Annie Live! Casts Celina Smith in Title Role: 'So Excited for This Journey to Start'". People. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ Evans, Greg (November 12, 2021). "Megan Hilty Steps In As Replacement For Covid-Struck Jane Krakowski In 'Annie Live!'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
- ^ Harms, Talaura (November 12, 2021). "Original Annie Star Andrea McArdle Joins NBC's Annie Live!: Find Out Who She'll Play". Playbill. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
- ^ Evans, Greg (November 24, 2021). "Andrea McArdle Stepping Away From NBC's 'Annie Live!' Due To Family Matter". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 3, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.2.2021 Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
- ^ Marc Berman (December 3, 2021). "Thursday Ratings: Respectable Performance for NBC's 'Annie Live!'". Programming Insider. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (26 January 2022). "Costume Designers Guild Awards Nominees Include 'House Of Gucci', 'Cruella', 'Zola'". Deadline. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ Spivey, Kemberlie (2022-01-19). "2022 NAACP Image Awards Nominations: The Full List". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-01-20.