IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE SUN DOESN’T
COME OUT, SEE THIS NATIONAL TOUR OF ANNIE
If the sun will come out tomorrow, somebody better tell this production. The national tour of Annie, playing at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts through February 23, is a two-and-a-half-hour exercise in endurance, proving that while optimism may be eternal, theatrical magic is very much not.
Hazel Vogel as 'Annie' and the Orphans
Directed by Jenn Thompson—herself a former Pepper in the original Broadway run—this Annie is the theatrical equivalent of store-brand orange juice: technically the same ingredients, but lacking any zest. The show trudges along with all the spontaneity of a timeshare pitch, its cast saddled with a vision so uninspired it makes you wonder if the Great Depression actually started in the rehearsal room.
The cast of Annie
Of course, Annie is beloved for its buoyant score, plucky heroine, and heartstring-tugging message. But peel back the layers of Charles Strouse’s hummable tunes and Martin Charnin’s lyrics, and you’re left with Thomas Meehan’s book, which sags like an overfilled orphanage cot. Thompson directs with the enthusiasm of a substitute teacher showing an old VHS. Pacing is sluggish, the humor feels mailed in from a 1970s sitcom, and emotional beats land like a paper airplane.
Julia Nicole Hunter as 'Grace', Christopher Swan as 'Warbucks' and Hazel Vogel as 'Annie'
Set in 1930s New York, Annie follows its titular redhead as she flees the clutches of the orphanage’s gin-soaked Miss Hannigan, lands in the lap of billionaire Oliver Warbucks, and goes on a sentimental scavenger hunt for her long-lost parents. The story should move like a snowball rolling downhill—picking up momentum, stakes, and heart. Instead, it lumbers from scene to scene like a toddler in oversized tap shoes.
Annie is meant to be a beacon of resilience, but here she’s a passive participant in her own tale. Hazel Vogel, blessed with a sweet voice and stage presence, does her best, but when the script gives her little more to do than smile and react, there’s only so much she can sell. Her optimism is infectious in song, but in dialogue, it’s so one-note it barely registers as a character trait. Life’s hardships roll off her like water off a duck’s back, leaving no real sense of struggle, no reason to root for her beyond pure nostalgia.
Christopher Swan as 'Oliver Warbucks' and Hazel Vogel as 'Annie'
Even more bewildering is the undercooked dynamic between Annie and Warbucks. We’re told they form a deep bond, but shown precious little of it. Christopher Swan’s Warbucks, while vocally solid, delivers all the warmth of a quarterly earnings report. His transition from brusque businessman to doting father feels as perfunctory as a tax write-off, and when the inevitable adoption arrives, it lands with the emotional impact of an HR email.
Samantha Stevens Jeffrey T Kelly and Stefanie Londino
The supporting cast doesn’t fare much better. The subplot involving Miss Hannigan, her scheming brother Rooster, and his ditzy sidekick Lily starts with promise but fizzles out faster than a cheap firework on the Fourth of July. Stefanie Londino’s Miss Hannigan, all cartoonish sneers and vaudevillian antics, is the show’s lone bright spot. She actually seems to be having fun, which is more than can be said for the production as a whole.
And then there’s Sandy, Annie’s faithful dog, who, like the plot, wanders onstage at random, does nothing of note, and disappears until the curtain call. It’s never a great sign when you start envying the dog.
Hazel Vogel as 'Annie' and Kevin as 'Sandy'
Wilson Chin’s functional touring sets operate with a no-nonsense efficiency, shifting in and out like New York City’s daily tide, all framed by the skeletal embrace of subway girders—even, curiously, within the stately halls of Warbucks’s mansion.
The score remains Annie’s saving grace. Strouse’s melodies are as catchy as ever, from the scrappy defiance of It’s the Hard-Knock Life to the saccharine uplift of Tomorrow. Lesser-known gems like Maybe and I Don’t Need Anything But You momentarily spark emotional depth. But even the songs feel like stand-alone numbers rather than pieces of a compelling narrative. They momentarily lift the production before it slumps back into autopilot. Disappointingly, the sound of the reduced 10-instrument orchestra (featuring orchestrations by Dan DeLange) sounds teeny in comparison to the original Broadway cast’s 47 musicians and the even bigger orchestral forces in the 1982 and 1999 movie versions. Unfortunately, the sound design of this production was also subpar. Much of the lyrics and dialogue delivered by the orphanage girls dissolved into an indistinct murmur, as if filtered through a layer of auditory fog.
The adorable Orphans of the 2024-2025 National Tour of ANNIE
It’s not that this Annie is bad, exactly—it’s just dull. The performances are competent but uninspired, the staging is functional but lifeless, and the emotional beats are dutifully ticked off rather than felt. Londino chews the scenery, Swan holds the fort, and Vogel sings prettily, but none of it adds up to anything memorable.
Stefanie Londino
Ultimately, this Annie is trapped in its own nostalgic glow, content to coast on recognition rather than reinvention. The show’s enduring popularity proves that audiences will always crave a bit of hope and melody. But without a protagonist who actually drives the story or direction that shapes the material, this production feels more like a museum exhibit than a living, breathing piece of theater. If ever a show needed a rewrite—or at least a pulse—it’s this one. And this production, regrettably, delivers neither.
photos by Matthew Murphy, MurphyMade
Annie
2024/25 national tour
plays SCFTA in Costa Mesa through February 23, 2005
tour continues; for dates and cities, visit Annie
