Annie Live!

I highly enjoyed watching the bearded guy show up in almost every scene in a different role. Also this was one of the best live productions that NBC has done.

This is a continuation of a tradition. Annie is a time-tested story and knows no skin color. It is at its core surviving and making something of a non ideal situation. Little Orphan Annie, a real American success story.

My wife and I really enjoyed it. The production numbers were good, all the singing was passable, some excellent. They seemed to feature Daddy Warbucks a bit more, no doubt because of who was in the role. The young actress that played Annie was a good choice. The other kids, dancers and acrobats, were all excellent.

Live on NBC. Good production!

Started off rather odd,with many random girls & Annie/orphans emerging? .. Did they win a contest or not make the cut,so they got a few minutes to shine?

Could of started with Annie on the roof top,as lights go up singing versus all that led up to her doing that.

Celina wasn't bad as this,version Annie but seen better.

The orphans danced & sang their hearts out,one of the many positives.

Taraji was over the top annoying,which was insulting to that character part.

Rooster & Lily,not really the best either.. Felt cartoon-ish.

Harry & his bald head,sadly that wasn't the biggest violation of this musical.

Enjoyed many parts with Nicole on stage but,perhaps was more from background actors/dancers performances around her.

Granted never seen the broadway musical of this to compare,but just going off the movie.. So many little things got left out or even rushed,it started adding up where it lost charm or attempting to have some left anyway.

Felt so politically correct,etc.. It's like we've become afraid of,any honest authenticity.

They should of did all commercials not just for Wendy's,in a vintage tv/radio style ad.

The toy commercials especially one was cute,but felt sale motivated with Christmas instead.

There was some decent dancing & singing,the dog was cute for his brief appearances.

Staging & props,felt cheap & had little effort in places.. Why not use the same locations from previous productions,like Hairspray or Grease?.. Would of made the orphanage,mansion,streets & more look better.. After all this was no school play with limited funds,but a major network putting it on.

Costumes,hair & make-up was ok.

Would I watch a replay? Nope! Will just go watch the movie,instead.

First complaint is that in the comic strip upon which the musical is based, none of the characters had eyeballs, yet here, they all did. Why couldn't the producers come up with something for actors with eyeballs, instead of...

If you really think the point of the story has anything to do with Annie's hair or skin color, I feel very sorry for you.

I think the "over the top" interpretation. Of Miss Hannigan started with Carol Burnett. It's a little much for me, but that's just a matter of taste. (Hey, for me, one of the highlights was catching the stagehands skirt across the back of stage--different strokes for different folks.)

Different versions have accented different parts of the story; this is hardly my favorite. More fleshing out of the plot to kidnap Annie to get the money and Miss Hannigan's sudden act of conscience would bring more sense to the story.

All that said, it does project the optimism that's the point of the play. It's not that hard to sit back and enjoy (unless you rely on the captioning, which, done live, rather than from the script, was late, and often truncated).

While it seems there are some folks in the comments wanting nothing more than traditional white casts in a white show they seem to be missing the classic tale of Anne. The new version of Anne is refreshing with its cast full of diversity giving an age old story new light. While some notes were a bit pitchy you would only imagine as much trying to perform after the pandemic shut down Broadway. The casting choices were fantastic! Don't steal this little girls thunder by being blinded by your own ignorance.

Anyone who loves musicals and adores the story of Anne will love this brand new take of a classic. Well done!