Palo Alto Players stages charming ‘Annie’

Inspired by the once-popular comic strip, “Little Orphan Annie,” the book by Thomas Meehan with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin keeps only a few main characters and tells its own story.

In this version, 11-year-old Annie (Julie Li) lives in a New York City orphanage for girls in 1933, during the depths of the Great Depression. Her parents left her there when she was an infant but said they’d come back for her when they could.

The orphanage is overseen by the tippling, tyrannical Miss Hannigan (Morgan Dayley). Her song, “Little Girls,” says all you need to know about how she regards her charges.

Hoping to find her parents, Annie runs away but is soon found and returned to the orphanage. While on the lam, however, she befriends a stray dog, Sandy, here portrayed by Jinkua, a lovable golden retriever.

Back at the orphanage, she happens to be in the right place at the right time when Grace Farrell (Marie Finch) comes by to say that her employer, billionaire Oliver Warbucks (Joey McDaniel), wants an orphan to stay with him in his mansion over Christmas.

Warbucks is so taken with Annie that he wants to adopt her, but she’s supposedly not an orphan. Instead, he pulls strings with Washington higher-ups to launch a national search for her parents.

Aided by his sister, Miss Hannigan, Rooster Hannigan (Brandon Savage) and his girlfriend, Lily St. Regis (Vanessa Mendy), pretend to be Annie’s parents to collect a $50,000 reward, but the scheme is uncovered and the three culprits are brought to justice.

Then thanks to an FBI investigation, information is found that clears the way for Warbucks to adopt Annie. In the meantime, she also has charmed President Roosevelt (Charles Evans) and inspired his New Deal.

The show is full of memorable music like “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” sung by the orphans as they scrub the floor, and the show’s optimistic anthem, “Tomorrow,” a real show-stopper.

Director/choreographer Joey Dippel has chosen a terrific, diverse cast of talented actors who sing and dance well.

Li as the endearing title character meets its challenges and then some. All of the other principal characters are noteworthy along with the entire cast.

This production opens with grainy newsreels from the Depression, showing long bread lines, the homeless and unemployed people. Given the crises created by the recent government shutdown, these newsreels are timely.

Adding to the show’s enjoyment are the costumes by Nolan Miranda, set by PAP artistic director Patrick Klein, lighting by Edward Hunter and sound by Brian Foley. The vocal/music director is Pamela Serrano, while the orchestral accompaniment is recorded.

Running about two hours and 40 minutes with an intermission, “Annie” will continue through Nov. 23 at the Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.

It has proven so popular that another performance has been added. For details and tickets call (650) 329-0891 or visit info@paplayers.org.