I was recently talking to Christiana about this (she played Peter Pan a few weeks ago with me) and she said she was under 3 feet when she was cast as Molly!
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 7:42 PM from IP address 66.57.199.231
Hi there,
I had heard she was doing Peter Pan. Do you have any videos of her performance?
Boy she must be all grown up by now huh?
Did she tell you any of her future performing plans?
thanks!
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 8:14 PM from IP address 71.131.15.240
Wait, below 3 feet can't be right even if she was way smaller than average.
3 feet is like the average height for a 3 year old. Maybe she meant 4 feet.
Posted on Jul 24, 2008, 7:38 AM from IP address 205.188.116.72
Christiana was REALLY small for her age....and she was only 5 when she was cast as Molly. I do have videos of her as Peter, but they aren't online yet (pictures can be found at www.kidsofthearts.com or www.freewebs.com/kota_peterpan). She was really great in the role, her voice is amazing and she's such a natural flyer! This summer she will be doing a very selective theater program in Europe. Christiana is not only a very talented performer, but a great person all around....I have no doubt she will go far.
Posted on Jul 24, 2008, 8:17 AM from IP address 66.57.199.231
Thanks for posting Julie, I love that picture as well!
Some of the other Bway/Touring kids you might recognize are Devynn Pedell (Mary Poppins), Marlon Sherman (Beauty & the Beast), Nadine Jacobson & Jake Schwencke (Whistle Down the Wind), Jacob Levine (Mary Poppins & Les Mis), Athena Ripka (The Grinch), Kaylie Rubinaccio (Les Mis) and other really talented kids.
It was a fun show!
Posted on Jul 24, 2008, 2:33 PM from IP address 66.57.199.231
I tend to agree with you. Lindsay Ryan was under 4 ft (I think 3 ft 8 or close to that) and she was teeny tiny, so I can't imagine that Christiana could have been any tinier, as tiny a person as she is.
Posted on Jul 24, 2008, 12:26 PM from IP address 199.71.174.100
I new Christiana at the time and she was extremely tiny. I have a (almost 7 year old) who is considered small and she 3'7' (43inches) and I don't believe she is as tiny as Christiana was when she booked the show.
Posted on Jul 29, 2008, 5:59 PM from IP address 207.200.116.5
I just thought I'd mention how neat it was to be browsing at the PlaybillStore.com and come across "LAT". And also it is so cool to see Molly on the cover! I love that picture and I think that the whole package is just perfect. Bravo! Julie and Molly...Bravo!
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 10:39 PM from IP address 69.108.24.50
Thanks, Noel. I really like the DVD cover art, too. I've emailed Playbill.com to see if they could include the film on the page they have devoted to "Annie" merchandise. It would be great if people who were searching for products about "Annie" could learn about the documentary.
Julie
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 11:15 PM from IP address 69.230.75.168
I did it - hooray. Thanks to Bruce, the Director of Merchandising for Playbill.com, "Life After Tomorrow" is now on the page with all of the "Annie" merchandise.
Kathy-Jo opened the 1st National in Toronto on March 23, 1978. Sometime in April 1979--I don't know the exact date--she was replaced by Mary K. Lombardi.
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 6:36 PM from IP address 64.12.116.72
I didn't ever see her mentioned acting in anything else. I guess since she did not get the Annie role on Broadway, she retired ? I know she is a psychologist now, thanks to this site ! (and LAT )
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 6:43 PM from IP address 24.128.53.252
...I listened to her at age 12, and her voice sounds so much older than she is, very powerful. Seems like a sweet girl. Why do people lose their accents when they sing...is it because of the original version of the song they learned it from ? Cecile, do you sing ?? I know you are musical !
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 12:50 PM from IP address 24.128.53.252
but I don't have a very powerful range and cannot sing very high notes. I wouldn't know if I have a French accent when I sing English/American songs, I hope not!
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 12:57 AM from IP address 81.107.39.215
well, this might be true for native english speakers, but definitly not for other countries lol. at least not for everyone. if you watch shows like Star Academy (combination between loft story and new idole), some of them have an awful french accent in english and it ruins (sp) the song! it's terrible! lol
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 3:55 AM from IP address 82.126.247.117
...whom I love, still has a touch of her French Canadian accent, but I like the way it sounds, sort of like remembering your roots..I just noticed in some singers that they totally lose their own accents and wondered why, if it was a conscious thing or not ! I guess it varies.
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 6:25 AM from IP address 24.128.53.252
NEW YORK — Bailey Hanks had never seen a Broadway show before auditioning for the hit musical Legally Blonde. But she knew all about Elle Woods, the perky coed-turned-Harvard Law whiz.
"I saw both Legally Blonde movies as soon as they came out," says Hanks, 20. She played the original film on video "so often that our VCR ate it up. At that point, I had to buy the DVD."
All that research is paying off for the pastor's daughter from Anderson, S.C., who was revealed Monday as the winner of MTV's reality series Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods.
Hanks begins performances Wednesday at the Palace Theatre, replacing Tony-nominated leading lady Laura Bell Bundy. She already has recorded a song from the show, So Much Better, available at iTunes and Amazon.
Hanks has been performing in school and community productions since she was 5, including appearances as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Baby June in Gypsy and the title role in Annie, for which the blond actress cut her hair and dyed it red. ("If I'm going to be Annie, I want to know how it feels.")
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 12:58 AM from IP address 69.230.75.168
I'm not familiar with the score so I can't comment on how well she sang that song. It seems that she can sing but...what do I know?
My question is, can she act? Is there dancing involved with this role? These reality shows seems to base everything on singing only, as if you don't have to act or dance to be in a musical.
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 6:47 PM from IP address 71.162.102.251
Yes, Bailey can sing. But actually the other finalist, Autumn, had a better singing voice. Bailey definitely won the competition because of her dancing and acting abilities, IMHO. I was happy to see that they did not seem to base the final decision only on singing.
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 7:20 PM from IP address 205.188.116.72
That's good to know, LuvAnnie. I didn't see this particular show. It seemed they cast the Grease leads based on singing and (allegedly) on looks but not acting or dancing.
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 7:46 AM from IP address 71.162.102.251
Each week, the girls on this show had to do an audition with the actual material for the show - act out a scene, do one of the dances, sing one of the songs, etc. They usually had to do it opposite one of the cast members of the Broadway company. For the final challenge, Bailey and Autumn (the other finalist) had to do three numbers from the show full out at the Palace Theatre with full costumes, full orchestra and the ensemble performing with them.
Rachel
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 8:16 AM from IP address 12.111.30.89
I watched both Grease and Legally Blonde. I was rather skeptical about Legally Blonde after I watched the Grease competition and was disappointed with the talent they had assembled. I recently saw Grease (my 6 year old made me go) and I was pleasantly suprised. I still feel Max is not the right choice for Danny (he is supposed to be the bad boy, and Max doesn't cut it) but I thought Laura did a good job as Sandy (even as a brunette). I saw the show years ago (once with Rosie and once with Brooke Shields, again my older kids made me see it!!!) and thought this was a much better production. After watching Legally Blonde I think Baillee will do a great job, even though she has HUGE shoes to fill-I saw Laura Bell Bundy and thought she was spectacular!!
Posted on Jul 24, 2008, 10:11 AM from IP address 207.200.116.5
I am in "Annie" heaven today. I received autographed pictures in the mail from Sally Struthers and Bob Fitch who appeared in the Reagle Players' production of "Annie" this month. Both of them wrote letters to accompany their autographs. I was impressed!
Here is Peter Filicia's column from July 4, 2008. It is his second regarding the new "Annie" CDs. I saw "Annie 2" in December 1989, but it was great to read his recap. I really didn't remember much from that long ago. Yay, Peter!
As I mentioned on Wednesday, the new Time-Life issue of Annie: The 30th Anniversary Production also offers a second disc. It’s mostly devoted to Annie 2: Miss Hannigan’s Revenge, the show with book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Martin Charnin — the same team that gave us the 1977 Tony-winning classic that, for a while, became known as Annie 1.
For a very little while, really. After Annie 2 canceled its planned February, 1990 opening at the Marquis, closed in Washington — and broke the heart 11-year-old Danielle Findley (the new Annie) — Annie 1 reverted, now and forever, to Annie.
Many songs from Annie 2 wound up in the heavily revamped 1993 off-Broadway version, Annie Warbucks. None that did is included on this disc. But nine that didn’t make it in are here — including two absolute winners — in this “true saga of Annie 2 and its roller coaster ride.” Those words are spoken on the disc by Charnin, who’s one narrator; no less than Carol Burnett (the first movie’s Hannigan) is the other, explaining her role in this revenge comedy.
The show didn’t start with Hannigan, though — all to give Dorothy Loudon a late star entrance, my dears — but some time in “1934,” as the first song goes, at Oliver Warbucks’ Fifth Avenue Mansion. But the Depression being what it is, things are financially tough even here. “Rubber’s really on the skids” is one nifty Charnin lyric, though an even better one has Warbucks insisting that his staff “Learn to turn your paper over so you’ve written on both sides.” Charnin also gives a couple of cute in-jokes that refer back to the source material. The first one has Annie bravely accept this austerity measure by saying “One red dress is all that I’ll ever need” – which in fact was all she ever wore in the funnies. Similarly, Warbucks later says, “This is hard-boiled economics; this is not, my friends the comics.”
Annie and Warbucks have another problem when a representative for the “United Mother of America” arrives and says that Warbucks isn’t capable of raising a little girl alone, and that he must marry so that Annie will have a mother; otherwise, the organization will take her away from him. Warbucks reluctantly agrees, but Annie says she doesn’t want a mother in a “1934” reprise that, as orchestrated by Michael Starobin, regrettably sounds as if it’s a Nazi anthem. It should have been a tender song in which Annie fears someone new in her life, which had been going so well until this happened. Charnin instead offered a number of small things that irritate a kid — “Mommies make you eat things like squash” — instead of including what made Annie great: Genuine emotion.
The first song that will have you rushing to your “Repeat” button is “How Could I Ever Say No?” with that wonderful trademark “Strouse bounce” (heard in la “It’s the Hard-Knock Life,” “The Telephone Hour,” “It’s Superman,” and dozens of others). Hannigan re-unites with cellmate Lionel McCoy, and insists that he help her kidnap Annie and split the ransom. My favorite rhyme is her “Help me, Li’nel” to his “No, that’s final!” Of course, one could suspect that Charnin chose the name Lionel after he found the rhyme; after all, wasn’t that how, in Annie, he named Warbucks’ butler and housekeeper via “When you wake, ring for Drake” and “When you’re through, Mrs. Pugh.”?
Warbucks is too busy to court anyone, so finding the future Mrs. Warbucks falls onto his ever-dependable secretary Grace Farrell. Soon she’s complaining in song that Warbucks is always saying, “Grace, take a memo! Find my reading glasses! Get me a wife,” which she follows with, “He doesn’t know I’m alive.” No, those commands prove he certainly does know that she’s alive. The lyric should have been “He only knows I’m alive when he needs something.”
Still, Grace does her job and starts interviewing potential candidates, asking them some rarefied questions to test their cultural mettle. Charnin gets in some good jokes about Edgar Allen Poe, Vincent van Gogh, Bela Bartok, Lillian Hellman, and Dostoevsky in a pleasant enough ditty, “The Lady of the House.” A creaky plot device had a disguised Hannigan come in and prey on Warbucks sympathy with a fabulous song, “But You Go On” (written during the Washington run, and retained for Annie Warbucks; it’s the working-class woman’s “I’m Still Here”). Nevertheless, Meehan gilded the lily by having Hannigan choose as her alias the very-see-thruable “Charlotte O’Hara.”
Burnett then says that Hannigan gets an unexpected break in the kidnapping plot because she “finds a kid who looks enough like Annie” so that she can switch one with the other. Actually, that kid, a street urchin named Kate, was a dead ringer for Annie, as is proved by the fact that Danielle Findley played her, too. Hannigan tells Kate, “You! You! You! can be Annie, too!” – a nice pun on the show’s title.
Alas, “You! You! You!” isn’t included here, perhaps because Strouse recycled some of the melody into Annie Warbucks’ “Above the Law.” (If we want to get technical, “You! You! You!” was a Strouse recycling job to begin with; the melody first appeared in “Love Comes First,” Margo Channing’s original 11 o’clocker when Applause tried out in Baltimore.)
Hannigan and Lionel tail Daddy Warbucks, even when he says that he wants to go to “Coney Island.” The idea does sound a little too “N.Y.C”-y, but the wonderful, ragtime-tinged melody excuses that. Fay Apple always mourned that, unlike anyone, she couldn’t whistle, but she’d learn just so she could keep this delicious Strouse melody in her mouth.
Charnin starts off with a bright lyric, too: “You never know what’ll happen to you in Coney Island,” but then his first example of that is a limp one: “A lady might lose her glove” – all to rhyme with the more convincing, “A fella might fall in love.” The other examples are fine enough, leading to the conclusion that “You’ll never come back the same.” That latter line was not lightly tossed off as a mere celebration of Coney Island, but offers a second layer of meaning: Annie isn’t going to come back the same, because the kidnappers will switch her with Kate, who’ll then return to the Warbucks mansion in her place. So in Washington, while the nine-minute number continued with some heavenly Peter Howard dance music, Hannigan and Lionel were seen trying to capture the kid.
They got Annie, too, through another smart move Meehan devised: Annie wants to go on a carnival ride, and while Grace says she’ll go with her, Annie needs to feel grown-up and says she’d like to go alone. Which of us didn’t feel the same way in our youth after years of riding with our parents? Grace lets her – which gives the ne’er-do-wells the chance to make the switch.
The next three songs may only interest those who only have an insatiable thirst for the makings of a Broadway musical. “All I’ve Got Is Me,” “I Guess Things Happen for the Best,” and “My Daddy” all deal with Annie’s feelings once she’s kidnapped — and all have the exact same melody. Charnin explains that “We were able to fix and make some changes though we know we were closing,” so he rewrote. Thus you get what Annie sang when the show debuted, the change mid-run, and the change before closing. What the trio of songs does best is show how Charnin was willing to work and wouldn’t give up. To come up with an entirely new idea and write a distinctly new lyric, all while having to fit the same Strouse melody, couldn’t have been easy — especially in the era when musical theater songs were expected to rhyme and scan correctly, too.
Charnin says on the disc that the third song allowed Annie to “get closer to Daddy Warbucks, which is what Annie 2 should have been about all along.” No, she was close enough to him, and none of us left Annie ever doubting that they both loved each other. Why go over those emotions again when they were so well-established?
What Annie 2 should have been was a story of a kid who wanted her new father to get married to Grace Farrell — not necessarily because she needed a mother, but because she felt that Grace really loved him, and she wanted to see them together. Annie would have had two struggles here: 1) To get this pretty young woman to admit she loves Warbucks — and she does because he’s blossomed into a real human being — and not worry that he’ll just think she’s out for his money, and 2) To get this hesitant, older man to admit his feelings and not fear he’ll be spurned because he’s older, fatter — and certainly balder. A few misadventures along the way prior to a happy ending would have made for a real audience pleaser. Annie 4, anyone?
You may e-mail Peter at pfilichia@aol.com
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 10:33 PM from IP address 121.55.249.192
If you scroll to the bottom, another Studio Cast recording is mentioned as not having a set release date yet. Does anyone know anything about this? Or is this just a rumor??
Just curious.
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 8:03 PM from IP address 74.192.12.21
OT, but about kids...just happened to see another nanny TV program called Take Home Nanny. It's exactly the same format as Nanny 911 and Supernanny but a younger prettier nanny....hmmmm.
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 5:39 PM from IP address 24.128.53.252
Sarah Jessica Parker lands show at Bravo Mon Jul 21, 1:29 AM ET
Sarah Jessica Parker's art-competition reality show has found a home at Bravo.
The network has picked up "American Artist," a "Project Runway"-style series that takes on the art world.
Aspiring artists compete to produce various styles of artwork (painting, sculpting, etc.), which is then judged by a panel of experts. Parker's Pretty Matches production company is helping develop the project.
If ordered to series, the show would give Bravo another skill-driven reality show to its lineup, along with "Top Chef" and "Top Design."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
________________
I found this on Yahoo! news.
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 4:11 PM from IP address 71.162.102.251
Does anyone know who got cast in the Grinch? I heard they were not casting many kids this year. Anyone know how many? My daughter was at the callbacks but got cut after the dance.
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 1:13 PM from IP address 67.81.75.170
We know there is no Broadway Cast, only the tour in Baltimore/ Boston. And there are less kids in the show than before. We do not know who was cast, but my info in very reliable. I am certain that they wanted to have a Broadway Cast, but no Theater to put the show in. That is all I know. Making to callbacks is fantastic!
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 7:02 PM from IP address 64.12.116.72
This is why we continue to love you so much, you go far beyond and so much more that the normal "owner" of a site would do. Thank you (from both my daughter and I)! :O)
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 12:23 PM from IP address 72.92.160.28
Not sure. She was on Merv a LOT. Andrea loved singing that song - I have several videos of her singing it on talk shows over the years. I think she stayed on a Judy Garland roll for several years after doing the TV movie, "Rainbow."
Julie
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 7:15 PM from IP address 69.230.75.168
She WAS on Merv a lot. This performance, I wasn't sure was going to turn out well but then she killed it 1/2 way through. I have her on audio singing this (probably from Merv's regular show) as well as from the tv movie.
For whatever reason, when I think of Rainbow I start singing 'You Made Me Love You' and 'I'm Always Chasing Rainbows' (or whatever the actual title is).
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 7:53 PM from IP address 71.162.102.251
Oh I lived for those shows, I would scan the TV guides each week hoping for a Merv or a Mike or a Phil devoted to Andrea. I taped them all - if I ever find them they are yours, Julie. Oh how I lived and died with those shows!! I idolized Andrea so much it hurt! What was wrong with me!!!???
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 1:33 AM from IP address 76.208.164.226
I however only had a tape recorder I bought with my babysitting money, but I taped everything Annie -related I could ! I loved how our TV Guide then did give lots of info on which guests were on those talk shows and I would scan them and circle them, ready with my tape recorder, lol ! I saw Andrea and the orphans quite by chance, after hearing about the Goodspeed production in the NY Times, I think, and was hooked.
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 6:29 AM from IP address 24.128.53.252
I don't think we had a tv guide in the house but Merv and Mike and Phil were our dinner companions (5:00 pm on the dot!)
I used to borrow my brother's tape recorder, often getting in trouble for doing so, and hold it up to the television. So, much of my stuff is audio as well.
But man, I LIVED to see Andrea on tv. I used to cut out every single picture of her from the newspaper, too, even if it was the same old headshot I already had and even if the picture was only 2"x2".
Later my obsession grew to anything Annie. I can't tell you how many newspaper cut-outs I have of the Annie logo. Just the logo advertising the show. Nothing else. I was a goofy kid.
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 7:51 AM from IP address 71.162.102.251
So happy to see there were other's like me during the Andrea craze! I still have my tape recordings of those shows, too. All these years Ithought I was the only one! How about that!
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 2:56 PM from IP address 205.188.116.72
Oh yeah I did the tv guide scanning, god bless that publication! I would check every day to see if Andrea was a guest Fortunately she WAS a frequent guest. Too bad we (I) didn't have vcrs quite yet! u did that audio tape thing too and took polaroids off the tv, i must still have them somewhere in my mom's basement!
Posted on Aug 5, 2008, 11:58 PM from IP address 76.208.180.195
I have a ton of Andrea's performances on talk shows on video. I can start to dig them out and put them on You Tube. Even though I knew Andrea back then, I was still in awe of her voice and would tape any program she was on.
Julie
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 11:16 AM from IP address 69.230.75.168
Are there any videos of Alexis Kalehoff playing Young Cosette anywhere? (Even better, would be a video of Andrea playing Fontine during the same production!)
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 6:02 PM from IP address 205.188.116.72
I have never seen video footage of Andrea as Fantine but awhile back there was a video on youtube of an "Entertainment Tonight" segment focusing on her joining the cast and it had some small clips of her singing during rehearsals.
As for Alexis as Young Cosette, there was a teeny tiny snippet at the end of the original "Turning Point" if anybody has that and can upload it. She sang "Castle of a Cloud" on Andrea's PBS special but not in costume or anything.
Andrea is playing Fantine and Alexis is playing Eponine this fall at Ogunquit Playhouse so maybe there will be some bootleg footage of that.
Lastly, that 4NY commercial with Alexis on it plays ALL THE TIME here. The TV spot is actually an edited version that doesn't have her face on it but I watch "Today" every morning when I am getting ready to leave and I always hear the "There's magic insiiiiiide" part. That's Edd's theme song.
Rachel
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 7:06 PM from IP address 68.161.165.145
I saw her on Andrea's family special (also her brother) and heard her sing Castle on a Cloud. Honestly I didn't think it was too good, kind of mechanical, but I guess she improved a LOT because when I heard her sing other stuff later on, she had a great voice. She was so little then, but very poised. It showed her backstage with mom I think (IIRC !)
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 6:28 AM from IP address 24.128.53.252
Andrea was exceptional but Alexis is average. Especially when she was a child. Now she sounds a lot better but too generic. Don't mean this as an insult. She is a beautiful girl. She beat her mom in that area.
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 9:51 PM from IP address 69.142.127.18
we were talking a few days ago about the story alexis told about when she was understudying Gavroche in les mis and she accidently peed on stage.....well i just finished performing in les mis and the boy who played our gavroche was on the national tour for about a year and he was telling us some stories from wen he was in the show. now i knew that the girls understudy gavroche, but did u know that the boys understudy the girls too?. Anthony (our gavroche) went on several times as young eponine! idk i just found that very funny.
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 8:07 PM from IP address 68.5.76.168
I looked for ages trying to find a bootleg of Andrea as Fantine everywhere and anywhere and it does not exist. She was in it in 1994 and that was a bit before bootlegging really boomed. She was my favorite Fantine ever.. the first I saw and I saw Les Mis over 25 times.
I never heard Alexis sing Castle on a Cloud from when she was YC, but she sang it on Andrea's "On Broadway" album and in my humble opinion, it was before her voice blossomed I guess. She didn't sound the best on it.. she sounded like any ordinary kid in the world who could just barely carry a tune. I assumed she improved greatly by the time she got to be in Les Mis because I can not imagine her performing sounding as she did on that album. Not that she was ear piercingly horrible, but she was definitely not sounding Broadway caliber or of caliber to be on a professional album at that time.
I am going to try to go Maine to see Les Mis in September .. just to see Andrea and curious to see Alexis's performance as well. Tickets are only $55 but airfare isn't cheap.
But, as someone said there was an Entertainment Tonight piece on You Tube that was quite lengthy showing Andrea in rehearsals (being taught and going through the locket part in Lovely Ladies) and showing her performing I Dreamed a Dream on stage in costume (not sure if that was during a performance or rehearsal) and some interview footage with her then too.
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 9:21 PM from IP address 64.131.190.96
What was odd is that in Andrea's PBS special Alexis does sound 'average'. That is, like any 8 year old singing. Although, I heard potential in that voice and wondered if she was just extremely shy.
Anyway, that was taped around the time of her audition for Annie and shortly after both the special and Annie audition, she got the role of Cossette. When they showed the clip of Alexis singing on Bway, she sounded a million times better and certainly good enough for the role of Cossette. At least, based on that 10 second clip
For that reason, I chalk up her performance (on PBS) to nerves. Or something.
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 10:57 AM from IP address 71.162.102.251
Well, I also thought her voice was average at best back then, and on Turning Point, her dancing looked quite awkward. I wonder how she improved so much when she so quickly got the role of Cosette (although she wouldn't need to dance for that ) Probably she took lessons. I think she is very good now, but I disagree with Ashlee's second point; I think her mom is very attractive and in great shape ! Alexis is cute, though. Andrea never seemed to "push' her into the biz, especially in that Alexis took her dad's name, and would not automatically be associated with Andrea (although Edd is well-known also)
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 12:21 PM from IP address 24.128.53.252
Oh, I wondered this since i first saw the show as a little girl in 1977 but was afraid to ask! Why was she in street clothes and where the heck was she??? It took me 30 years to fess up, glory be for this website!
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 1:28 AM from IP address 76.208.164.226
Glad I could take on the humiliation (of not knowing) for you
I do recall that I wondered if she just didn't have pajamas but I never, until now, put together wearing street clothes and being off-stage with her about to run away.
DUh Louie! - as we used to say in the 70s
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 7:57 AM from IP address 71.162.102.251
Didn't Annie also have a basket of belongings and a flashlight with her, when she heard Molly crying, and come back into the dorm to comfort here ? Then she picked them up after Maybe etc and start to sneak out ?
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 8:07 AM from IP address 24.128.53.252
Annie runs onstage with a mop and bucket and sets it aside ONSTAGE as she runs to comfort Molly.
In the script it mentions that ANNIE has been up cleaning when she hears Molly's screams and runs onstage to comfort her.
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 3:06 PM from IP address 65.92.123.238
Why was she cleaning, just because she was Miss Hannigan's least favorite orphan ? Why was she in clothes, when the orphans cleaned in PJs after Annie was caught ? Man, my "old" memory is going because I don't remember a mop at all !! Yikes !
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 4:07 PM from IP address 24.128.53.252
Are you talking about the Broadway production? B/c this production has already been cast, and the cast has been announced...but I don't know if they had replacement auditions or not or if that's even what you're talking about...lol. Sorry I'm not much help. But I do know the broadway production has already been cast.
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 9:45 AM from IP address 67.8.6.96
they had auditions last week for broadway 13, some say it was for understudies and swings, others say it was replacements,,,just wondering if anyone heard anything on callbacks from that audition, thanks!
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 12:00 PM from IP address 65.190.20.21
I am going to say I highly doubt it only because she either just completed filming, or is nearly done filming, The Clique. I could defenitely see her on Broadway again, and defenitely in this show, but I just don't think the timing is right.
But you never know!! If she is, they are gaining one very talented girl!
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 1:36 PM from IP address 165.91.166.200
Actually, I'm not sure what day she went--was kinda weird how it happened--she was doing a workshop that the casting director was teaching and performed a song from 13--the cd was blown away and told the director, "You need to see this kid"--so, she was seen and called back--she is 12, so they feel that it is a long shot, but they will be apparently auditioning every 6 mos, so she figures at least maybe they will remember her for next time!
Posted on Jul 22, 2008, 5:51 PM from IP address 66.57.22.3
This is from Jason Robert Brown's most recent email blast.
We start rehearsals for the Broadway production of "13" on August 4, with a sensational cast and an amazing band, and previews start at the Jacobs Theater on September 16 with an opening date of October 5! So I've been told. You can't buy tickets yet because everything in life is complicated, especially if I'm involved. But soon, all mysteries will be revealed!
What else, what else, what else? Oh, zillions of things, I'm sure, but my mind is really just focused on "13" at the moment – I'm headed off to French Woods and Stagedoor Manor this week to audition some more kids for the show!
Posted on Jul 23, 2008, 11:00 AM from IP address 69.230.75.168
He's coming to Stagedoor again?!?! YES!
That's how I got my appointments for all the 13 auditions.
But the Broadway cast is complete....
www.13themusical.com
Posted on Jul 25, 2008, 11:34 AM from IP address 68.175.5.121
Hey, OF, I don't think the costumes look THAT bad and I don't see any male orphans, either haha
The wigs on the other hand...
Looks like a decent production. Someone on talkingbroadway saw it and said while it was a very talented cast, the show itself is 'dated' and for that reason, he didn't like it.
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 9:27 AM from IP address 71.162.102.251
WOW K-the-O! Those are great pics!! Thanks
I have three questions:
Do you understand what the person meant by the show being "dated?" Is there a "modern" production of Annie I don't know about?
Also, I counted at least nine orphans in the picture where they're sitting on the floor with Annie. I'm curious to know how the lines are divided (or maybe not divided) among the orphans and what names are given to the extra orphans. When a production company decides to add extra orphans, do they name the extra orphans or do they call a certain group of girls the "orphan chorus?"
If they name them, how do they decide the names?
Last but not least, hey K-the-O, I thought you were going to see this show! What's up?
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 11:13 AM from IP address 74.138.25.130
I think by "dated" he meant the story just didn't hold up i.e. wasn't socially relevant; that the punch lines are no longer funny, the Hooverville scene isn't needed, the show drags, etc.
I don't agree with him because because I think when the original script is altered to TRY to be "modern" that is when you have a flop e.g. Annie20th
I also think this show is produced too often and it does get 'old'. I think Charnin should have waited for Annie40th and skipped the 30th. Then he should have stuck to the original rather than sanitizing it.
As for the orphans in the Reagle production, I'm not really sure how it was staged. I'm guessing the extra orphans came in just for the musical numbers and probably didn't have names or lines. But I really don't know. Each production handles the extra orphans differently. Personally, I don't like it when there are extra kids. It usually means chaos on stage - in the sense that it's over-crowded and it's distracting.
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 11:26 AM from IP address 71.162.102.251
This production actually looks really nice. I'm not in love with the set, or some of the costumes, and the only bad wig I see is Annie's curly wig. Apart from all that it looks like a really good show. I can't judge performances because... well I didn't see the show, but from the photos, the cast look like they can act.
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 11:49 AM from IP address 86.161.222.101
...they might have been extras for NYC, idk, all I saw were some amateur photos and there were LOTS of kids, male and female, but IMO, some of the costumes were not great; the ones in these pics are OK ! I'm sure the show was fine but I couldn't find any reviews either !
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 11:57 AM from IP address 24.128.53.252
You're welcome, now I wish I'd made more of an effort to go too, I've just spent WAY too much $$$ on "entertainment" lately....and had to put the brakes on!
LOL!!
I really need a new refrigerator....because my "frost free" freezer has about two inches of snow in it! Not good. There seems to be a "life" of ten years on major appliances these days. Sad.
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 5:15 PM from IP address 72.192.4.199
Good luck with the new job, and the fridge...I find all appliances wear out exactly one day after the warranty expires, no matter how long it was for...like the Christmas my oven died.
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 5:24 PM from IP address 24.128.53.252
I am in need of a new computer and a mattress/boxspring so...I was on the fence about seeing this production. If I had someone to go with cough I might have been persuaded but I'm also okay with not going.
Besides, I really wanted to see a Red Sox game and I don't mind going alone to that! Any fans out there wanna meet up for a game?
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 6:13 PM from IP address 71.162.102.251
Cute pics! Sally S. looks like she made a good Hannigan. I really can't stand it when people call a musical/play, etc. "dated." Doesn't every story have a place in time?
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 12:45 PM from IP address 64.12.116.72
I know ! It's supposed to be dated, to 1933, and should stay there ! I hate how they change the jokes etc because people won't "get" them. That's a sad comment on the common knowledge of American history and culture. I also don't think they need to add new songs or lines just because many people have seen the musical before.
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 1:42 PM from IP address 24.128.53.252
A selection of Albert's Angels pictures and videos:
At the end of the final day of auditions, when the girls had been cast, they celebrated with a grand finale. The Annies got into costume and the orphans put red Annie T-shirts on, then the whole cast sang 'Morgen'- I love this video. Jennifer is one of the last Annies to enter- 3rd from the left when all the Annies have entered.
A few days later, all of the girls got together and spent the day singing and dancing, in dfferent combinations, so that the groups could be figured out. Here are two videos from that day of Jennifer and the Albert's Angels, singing Hard Knock Life and Smile.
Seems like there's so many videos of Stephanie and Cheyenne, but I can't find anything on the other Annies. Thanks for this, though. I wish there was someplace online to compare all the different Annie voices. Cheyenne's seems so mature for her age. Reminiscent of Brittney Kissinger, I think. Stephanie sounds adorable. She puts so much anger into Hard Knock Life!
Thanks again. God bless. If you find any other videos, please post.
Posted on Jul 19, 2008, 7:23 PM from IP address 64.12.116.72
Yes, I agree, it would be nice to compare all of the Annie's voices. There were some videos of Albert's Angels doing Een Zwaar Bestaan, but they appear to have been removed. What a shame. These are the Annies whose voices you can compare:
4. Sharon Witsiers sings many songs on the cast album- Hard Knock Life, Think I'm Gonna Like It Here, Won't Be An orphan For Long. Email me and I can send you the full CD (zip file). Not sure of Julie's downloads policy...
She also features a little in a YouTube video (read on)
6. Marieke Swart and Esmee De Boer alternated as part of the same orphan group, De PodiumRakkers, after the show moved to the Efteling and they did an interview together. Marieke, in costume, sings a bit of Morgen at the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1j5lm4Bk7Y
The footage shown from the auditions about halfway through, features Sharon Wisiers singing a piece of Morgen, too.
Kika did an appearance as Annie, which she admits in the comments was not her best performance of Morgen. In a comment in Dutch, she apologises and says that she was too out of breath from doing Een Zwaar Bestann (the full stage version, not edited) to sing properly and of her three takes, they used the worst one.
Many Annies and orphans had also appeared in the Dutch version of The Sound of Music 2001/2, a few years before. As for Annie, 10 groups of children were cast and there's lots of videos on YouTube.
Kika was a Gretel and both Stephanies were Martas. Lizette Hart, who played July alongside Neeltje De Vree in De Weesgrietjes, was a Brigitta.
The one video I can recommend is this one. A very young-looking Stephanie Van Rooijen is playing Marta and Lizette is playing Brigitta. Kika and Stephanie Vertraten were in another group, but they are both in a picture on Stephanie's website.
Phew!
Alex
Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 9:42 AM from IP address 81.153.206.73
