The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

(Orange,Texas) Leapin' Lizards - the Broadway musical "Annie" is coming to Orange, TX. The iconic Tony Award®-winning production of "Annie" will be at the Lutcher Theater for one night only on Thursday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m.

Holding onto hope when times are tough can take an awful lot of determination, and sometimes, an awful lot of determination comes in a surprisingly small package. Little Orphan Annie has reminded generations of theatergoers that sunshine is always right around the corner, and now the best-loved musical of all time is set to return in this new production –just as you remember it and just when we need it most. This celebration of family, optimism and the American spirit remains the ultimate cure for all the hard knocks life throws your way.

"This show, with its iconic title character, continues to delight generations of theatre-lovers old and new by joyfully singing directly into the face of great adversity with perseverance, guts and guile," said Lynae Sanford, executive director of the Lutcher Theater. "I am constantly reminded of the biggest reason we love this show - it's just plain happy and hopeful, and sometimes we just need a reminder to think about such things." 

The original production of "Annie" had its world premiere on August 10, 1976 at the Goodspeed Opera House (Michael J. Price, Executive Director) and opened on Broadway on April 21, 1977 at the Alvin Theatre (Neil Simon Theatre). It went on to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, seven Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical, the Grammy for Best Cast Show Album and seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book (Thomas Meehan) and Best Score (Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin). It closed on Broadway after playing 2,377 performances. "Annie" was revived on Broadway in 1997 and again in 2014. It has been made into a film three times (1982, 1999, 2014) and was most recently featured as a live television production on NBC. The show remains one of the biggest Broadway musical hits ever; it has been performed in 28 languages and has been running somewhere around the world for 45 years.

The beloved score for "Annie" includes "Maybe," "It's the Hard Knock Life," "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile," "Easy Street," "I Don't Need Anything But You" and the eternal anthem of optimism, "Tomorrow."

A limited amount of tickets for "Annie" are available and can be purchased online at lutcher.org or by calling the box office at (409) 886-5535.

The Lutcher Theater is located at 707 Main Avenue in Orange, Texas.