Annie Is Broadway Bound Once Again in 2012

Everyone’s favorite red-headed orphan will return to Broadway to belt her heart out in the fall of 2012. The beloved musical Annie will celebrate its 35th anniversary with a full revival, producer Arielle Tepper Madover has announced, with an updated book by Thomas Meehan. No theater, dates or casting for the production, which features music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin, has been announced at this time.

Inspired by the famous comic strip Little Orphan Annie, Annie made its Broadway debut on April 21, 1977, transferring three times and playing 2,377 performances before closing on January 2, 1983. The show won the Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Book, Best Original Score, among others, and earned Dorothy Loudon her own trophy for her performance as villainess Miss Hannigan. The subsequent film adaptation, released in 1982 and starring Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Ann Reinking, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters and Aileen Quinn, was nominated for two Academy Awards. The show was also filmed for television in 1999 with a cast led by Kathy Bates, Victor Garber, Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth. Annie was revived in 1997 at the Martin Beck Theatre in a production that starred Nell Carter and closed after seven months.

“The script has never been touched since 1977, and our hope is to really make this revival for current audiences, so Tom is going to go to work on the book,” Madover told The New York Times. No details were given about possible changes, though Madover added, "A new creative team will look to modernize the show."

The family-friendly tale of an orphan whose hard knock life is forever changed when paired with a snappish billionaire, Annie features such showtune staples as “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 “Tomorrow.”