Monday, January 11, 1999
Even after 20 years, ‘Annie’ still steals hearts
THEATER: Revival brings orphan, endearing story back to L.A.
stage
By Cheryl Klein
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
You know a musical has left its mark on a generation when lyrics
start showing up in rap songs and even labor protests. That’s right
– for SAGE organizers congregated on the corner of Westwood and Le
Conte last quarter, it was a "hard-knock strike," or so they
sang.
And maybe it wasn’t such a silly anthem. After all, Annie is a
charismatic spokeskid for the downtrodden who knows how to
negotiate. She coaxes FDR into a hearty chorus of "Tomorrow." And
Daddy Warbucks gets to welcome her into his capitalistic domain,
but only if her orphanage mates get schooling and a stage full of
Christmas presents.
Since its 1977 Broadway opening, "Annie" has been translated
into 21 languages and seen by 20 million people.
Not bad for a girl without pupils.
And now she’s back – at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre through
Sunday – enjoying the L.A. leg of a 20th anniversary tour that
began two years ago with a highly-publicized, nationwide search for
her latest on-stage incarnation.
Perhaps even more publicized was the battle and public outrage
that followed the firing of Joanna Pacitti, the original winner of
the search. The 12-year-old’s understandably woeful quotes sparked
both legal stirrings and sympathetic fan pages on the Internet. Her
replacement, the then-8-year-old Brittny Kissinger, didn’t fit the
underdog mold quite so easily.
But if character parallels are a must, call Kissinger a
manifestation of Annie’s spunk and perseverance. Nearly a quarter
of her lifetime later, Kissinger is still taking the stage eight
times a week. And she isn’t even sick of "Tomorrow."
Her primary recollection of the auditions is that "we had to
sing ‘Tomorrow’ a lot," but she still counts it among her
favorites, along with the sorrowfully hopeful "Maybe," and her duet
with Daddy Warbucks, "I Don’t Need Anything But You."
"I saw the movie when I was three, and then I always wanted to
be Annie," Kissinger says.
She and nearly every other female born in the last two decades.
But an abundance of singing and dancing lessons, coupled with
community theater credits (including "Annie Warbucks") landed her
in the cast.
One always speculates what tours must be like for shows with
just one kid part: "Mame," "Into the Woods," "Miss Saigon." It’s
pretty much you and your understudy watching Nick at Nite in the
hotel room. Far more enviable are the casts of "Oliver!," "Joseph,"
and of course, "Annie."
Kissinger and her seven fellow orphans (who range from six to
11) get to travel in a tight-knit pack, squeezing field trips into
their itinerary, along with 15 hours of tutoring per week.
The San Diego Zoo has been a favorite so far, and Kissinger
doesn’t miss the stability of a conventional classroom.
"Some of the kids in school might be learning about the Liberty
Bell, but we actually get to see it and touch it and stuff," she
says.
Presumably, her mom and little sister also get to touch the
Liberty Bell – they are happy roadies on the tour, though
Kissinger’s younger sibling initially took the Annie transformation
hard.
"We have to dye my hair. My real color is really light blonde,"
Kissinger says. "My sister thought it was a wig. And she cried. She
was only six."
But since then, everyone has gotten comfortable with this new
deal. Kissinger knows how to cover the occasional dropped line from
other cast members, and they all know that Sally Struthers (who
plays Miss Hannigan) is "really nice" in real life. The seasoned
Kissinger adds, "When I’m Annie, I’m totally so into character that
I’m afraid of Miss Hannigan when she yells and stuff. But I’m not
scared of Sally."
Even Cindy Lou knows her way around stage. She plays Sandy, the
dog who miraculously answers to her brand-new name when a police
officer raises an eyebrow at Annie’s proclamation of ownership.
Cindy Lou’s story perhaps parallels Annie’s more than any human
cast member’s does: she was so severely abused that when she was
rescued from a Connecticut pound in 1991 that she required surgery
to remove a collar embedded in her neck.
Since that time, she’s acquired multiple acting credits ("Annie
Warbucks" and the film "Mixed Nuts") and a very glossy coat, not to
mention a new friend in Brittny Kissinger.
"She comes to my dressing room before the show, and we play
games," Kissinger says. "I put a treat in one of my hands and say,
‘Which hand?’ and she has to touch the hand that she thinks the
treat is in."
Kids. Dogs. Stardom. Songs about sunshine. It’s not such a
hard-knock life.
THEATER: "Annie" runs through Sunday at the Pantages Theatre.
Tickets range from $32 to $57. For ticket information, call (213)
356-3500. Carol Rosegg
Brittny Kissinger is the latest little girl to play the lead
role in "Annie."
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