Aberdeen Voice

Duncan Harley Reviews ‘Annie’ at His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen.

When writer Thomas Meehan was hired to write the story for a musical based on Harold Gray’s newspaper-strip Little Orphan Annie he seemingly thought that it was the worst idea he’d ever heard.

The brief was to convert Gray’s far right cartoon rants against welfare, unions and Roosevelt’s ‘creeping communist policies’ into a sugar sweet Dickensian romp fit for Broadway.

The result is a powerful and entertaining celebration of the enduring power of the American Dream set within a slightly dubious tale about a balding US billionaire, war profiteer Daddy Warbucks, who sends his PA down-town to the local children’s home to pick up an orphan for Christmas.

Its depression era 1933 New York and the banks are going bust. The stock market is in chaos and the factories are shutting down nationwide. The citizens are starving on the streets and there is barely controlled civil unrest afoot. To make matters worse, Japan’s colonial ambitions threaten American interests in the Pacific and in Europe Herr Hitler has just become Chancellor of Germany.

Red headed Annie lives at NY’s Municipal Orphanage for Girls along with Molly, Pepper, Kate, July, Duffy and Tessie.

Run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan AKA Elaine C. Smith, the orphanage is in reality a sad sweat-shop where gin soaked Miss Hannigan subjects her charges to an oppressive regime from which escape seems impossible. In a scene reminiscent of Colditz the feisty freckled Annie, Anya Evans of Team Liberty – there are three alternating teams of young actors in this production, defies the odds and makes her bid for freedom.

Meeting downtrodden out of-work Americans along the way she and her canine pal Sandy, played obediently by Amber the Labradoodle, defy the odds and achieve the seemingly impossible.

By the end of Act Two, Annie has come to terms with orphanity, advised the US President on economic policy and made an old man very happy. The nasty Miss Hannigan gets her just deserts, Annie’s fellow orphans won’t have to work no more and all is well in the land of FDR’s New Deal.

This is a picture perfect production. From the moment early in Act One where the orphans throw off the bed-clothes to the final curtain call, the electrifying entertainment pounds on. Lighting, sound and set combine superbly and it is obvious from the very start that each and every cast-member is committed 110% to the show’s success.

Alongside comedic asides, dance routines to die for and a wee measure of slapstick the musical highlights include Easy Street, Hard Knock Life and Elaine C. Smith’s stunning rendering of Little Girls. There are around sixteen musical numbers in the show.

With a list of credits including leads as Dean Martin in Rat Pack and Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story, Alex Bourne is a natural as Daddy Warbucks. He commands the stage just as Warbucks commands his business empire. Anya Evan’s Annie is of course centre stage throughout and she excels in, what is after all, a very demanding role.

Callum McArdle’s portrayal of the wheelchair bound president was refreshingly honest. In reality of course, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s mid-career polio was stage managed to the point where most of the American public remained blissfully unaware of his condition.

Tuesday’s performance at His Majesty’s concluded with a five minute stand-up ovation. By the end of the week the likelihood is that this will have increased to ten minutes at the very least!  Harold Gray must be rolling in his grave.

Directed by Nikolai Foster with Children’s Casting by Debbie O’Brien and starring Elaine C. Smith Annie plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday 14th May

Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122

Words © Duncan Harley and Images © APA

Duncan Harley Reviews Breakfast at Tiffany’s at His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen.

Theatregoers expecting a re-run of the 1961 Rom-Com Hollywood blockbuster film are likely to be disappointed with this production. Those with fresh eyes and those who have read Truman Capote’s novella are likely to enjoy the experience.

Leading lady Holly Golightly welcomes a succession of men into her bedroom, she never names her cat and insists on applying lipstick before receiving bad news.

Aspiring writer Fred wrestles with his sexuality, narrates Holly’s story and gets fired for not making friends with the semicolon.

Meanwhile Bing Crosby croons softly in the background, a roller-skating burned-out-diva circles the stage and the veiled spectre of Audrey Hepburn haunts the audience. Neither a musical nor a love story Breakfast at Tiffany’s is in a complicated place.

As a love story, Capote’s tale was never going to cut the mustard anyway. It’s not really a stereotypical boy meets girl tale. In act two, Holly memorably reveals that she has really only had eleven lovers, that is if you discount all of those from before she was sixteen.

As an honest exploration of sexual morals Breakfast at Tiffany’s remains challenging and in its day the risqué behaviour and sexual ambiguity of Capote’s characters invited both fierce criticism and intensely voyeuristic interest.

Interviewed for Playboy in 1968 Capote was asked whether Holly was the prototype of today’s liberated female. In reply he likened her to an authentic American geisha.

“She had no job, but accompanied expense-account men to the best restaurants and night clubs with the understanding that her escort was obligated to give her some sort of gift. Perhaps jewellery or a cheque … if she felt like it, she might take her escort home for the night.”

Played out in flashback, Richard Greenberg’s adaptation can be challenging.

Set in both the 1950’s and in war-time 1944 the story moves sharply backwards and forwards between the two era’s, relying on New York accented machine-gun dialogue, delivered speedily by Matt Barber’s Fred, to fill in the blanks. In general this works well although Matt’s delivery was on occasion let down by a poor sound envelope.

The 1950’s action takes place in an oddly deserted New York bar. Holly has left the country some years before following legal difficulties connected to her relationship with Sing Sing resident and some time mobster Sally Tomato. Many of the 1944 scenes are played out in Holly’s room, in the street outside her apartment, at a bus station and on Brooklyn Bridge. There are frequent changes of scene.

All eyes of course are on leading lady Emily Atack.

New to the role, in fact new to the touring stage, and fresh from playing Daphne in a re-make of Dad’s Army could Emily step into Holly’s wee black dress and high-heels? Thankfully the answer is a resounding yes.

This is a demanding role with Holly Golightly on-stage virtually throughout the performance. Alongside the reams of Capote dialogue and those iconic costume changes, Holly is required to deliver Moon River and of course Emily does this memorably.

Robert Calvert’s portrayal of horse doctor Doc Golightly is a delight. Old enough to be her father but in reality her legal wedded husband, Doc accepts Holly for who she is and after ae fond kiss, parts gracefully before broken-heartedly riding the interstate bus back to Texas.

Bob the Cat plays Holly’s unnamed feline companion and deserves special mention. Hailing from a small animal rescue centre in Surrey he has made it into the Moggie A-list with a list of credits including East Enders, Crimewatch and The Secret Life of Cats. Seemingly he is purring with delight to be appearing in Breakfast at Tiffany’s but is far too well mannered to purr loudly on-stage.

It’s a brave cast who take on the ghost of a worldwide blockbuster and on some levels it is impossible to shake the temptation to make comparisons. That however might be a mistake since this production stands well enough on its own merits.

Directed by Nikolai Foster, Breakfast at Tiffany’s plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday 7th May

Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122

Words © Duncan Harley and Images © APA