Annie West End Review
Hellooo! So a couple of weeks ago I took a trip down to London with my best friend! We'd always spoke of doing it and this year we finally did and decided to pick a West End show each to see. Lyndsey chose Annie and surprise, surprise, I chose Wicked! But that's a review for another day!
I went into Annie at the Piccadilly Theatre knowing nothing about it other than it was about a girl who had a dog and sang Tomorrow and It's the Hard Knock Life and I honestly wasn't expecting a lot but I was pleasantly surprised! We were sat in seats C13 and C14 in the Grand Circle which had a pretty decent view other than the heads of the people in front of us and the railings to one side. I must say that the Grand Circle was SUPER steep which made it a bit nerve racking to walk down! I loved the puzzle piece backdrop and the lighting throughout the show was powerful against it. Overall, I couldn't fault the sound! It was spot on from the stage and the orchestra!
One thing I did find odd was that the children came on and got in their beds around ten minutes before the show actually started. I'm not sure why they came out so long before the show started but I'm sure there must be a reason for it. Speaking of the children, I was really impressed with the talent that the kids had! They had no trouble singing and dancing as confidently as the rest of the cast and their American accents were spot on! There are three girls playing Annie which rotate shows along with six girls playing the orphans per Annie (if that makes sense) and we had Lola Moxom as Annie who was incredible! Her dog, Sandy, was played by a Labradoodle named Sandy who was amazingly well trained! However, I imagined that the dog was by Annie's side throughout the show but she was only in it for a couple of scenes and ran past during transitions between scenes.
It's the Hard Knock Life gave me goosebumps which I definitely wasn't expecting! I think that with kids singing there's a danger of it sounding either a bit screechyish or like a school choir but there was none of that here! The girls sounded amazing singing together and it was easy to forget that they were kids! Tomorrow followed shortly after and Lola did not disappoint!
Miranda Hart portrayed the drunken Miss Hannigan perfectly and even though singing isn't her strong suite, her comedic ability more than made up for it! She even did a gallop to the front during the curtain call! Russell Wilcox played Daddy Warbucks and I thought he was perfect for the part. I was particularly impressed with Holly Dale Spencer who played Grace Farrell who had just an amazing voice. The ensemble were incredible throughout the show, changing from homeless people to Warbucks' staff effortlessly and the ballet dancing taxi drivers and tap dancing sailors particularly stood out to me!
I loved the music and uplifting storyline throughout the show and the talent throughout the whole cast was insane! Lyndsey and I had a really good evening and it was a decent temperature inside despite it being around 30 degrees (way too hot for us northerners) outside! I think my highlight was It's the Hard Knock Life but I loved all the music!
Thanks for reading!
Sophie
