50 Fun Facts About Annie

The musical is based on a 1924 comic strip created by which cartoonist?

Harold Gray created Little Orphan Annie in 1924 and drew the strip himself until his death in 1968.

Who wrote the music for Annie?

Charles Strouse composed the score; he also wrote the music for Bye Bye Birdie and the All in the Family theme 'Those Were the Days'.

The original Broadway production of Annie opened in which year?

Annie opened on Broadway on April 21, 1977 and ran nearly six years, closing in January 1983.

How many performances did the original Broadway run of Annie play before closing in January 1983?

Annie played 2,377 performances on Broadway, running nearly six years before closing on January 2, 1983.

How many Tony Awards did Annie win in 1977?

Seven Tony Awards went to Annie that year, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book and Best Actress in a Musical for Dorothy Loudon's Miss Hannigan.

Before Broadway, Annie premiered in 1976 to poor reviews at which Connecticut theatre?

Annie premiered at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam in August 1976; heavily reworked, it then tried out at Washington's Kennedy Center before New York.

Who originated Annie on Broadway after the first actress was replaced for being too sweet?

Andrea McArdle, then playing the orphan Pepper in the Connecticut try-out, replaced Kristen Vigard in the title role and earned a Tony nomination at 13.

Which future Sex and the City star played Annie on Broadway from March 1979?

Sarah Jessica Parker began in the small orphan role of July before taking over the title role in March 1979, playing Annie for about a year.

In what year is the musical set?

The musical is set in December 1933, in the depths of the Depression, and includes a scene in a New York Hooverville shanty town.

What is the first name of the drunken orphanage keeper Miss Hannigan in the 1999 TV film?

Kathy Bates played Miss Agatha Hannigan, whom her brother Rooster calls 'Aggie'; Cameron Diaz's 2014 orphanage keeper is instead named Colleen Hannigan.

Grace Farrell comes to the orphanage looking for an orphan to spend which holiday at Warbucks' mansion?

Grace Farrell, Warbucks's private secretary, chooses Annie to spend the Christmas holidays at the billionaire's Fifth Avenue mansion.

What is the name of the stray dog Annie adopts?

She fools a policeman into believing the dog is hers by calling out the name. Sandy was one of the few comic-strip elements Meehan kept.

How much does Warbucks offer on Bert Healy's radio show to the couple who can prove they are Annie's parents?

Warbucks offers $50,000 to whoever can prove they are Annie's parents, which sets up Rooster and Lily's con as 'Ralph and Shirley Mudge'.

Why does Annie cry when Warbucks tries to replace her broken keepsake with a new one?

The reason is simple: It is all her parents left her. The broken locket's other half, which they kept, is her one proof they meant to return.

Which US president appears in the musical and is inspired by Annie's optimism?

Franklin D. Roosevelt and his cabinet join Annie in a reprise of 'Tomorrow', and in the show's telling her optimism inspires the New Deal.

Which song does radio host Bert Healy sing with the Boylan Sisters?

Bert Healy and the Boylan Sisters perform 'You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile' on the radio, and the orphans sing along to it back at the orphanage.

The song 'Tomorrow' was originally written by Strouse for a 1970 short film under what title?

Strouse first wrote the tune, with his own lyrics, for the 1970 short film Replay; the melody was reused in Annie as 'Tomorrow'.

Which song from Annie did Jay-Z sample for a 1998 hit single?

Jay-Z built 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)' in 1998 around the orphans' chorus of 'It's the Hard Knock Life', the number that opens the show's orphanage scenes.

The musical premiered in London's West End in 1978 at which venue?

Annie opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in May 1978, with Sheila Hancock as Miss Hannigan and Stratford Johns as Warbucks.

The 1997 Broadway 20th-anniversary revival cast which singer as the orphanage keeper?

Nell Carter, the Gimme a Break! star, played Miss Hannigan; the revival was dogged by the firing of its original Annie, Joanna Pacitti, shortly before opening.

How many performances did the 1993 Off-Broadway sequel Annie Warbucks run?

Annie Warbucks opened Off-Broadway at the Variety Arts Theatre in August 1993 and closed early in 1994 after 200 performances.

Who directed the 1982 film version of Annie?

John Huston directed the film at 75; the veteran of The Maltese Falcon and The African Queen had never made a musical before.

Who played the orphanage keeper in the 1982 film?

Carol Burnett played Miss Hannigan; in the same film Bernadette Peters was Lily St. Regis and Ann Reinking was Grace Farrell.

Who played Daddy Warbucks in the 1982 film?

Albert Finney shaved his head to play Daddy Warbucks and sang his own numbers, including 'Something Was Missing'.

Which song was written for the 1982 film rather than the stage musical?

'Let's Go to the Movies', staged at Radio City Music Hall, was one of the new numbers the show's songwriters wrote for the film, replacing the stage song 'N.Y.C.'.

Where were the Warbucks mansion scenes of the 1982 film shot in 1981?

Monmouth University, New Jersey (then Monmouth College) lent its Shadow Lawn mansion in West Long Branch as Warbucks's home.

The 1982 Annie cost about $35M and grossed how much, to mixed reviews?

Annie took about $57 million at the North American box office, a disappointment against a budget reported at $35 million or more.

The 1982 film received two Oscar nominations, one for its song score and one for what?

The nominations were for Art Direction and for Adaptation Score; it won neither, while Aileen Quinn earned two Golden Globe nominations.

In the 1982 film, Warbucks' bodyguards are the Asp and which turban-wearing giant?

Punjab, played by Geoffrey Holder, plucks Annie off the raised bridge from Warbucks's autogyro; he and the Asp both come from the comic strip.

The 1999 TV movie of Annie aired as part of which anthology series?

ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney aired it in November 1999, with Rob Marshall directing and choreographing and Alicia Morton as Annie.

Who played the con-artist Rooster in the 1999 TV film?

Alan Cumming played Rooster Hannigan opposite Kristin Chenoweth's Lily St. Regis; Kathy Bates was Miss Hannigan and Audra McDonald played Grace.

The 1999 version won two Emmys and which prestigious broadcasting honour?

A Peabody Award recognised the production, alongside two Emmys, one of them for Rob Marshall's choreography.

In the 2014 film, Jamie Foxx's Will Stacks is a germaphobic mogul in which business?

Cellphones made Will Stacks's fortune: he runs Stacks Mobile and is campaigning for mayor of New York when he meets Annie in Harlem.

Quvenzhané Wallis, who played Annie in 2014, was the youngest ever Best Actress Oscar nominee for which film?

Beasts of the Southern Wild earned Wallis a nomination at nine, the youngest ever for Best Actress; she had auditioned at five, a year under the minimum age.

The 2014 Annie earned about how much worldwide?

The film grossed about $136 million worldwide against a budget of roughly $65 million; Wallis earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.

Who played the orphanage keeper in NBC's Annie Live! in December 2021?

Taraji P. Henson played Miss Hannigan, alongside Harry Connick Jr. as Warbucks, Nicole Scherzinger as Grace, Tituss Burgess as Rooster and newcomer Celina Smith as Annie.

The comic strip that started it all made its debut in which newspaper in August 1924?

The strip debuted in the New York Daily News on August 5, 1924, then spread nationwide through the paper's syndicate.

What is distinctive about how Annie's eyes are drawn in the comic strip?

They are vacant blank circles: along with the curly red hair and red dress, the empty eyes made her instantly recognisable for 86 years.

The Annie radio serial, which began on WGN Chicago in 1930, went national on which broadcaster in 1931?

NBC's Blue Network picked up the 15-minute serial in 1931, with Ovaltine as sponsor and secret decoder pins as its famous listener premium.

The original comic strip finally ended in which year?

The strip ended in June 2010 after 86 years, by then carried by fewer than 20 papers; later artists had continued it after its creator's death in 1968.

Which exclamation is one of Annie's catchphrases in the original comic strip?

'Leapin' lizards!' was Annie's signature exclamation, alongside 'Gee whiskers'; the phrase passed from the strip into the stage musical and the films.

Who wrote the lyrics for the musical Annie?

Martin Charnin conceived the musical after buying a Little Orphan Annie coffee-table book as a holiday gift in December 1971, and he also directed the original production.

Which famous director joined Annie as a producer after its poor 1976 Connecticut try-out?

Mike Nichols saw the Connecticut try-out at the urging of his friends Jay Presson Allen and Lewis Allen, joined as producer, and shared its Best Musical Tony.

The comic strip took its name from an 1885 poem, 'Little Orphant Annie', by which poet?

James Whitcomb Riley, the 'Hoosier Poet', published 'Little Orphant Annie' in 1885; the strip's creator borrowed the name, changing one letter.

Which actor played the con-artist Rooster Hannigan in the 1982 film?

Tim Curry, best known then for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, played Rooster, with Bernadette Peters as his girlfriend Lily St. Regis.

Shot in summer, the 1982 film set its kidnapping climax on the eve of which holiday?

Moving the climax to the Fourth of July let the film end with a fireworks-filled party at the Warbucks mansion instead of the stage show's winter-holiday finale.

What then-record sum did Columbia pay for the film rights to the musical?

Columbia's $9.5 million was the most ever paid for a stage musical's screen rights at the time, with producer Ray Stark shepherding the film.

Who played Daddy Warbucks opposite Kathy Bates in the 1999 Disney TV film?

Victor Garber played Oliver Warbucks; he and Kathy Bates had both appeared in Titanic two years earlier, as Thomas Andrews and Molly Brown.

Who reworked the songs with Greg Kurstin for the 2014 film and sings its end credits?

Sia co-wrote the film's new songs with Greg Kurstin, including 'Opportunity', which earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song.

At which Broadway theatre did the original production of Annie open?

The Alvin is now the Neil Simon Theatre. Danielle Brisebois, later of Archie Bunker's Place, played Molly, the smallest orphan, in that cast.