Theater Review—

Rousing ‘Annie’ Is A Good Choice For Richter Finalé

By Julie Stern

DANBURY — This year Musicals at Richter has chosen to close its season of summer outdoor theatricals with a rousing presentation of Annie, the comic-strip based show that features the triumph of a spunky kid, and her lovable dog, over such formidable forces as the cruel matron of the orphanage, and the Great Depression itself.

Personally, having learned to read from that particular strip, fascinated by a heroine drawn as having no eyeballs, and intrigued by the slightly ominous characters of Punjab and The Asp, those loyal minions to the mysterious, bald, cigar-smoking Daddy Warbucks, I find the show rather tame. But that’s my personal prejudice, and judging from the huge audience last Friday night, there are plenty of people around who like it just fine.

As always, the production standards that Richter sets for itself are extremely high. Rick Doyle’s painted sets are beautiful. His vision of “Hooverville” — the cluster of ramshackle shelters built by New York City’s homeless — deserves to be put in a museum when the show finishes its run.

The two ensembles — both the winsome little orphan girls and the adult assortment of New Yorkers, Hooverville-ites and servants — show the typical exuberance and spark that delights audiences each summer. Director-choreographer Donald Birely has trained them well, in addition to clothing them gloriously.

While the titular star of the show (Sarah McVerry, alternating with Emily Katz) does a yeoman’s job with the role of Annie, the stage is dominated by veteran Elyse Jasensky as the evil Miss Hannigan, along with Matt Johnson as her ne’er do well brother Rooster and Juliette Garrison as his girlfriend.

Similarly, Jason Moyer as Mr Warbucks and Priscilla Squiers, as his personal assistant and general humanizer Grace Farrell, give very strong performances. In this show about a deprived child up against a cold and mysterious adult world, just in time for Christmas, the gap between children and adults is a yawning one.

One concern I had was that parents choose this show to take their kids to, for the obvious reasons that it has lots of kids in it, and also there is the matter of a lovely, faithful dog Sandy (played by a lovely dog named Toby). But this is not Saturday morning Children’s Theater.

Because they want to be assured of good seats (there are no bad seats at Richter) many of them came early (like around 6:30 or 7), and because the show starts when it gets dark (around 8:30), the younger kids are being asked to sit and be good for quite a long time before anything starts happening. It would be helpful if the parents used that time to prepare the children for what they are going to see by explaining about the Depression, orphanages, homelessness, and the kind of callous sadistic cruelty practiced by Miss Hannigan, as well as the indifference of the police.

Otherwise it could be a less than satisfying treat for the whole family. Even with Sandy and all those orphans swinging off the bunk beds.

(Performances continue Friday through Sunday evenings until August 14 at Richter Arts Center, 100 Aunt Hack Road in Danbury. Call 748-6873 for ticket details or reservations.

Of note is a special performance on Wednesday, August 11, that will be a benefit for Newtown Republican Town Committee. This show is a benefit for RTC but it is open to all.

Tickets for this performance, which will begin at 8:30 pm [following a reception to begin at 7], are $35 for adults and $20 for ages 12 and under.

For that show only tickets can be reserved by calling 426-3565 or 270-7703.)