For the first preview, this was a very polished performance and production. The set immediately strikes you as being similar to that of Matilda, although the set designer is not the same! The show is also front-loaded with the most well-known songs, with most of the big numbers over by half way through the first act, but there isn’t much that can be done about that.
Team Rockefeller did the first performance and the children were excellent - each bringing a different character to life with verve, enthusiasm and charm. The characterisation, however, wasn’t completely maintained throughout, with the nuances of the characters being lost in some of the choreography and numbers. They will grow into these characters and develop them as the run continues, but for the first time out they were pretty good.
Ruby Stokes was wonderful as Annie; she had grit and determination, and a will of steel, and yet also vulnerability and sweetness capable of not only charming a billionaire and a President but also the audience. She has a fantastic voice and superb belt, although the quieter moments in her songs got a little lost. It wasn’t clear whether this was from sound balance, or just a weaker voice when not in belt, but it’s an area that could use some work. The scene where she breaks down into tears just before ‘You Won’t be An Orphan for Long’ also needs some improvement as there was no sign of her getting upset before she fell to the floor in tears - she delivered her lines and then fell to the floor in tears. A weaker moment in the show, but one that is easily rectified.
The ensemble numbers are also an area that could use some work. When individuals were singing their voice and the lyrics were clear as a bell, but the lyrics when the ensemble were singing together got completely lost - I have no idea what was sung in the Herbert Hoover song or at the end of NYC. Whether this was from poor sound balance (the orchestra were definitely drowning out the cast at the end of NYC) or poor diction wasn’t clear, but it definitely needs to be improved before the show opens. There was also a rogue bright white spotlight during one of Miranda Hart’s Miss Hannibal scenes, and the dancers in NYC need to hit their marks - they were definitely not dancing in their spotlights. But, these are minor things that can be tidied up as the previews continue as it’s just a case of familiarity with the stage, spacing snd lighting cues.
I really enjoyed Miranda Hart’s performance of Miss Hannigan and you could tell that she was having the time of her life. There was a glimmer of nerves, and she definitely did not seem as at ease on the stage as Jonny Fines as Rooster or Djalenga Scott as Lily St. Regis, but she held her own and was wonderful. I would have liked, however, there to be more of a contrast between the way she was with the children and when she was not. A harder, slightly more cruel and mean edge towards the girls would really heighten and improve the performance, and would help explain why the girls dislike her. As the characterisation currently stands, Miss Hannigan is an incompetent drunk, a figure of mockery for the girls, but you do not get the impression that they are slightly scared of her, which I think is needed for the story to work.
I would also like more of a contrast between Alex Bourne’s Daddy Warbucks when he first appears and as he is charmed by Annie. Again, a sterner slightly harsher characterisation to begin with would help and really show him melting as this little girl takes over his world. Otherwise, he plays the character wonderfully, truly commands the stage, and his voice resonates warmly around the auditorium.
Holly Dale Spencer was great as Grace Farrell, beautiful voice, talented dancer, but I would have liked a little more development of the chemistry between her and Bourne’s Warbucks - she is either Warbucks' secretary who is in love with him and their relationship businesslike until he then falls in love with her, or they are in love from the start; this was a strange amalgamation of both and did not quite work.
Despite some first preview wobbles (and some audience members singing along!!!!) this was a really good production, one children are going to love, but not one that can follow in Matilda’s footsteps and be around for a while.