WHEN Annie first said you can bet your bottom dollar the sun will come out tomorrow, it wasn’t just herself or the orphans in whom she’s inspiring optimism.
Both the award-winning musicale and the multiple-movie adaptations of Annie trace its roots to Harold Gray’s famous 1920’s comic strip Little Orphan Annie. The title appeared in the New York Daily News and became a hit through the 1940s, spanning the US’s historic economic collapse widely known as “The Great Depression,” which at its nadir left some 15 million Americans unemployed.
The sullen, gray atmosphere that enveloped that period served as the backdrop for Annie’s lightning-in-a-bottle character, bursting in color, to shine through and stand for something greater, said Michael Williams, creative director of Resort World Manila’s (RWM) production outfit Full House Theater Co. (FHTC). “You have The Great Depression and then you have this child, Annie, wearing a red dress over Christmas and she’s like life, the beacon of hope and optimism in that time when it’s needed the most.”
The esteemed director added that Annie’s character joined the ranks of then-US President Franklin Roosevelt as a figure of hope. “You got a president, the highest official of the land who was a polio victim, but remained optimistic and hopeful, and then you had this innocent child who was, likewise, optimistic and hopeful. If these two characters didn’t let life defeat them, then they can survive as well.”
“It’s a simple story but it strikes a very, very deep cord,” Williams said, while pounding the bottom of his clenched fist onto his palm, during the launch of RWM’s staging of Annie, which hits the stage today at Newport Performing Arts Theater. Williams directs the musicale, while Krystal Brimner and Isabeli Elizalde Araneta alternate as the titular character.
The show promises to stay true to the original material and looks to transport the audience to the time and setting of Annie’s birth: 1920s-1930s America. But in doing so, Williams said they’ll make sure not to comprise the story’s je ne sais quoi despite the tension of that period.
“What I’m trying to do is not to remove the frills, the lace, the candy, the sweet, the cute. Yes, it’s talking about something very deep but you don’t want to preach. You want to couch it in a happy, entertaining, sort of light—not necessarily frivolous—but light entertainment that has that deep message ring through it.”
The last time Annie was staged in the Philippines was in 1998 by Repertory Philippines, starring Camille Cabrera and Charity Sanoy. Before that, a certain Lea Salonga took up the red dress in a 1980 staging, also by Rep.
To end the Annie drought in the country and present it to the younger audience were the factors that pushed Full House to take up the renowned material to be RWM’s seventh theater offering. As with RWM’s other shows, Annie will also be an all-Filipino cast and production.
“A lot of us grew up with it and it’s been decades since the last production, so we want this younger generation to experience it,” said RWM Chief Operations Manager for Entertainment Alou Almaden, who disclosed it took almost two years for them to acquire the show’s rights. “Annie is a family show; it’s such a classic and a very simple story about an orphan having a hard-knocked life, hoping for a brighter tomorrow.”
TWO VERY DIFFERENT ANNIES
Williams said both Krystal and Isabeli bring something different to the role of Annie. Without dropping names, the director called one “instinctive” and the other “meticulous,” while maintaining both are “viable, believable and heart-wrenching when they perform.”
Krystal Brimner has been in the limelight for some time now, with experience in modeling, pageants and singing contests.
The young star’s biggest break came last year when she won the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival Best Child Actress Award for her role as John Lloyd Cruz’s daughter in Honor Thy Father.
In the Erik Matti film, the half-Filipino, half-Scottish actress agreed to have her beautiful curly locks shaved. She was asked during the movie’s presscon what compelled her to go skinhead, and the young thing offered a witty response: “Pumayag po ako kasi ’yun po ang ginagawa ng tunay na artista.”
Bright-eyed and a natural charmer, Krystal explained during the launch she just felt like saying that statement. But hearing her talk about her dreams of becoming a successful actor made it clear this was no spontaneous response.
The 9-year-old said she had always wanted to be seen on television, confessing that when she was younger, she would even ask the cameramen of the local contests she joined if her face would be seen on TV. That’s just what Krystal is: curious and joyous. In fact, when she found out that she was going to be Annie, she said she jumped around and did cartwheels. The young star added that she looks up to Lea Salonga, and plans to follow the footsteps of her fellow Annie. A few months ago, a video surfaced showing Krystal and Lea singing one of the musicale’s famous songs, “Maybe”.
“It’s so amazing!” Krystal said, recalling the duet. “It felt like, ‘Oh my God, I’m holding hands with her and we’re singing together.’” She said she doesn’t even remember what Lea told her after the song, because she was simply starstruck. “I was just looking at her eyes and my mouth was open.”
Alternating with Krystal for the lead role is Isabeli Elizalde Araneta. Having the natural inclination toward singing, dancing and acting, the 10-year-old has been a constant performer in school productions since preschool, and her turn as Annie marks as her first foray into the limelight.
Her mother, celebrity mom Bianca Araneta Elizalde, has always believed that Isabeli is destined for great things. During the launch, as Isabeli gave the crowd a sneak peak of her version of Annie, Bianca started to tear up.
“I’m always crying whenever she sings,” the proud mother said, wiping her tears away. “It’s a running joke already that I can’t even wear makeup for the show because I’m super softie! But I’m so happy for her. She just moves me.”
Bianca, who just gave birth to her fourth child last week, added Isabeli’s teachers always tell her that her daughter has special talents and a natural gift to be onstage. For her part, Isabeli backs up the claim. We asked, “Has acting always been…”—and the gifted performer perked up and answered even before we could complete the question: “My dream? Yes!’”
She said she’s not nervous about making her professional acting debut in Annie, but rather excited. “I’m excited because the show’s going to be my first. I’m really excited.”
‘THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO TO THESE KIDS IS MAKE THEM HATE THEATER’
RWM’s Annie will feature two groups of seven kids, including the two lead characters, to distribute the load among the young actors, Williams said. “We’re doing approximately 60 performances and they will be tired. We have to have two groups so they can alternate and rest, and be able to enjoy their performances. The last thing you want to do to these kids is make them hate theater.”
The director said some of the qualities they looked for in the meticulous audition process for the kids include the ability to hit particular notes, capacity to perform despite fatigue or stress, good facility with English, and even height.
“The younger kids to Annie had to go down in size,” Williams said. “If we had chosen a rather small Annie, then Molly would’ve been an infant; so we had to choose the youngest and smallest for the Molly. She couldn’t be a 3-year-old, of course. She needed to be an independent 4 or 5, and then we went up in scale to Annie and the 12-year-old.”
The kids, who mostly have previous theater experience, have been doing workshops for the show as early as May, when Williams and the team took advantage of the school break. Also, the dogs playing Annie’s beloved companion “Sandy” were thoroughly screened and trained. Playing the part are a 6-year old golden retriever named Tony and a 7-year old native dog named Alab from Brad Feliciano of Better Dogs Canine Behavior Center, which specializes in clicker training.
STAR POWER AND VETERAN PRESENCE OF THE SUPPORTING CAST
PART of the veteran supporting cast are renowned theater actors Menchu Lauchengco-Yau as Miss Agatha Hannigan, the alcoholic orphanage matron, and Michael de Mesa as Oliver “Daddy“ Warbucks, the billionaire who opens his home, and eventually his heart, to Annie.
Following the launch at Newport Mall, the cast headed to the dressing room after performing excerpts of the show. Menchu, still in Miss Hannigan costume, entered the door last, and was immediately greeted by the two Annies, who came rushing to her to give hugs. “Good job!” Krystal said. “You did great!” Isabeli added.
“The orphans, they love me, but they shouldn’t. But what can I do, I’m lovable,” shrugs a beaming Menchu, who’s also the artistic and assistant director of the musicale.
Her multiple roles came to fore in one of the excerpted scenes at the launch: She stormed the set as the grumpy Miss Hannigan, flailing her arms here and there while singing and drinking and grumbling. After completing her turn, she walked off the stage and, just like that, faced the set again, this time as the assistant director—the looks in her eyes shifting from frustrated to discerning.
“I wear many hats in this show,” she said. “My work as artistic director is preproduction. Then I go into rehearsal mode as assistant director, then I go into performance mode as Hannigan.”
The respected theater figure said the most challenging of the three roles is the acting part, because she has to find a voice fit for the temperamental matron who shouts a lot, without hurting herself, as she has no alternate for the role.
She added the Hannigan character may come off as evil, but is really just misunderstood. “Her life has passed her by. She’s alone. She’s just really down in the dumps and has to take care of all these bratty children who always play tricks on her. I’m trying to see what I can do with the character.”
Also taking a cerebral approach to his is Michael de Mesa, who plays Daddy Warbucks.
“Acting is acting and reacting. You just discover everything when you’re doing the scene. If it feels right, keep it; if not, change the attack. Try something else. Whatever works is kept; but even that can change. It depends also on your being in that particular day.”
Michael has been a fixture in local television shows and movies, but his theater career actually runs deep. He made his theater debut in 1981 with Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie? Adaptation, titled Bangag, and has done at least one play a year. However, he took a six-year hiatus, before coming back last year for La Cage aux Folles.
Michael said he instantly gave his “Yes” when offered to be part of Annie. “It’s Annie! It’s known worldwide and to be chosen to be part of this is very humbling and exciting. It’s also my first time to work with Resorts World Manila, so it’s a different experience.”
With the cast and crew promising to deliver quite the show, Williams likens his role as a director to that of an artist.
“I need to be like a painter, and all these elements are my colors. I need to be able to understand their quality, how best to use them so I don’t just splash them on to the canvas but make something artistic.”
He added, “We have great people in production. We have great people in the cast. We have a very clear way forward and there’s lot of interest in the show. I just really need to orchestrate how that all comes together so we have that message clear to the viewers.”