As I mentioned in my recent Rapid Fire 20 Q with the cast and director of Annie—currently on stage at Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre now through Saturday, August 3—for nearly 100 years, we’ve had a soft spot for the precocious yet lovable ginger-haired orphan. From Harold Gray’s 1924 comic strip to the mid-70s stage musical, to film an TV adaptations in the 80s, 90s and 2000’s, Annie is engrained in our pop culture conscious. With director Joy Tilley Perryman taking charge of bringing Annie back on stage at The Barn (the show last played the legendary dinner theatre back in 2011), I had no doubt this production would be an enjoyable one. After all, who doesn’t love a rags-to-riches story set to a few toe-tappin’ tunes? Even as the show’s musical director, Rollie Mains and musicians Daniel Kozlowski, Luke Easterling and Raymond Ridley begin the Overture, I was reminded of just how many memorable songs are amongst the Annie soundtrack…each and every one of them as hummable and memorable as the next.
The combination of Perryman’s knack for directing comedy, paired with some stellar adult casting choices and a cavalcade of undeniably charming youth come together to surpass all expectations, resulting in not only what is easily the best production of Annie I’ve seen since the aforementioned 80s film, but…and I can’t believe I’m saying this…one of the best productions of a show I’ve ever seen at Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre. That’s a statement not to be taken lightly, because The Barn has a 50-plus year reputation for putting on some of the most enjoyable and talent-filled dinner theatre experiences around.
As is customary when a show involves a number of younger cast members, Chaffin’s Annie actually has two separate youth casts. When I attended opening weekend, Ava Rivera was playing Annie, alongside Lilah Benjamin, Daisy Urbanowicz, Olivia Harper, Adriana Rivera, Annalaura Lyon and Abigail Levy as her fellow orphans. Rivera, making her Chaffin’s debut, plays Annie with impish spunk. Visually, Rivera is reminiscent of Ashley Johnson, the young actress who played Annie opposite Joan Collins’ baddie in the 1995 direct-to-video iteration (what can I say? I’m a fan of both the American orphan and the British legend). For a Barn first-timer, Rivera certainly embodies her precocious character, establishing her character’s plucky optimism from the beginning with the show opening Maybe and continuing to present a believable performance of a young girl longing for a better Tomorrow going toe-to-toe with her adult co-stars as well as holding her own with scene stealers like the aforementioned Benjamin, who plays youngest orphan, Molly. (I’m just going to make a prediction right now…Annie 2025 at Chaffin’s starring Lilah Benjamin).
Can’t mention the orphans without praising the show’s choreographer, Lauri Dismuke. While watching the kids perform what I”ll dub Dismuke’s Orphanography—the succinct and precisely performed choreography during It’s a Hard Knock Life—I had a revelation. THIS number just might be my all-time favorite musical theatre number in all of musical theatre. I mean…down-trodden kids forcibly performing domestic chores for a haggard, drunken marm…come on!
Speaking of the other orphans, each of the young girls playing Annie’s fellow orphans posses a stage presence that, at one point or another during the show, draws you eye to them, Perryman’s direction, coupled with the young girls’ own inimitable charm working perfectly in tandem to achieve this. As indicated above, there are two youth casts for this production of Annie. Rivera leading one, which plays certain performances, while Elle Wesley, also making her Chaffin’s debut, leads the other at alternativing performances, with Aubrey Rogers, Samantha McWright, Demetrius Knowles II, Hailey Ridgeway, Grayson Caughey and Adison Rodgers rounding out Wesley’s fellow orphans. Word has it both sets of orphans and both Annie’s turn in equally enjoyable performances, so I’m just gonna go ahead and suggest seeing the show twice.
On the subject of enjoyable performances, the adult cast isn’t too shabby either. Galen Fott, whose recently shaved head shines like the top of the Chrysler Building (sorry, couldn’t resist) is absolutely perfect as the initially gruff but eventually loving Daddy Warbucks. A longtime member of the Nashville theatre community, Fott’s Daddy Warbucks marks a long-overdue return to The Barn, having last appeared at the dinner theater in the late 80s. From appearances in Nashville Opera’s The Cradle Will Rock and Nashville Repertory Theatre’s A Doll’s House, Part 2, to Nashville Children’s Theatre’s The Little Mermaid—and just last week, during Annie’s run, an invite-only table read for a new work presented as an immersive theatre pop-up courtesy Studio Tenn—recently, it seems I can’t see a show without Fott being amongst the cast…and that’s a great thing. With every role, Fott brings a powerful presences and unmistakable talent, and his Warbucks is no different. He’s ultimately charming as Annie’s future father, their shared stage time perfectly believable as the loving father/daughter dynamic unfolds.
While Annie is indeed the lead, Molly,the scene-stealer and Daddy Warbucks, the most-changed among the characters, Miss Hannigan, Rooster and Lily easily provide the most laughs as the scheming, yet ultimately unsuccessful villains. To that end, and to her advantage as a director, Perryman has enlisted the aide of three familiar faces to Chaffin’s audiences.
Jenny Norris is a dream—or is it devilishly delicious nightmare—as the drunken and deceitful orphanage caretaker, Miss Hannigan. Whether seductively sidling up to Daddy Warbucks or drunkenly devising a plan to scheme, Norris’ Hannigan is comedy gold. Her Act 1 highpoint, Little Girls, which she performs while simultaneously sipping from a flask and casually ripping the head off a doll, is equal parts frighting and delighting. Plus, you gotta love that ever-present flask throughout the show resulting in Hannigan appearing more and more inebriated, thus allowing her true colors to show through as the show goes on. A not-so-subtle, but absolutely brilliant bit of direction and characterization.
Aiding and abetting Norris’ Miss Hannigan in her schemes are Curtis LeMoine and Christina Candilora as Rooster Haningan and Lily St. Regis. LeMoine, fresh off a show-stooping turn in Studio Tenn’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, returns to The Barn having turned up the heat with his Too Darn Hot number during Chaffin’s recent Kiss Me, Kate. Candilora, who will forever be my favorite Gypsy Rose Lee, returns to The Barn having stolen hearts as Jovie in their holiday production of Elf. Together, and alongside Norris, these three dastardly villains make a life of crime seems a viable alternative. Just as the kids wow during the previously noted Hard Knock Life sequence, Norris, LeMoine and Candilora bring the audience to rousing applause during Easy Street, making Dismuke’s villainography look…well…easy.
It’s not just the orphans and the main adults who make Chaffin’s Annie look easy though. The supporting cast is also simply spectacular. Natalie Rankin’s Grace is everything sweet and wonderful a potential new mom for Annie and new love interest for Daddy Warbucks should be. Daron Bruce turns in a truly presidential (well, what the term use to mean) performance as FDR. Hannah Clark, Delaney Jackson and Katie Yeomans are pitch-perfect as the melodious Boylan Sisters. J. Robert Lindsey is sure to make you smile as charming radio announcer, Bert Healey. Vicki White and the rest of the ensemble, including Gerold Oliver, Kelsey Brodeur, David Benjamin Perry, Seth Brown, Emma Puerta, Morgan Riggs, Austin Jeffrey Smith and Scott Stewart are all a joy to behold, most notably, during the all-in—and surprisingly eerily timely—We’d Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover. Not only does this particular number sadly resonate with current political and social events of the day, but thanks to the sheer magnitude of the talented cast, with everyone singing, it’s hauntingly beautiful. Gotta love a musical in Music City. I’m from here and I’m still constantly blown away by the talent in this town.
Then there’s Annie’s faithful pup Sandy. Played by breakout star, Rufus. While his diva tendencies tend to show through, some scenes you just wanna lay on the stage and ignore the cute little curly-top who’s belting out Tomorrow, you gotta love a dog in a show and Rufus’ Sandy gets two paws up from this reviewer.
When I noted earlier that this production of Annie may well be my favorite Chaffin’s show ever, I really meant it. From the implausible, yet ultimately yearned-for story of an orphan girl seemingly randomly chosen to spend the holidays with a less-than-warm billionaire, that involves literally cartoonish villains and an audience with President FDR, to a soundtrack peppered with memorable tune after memorable tune, to Perryman’s skill at directing a laugh-filled show in the square (God, I love Chaffin’s still-functioning descending stage!), and a cast with not a misstep in the bunch, to paraphrase yet another Annie song, I Think YOU’RE Gonna Like It Here!
Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre’s Annie runs through August 3 with performances Thursday-Sunday. Thursday matinees begin at 12 noon (doors at 11a.m.), while Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening performances begin at 7:30p.m. (doors at 5:30). There will be a 2 p.m. (doors at noon) Sunday matinee on July 21. The Thursday, July 25 noon matinee will featuring signing for the hearing impaired, and there will be a Wednesday matinee on July 31 at noon (doors at 11a.m.).
Thursday matinee tickets are $19 for show only or $27.50 for show and a Box Lunch. (Wednesday matinee will also offer the Box Lunch option). Evening show tickets are $13 for children 12 and under, $20 for youth/students and $35 for adults. Living up to their Barn Dinner Theatre name, Chaffin’s also offers a full buffet option or a la carte menu items for their evening and Sunday lunch matinee performances. Chaffin’s delicious buffet, featuring a choice of entrees (including a veggie option), and a number of side items is available for an additional (but completely worth it) $15.95, while the a la carte menu items (also quite tastily) range in price from $6.95 to $10.95, plus there’s a wide array of desert options to choose from $2.50 to $5.00. CLICK HERE to check out the menu. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets or call 615.646.9977 to make reservations with the box office. To keep up with the latest from Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre, find them online at ChaffinsBarnTheatre.com, ’like’ them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram and Twitter.
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