Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 4, 1995 TAG: 9511050002
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ours is named Madeleine Smeltzer, the tiny star of Showtimers' production of ``Annie,'' and she'd be reason enough to see this play. But there are many more.
There's her adorably tough little gang back at the orphanage (MacKenzie Mauzy, Kelley Sloan, Ashley Thompson, Jennifer Ann Campbell, Jayne Lewis and Stephanie Lebow), mean old Miss Hannigan (Jayne Levesque Vest), Daddy Warbucks (Jeff Berger), and the scene-stealing duo of Todd Huffman and Patsy Castellano as Rooster Hannigan and Lily St. Regis. Huffman's picture ought to be next to the word ``smarmy'' in the dictionary, and Castellano's metallic little giggle is practically a showstopper.
But Smeltzer's Annie is the bright, shining light in this musical.
The story is familiar to just about everyone. Annie breaks out of the New York Municipal Orphanage to find her parents and gets caught just in time to be swept away into luxury by billionaire Oliver Warbucks, who wants to give some lucky orphan a very special Christmas.
What tension there is in the play arrives in the evil personage of Rooster Hannigan, the orphanage director's scheming brother (it runs in the family, apparently). He hopes to pull off a fraud, pretending that he and Lily are Annie's parents in order to collect the $50,000 Mr. Warbucks is offering as a reward.
It's all just as lightweight and silly as can be, and director Jeff Walker - who does double duty as Franklin Delano Roosevelt - keeps things moving along well. Doray Walker, musical director, coaxes a big sound from the voices.
Even Sandy, Annie's dog, put in his two cents' worth at Thursday's opening, barking all the way through Annie's first, heartfelt ``Maybe.'' With perfect poise, Miss Smeltzer held onto the dog and every last note without batting an eye - quite an achievement for a very young performer.
It's the kind of unpredictable moment that adds charm to an already pretty wonderful production, one that musical lovers are sure to enjoy.
by CNB