In contrast, the world of Daddy Warbucks’ mansion would be filled with quirky, off-beat characters whose performance would be borderline melodramatic. In the world of the Hooverville and the orphanage our actors would act in a very realistic way. We would utilise every element of musical theatre by directing and choreographing our actors in two differing styles.
Suddenly, the concept for our production was born.Īnnie would be a production that celebrated the magic of a child’s optimism and imagination by presenting the story with its two contrasting worlds through the eyes of a child. Ironically, behind them was a billboard which boasted a ridiculously happy American family in a car with the caption, “Americans enjoy the highest standard of living.” The contrast between the reality and the dream was captivating – no one on that line could have believed in that billboard, but what if one of those people was a child? A child could believe, that despite everything, that happy family was possible.
The people seemed completely defeated, starving and hopeless. I began researching the time, reading copious first person accounts of what it was like to live in Hoovervilles and sifting through many images from the time. I wanted to present a classic Broadway show in a modern way, and was strangely tempted by the challenge of directing sixty young performers in two children’s casts.Īnnie is set in 1933 New York, when poverty and despair plagued America. Yet, when (Sydney’s) Regals Musical Society asked me to direct their October 2011 production I was tempted bythe opportunity to take a fresh spin on a well-loved tale. The thing I love about theatre is that it is malleable – plays and musicals exist well and truly beyond the contexts in which they were written, and each time they are performed they have the power to speak to new audiences.Īnnie is not a musical I thought I would direct.
Meg Day told her assistant Director “no show I’ve done has ever been this on track.” That was until their venue was found to be riddled with asbestos, just weeks before opening night.
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