Annie’s story, the story of a young orphan girl who finds a new home with American business tycoon Oliver Warbuck, has captured audience’s hearts for over thirty years, since it was first produced in 1976.

Karen Johnson Mortimer’s current revival serves this classic musical well. Here are my favourite snaps from the show.

The first meeting of Annie with the lost labrador, Sandy (played by Coogee), in the Depression era shanty-town of Hooverville, the town that Annie lands in when she makes her brief escape from the orphanage. The gushes in the audience when they embrace.

Anthony Warlow as the debonair, warm hearted millionaire Oliver Warbucks picking up in his arms, light as a feather, the ever so sweet Ayanda Dladla who plays orphan, Molly.

Anthony Warlow, together with Todd McKenney and Chloe Dallimore as the villainous couple, Rooster and Lily St Regis, doing an Al Jolson routine with one of the show’s most upbeat numbers, ‘Easy Street’.

Siana Elchaar as Annie poignantly singing the show’s leading ballad, ‘Tomorrow’.

In the encore, seeing Sianca, carefully, gracefully walk down the spiral staircase to take her bow.

Nancy Hayes, enjoying playing ‘the dark side’ as the cynical, hard-nosed Miss Harrigan, manageress of the orphanage, delivering cold, insensitive lines to her girls such as, ‘that’s all the fresh air that you girls are going to get’.

Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin (Grace Farrell), Siana Elchaar and the Ensemble belting out the great number, NYC.

The scene with Oliver Warbucks and Annie at the White House with President Franklin Roosevolt. FDR being charmed by Annie, telling her, ‘you fill our lives with song’, then the audience seeing the coloured flecks of snow falling down the window sill.

The scene at the NBC Radio Studio at the Rockefeller Centre, with the Boylan Sisters, all costumed up and singing their hearts out with an advertising jingle, taking us all well and truly back to the nineteen thirties…

Go see ANNIE, you will leave with your own album full of great memories.

Karen Johnson Mortimer’s production of ANNIE, book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, opened at the Lyric theatre, Star City on Thursday 5th January and is currently booking well into February, 2012.

Tags: Sydney Theatre Reviews- Annie,Lyric Theatre Star City, Karen Johnson Mortimer, Anthony Warlow, Nancy Hayes, Todd McKenney, Chloe Dallimore, Alan Jones, Julie Goodwin, Jack Webster, Kelly Ayers, Peter Casey, Alan Jones Siena Elchaar, Todd Goddard, Jeff Busby.