Annie Live! (2021)

December 2, 2021 3:51 PM

"The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow" this holiday season as NBC has found its next live musical event: the beloved seven-time Tony Award-winning hit "Annie Live!"

Variety - Masks, Vax Cards and an Army of Orphans: Behind the Scenes of NBC’s ‘Annie Live!’ Dress Rehearsal

posted by oh yeah! (7 comments total)

I've got high hopes for this - looks like a great cast. Show starts at 8pm Eastern, just wanted to get the thread open in case anyone else is watching live.
posted by oh yeah! at 3:53 PM on December 2, 2021

At half an hour in - terrific casting so far, Celina Smith is a belter. Some camera wobbles here and there, but the audio is solid, no wonky mic issues like in some of the previous NBC Live shows.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:37 PM on December 2, 2021 [1 favorite]

Well, I thought that was terrific, hope people check it out later. The wonky mic dropouts made their debut in the final number but only for a few lines. I lost count of how many times a camera/crewmember got caught in shots by the end, but, that was kind of adorable, in a "this is definitely a live show" way. I'll have to watch it again on Peacock and see if they edit out the fuck-ups with dress rehearsal shots.
posted by oh yeah! at 8:22 PM on December 2, 2021 [2 favorites]

Celina Smith has got star quality for sure; her big note at the end of Tomorrow had me verklempt. Also enjoyed Taraji P. Henson a lot as Miss Hannigan - she was clearly having fun and I had forgotten that she can really sing. I felt like Harry Connick Jr. was a little wooden. Twitter dunked on his bald cap but I didn't think it was so bad. I thought what they were calling a bad seam was actually his mic, but maybe not?

I hope Peacock keeps the screwups! I fell asleep with 20 minutes to go but I too appreciate the "hey it's live, what are you gonna do?" aspect.
posted by Recliner of Rage at 2:51 PM on December 3, 2021

I really enjoyed this. I loved the shot of the orphans getting changed by the helpers at the very beginning. It brought back memories of multiple people getting me out of and into another costume backstage at our dance recitals because I only had one number to change.
posted by kathrynm at 8:28 AM on December 5, 2021 [2 favorites]

I had recorded it and finally got to watch it yesterday. I'm still hearing the songs in my head. I'd say overall it went really well. I've been a fan of the movie since I saw it in theaters (long ago!), and have only seen the stage performance once before. I don't recall how the stage performance usually ends, but this one seemed odd.

For example, in the movie they sing the line 'yesterday was plain awful' in reference to the attempted kidnapping. In this performance, they sang that song before the Mudges even showed up trying to take Annie.

I'm not an expert by any means, but the orphans' dance scenes were pretty good.
posted by hydra77 at 10:43 AM on December 17, 2021

I was 10 when the movie came out in 1982. I don't have any clear memories of seeing the Broadway show, though I must have done sometime, because I do remember hating the movie for all the ridiculous changes they made. The movie added in a big chase scene at the end, right? With a drawbridge and a helicopter? Oh, I remember being so mad, in a very "how dare they!?" way.

As far as the Annie Live ending, I think the main difference between it and a regular theater production was the added kids in contemporary outfits, mirroring the quick-change they showed at the beginning. Otherwise I think it was all pretty faithful.
posted by oh yeah! at 6:33 PM on December 17, 2021