50 Fun Facts About Annie

The musical is based on a 1924 comic strip created by which cartoonist?

Little Orphan Annie debuted in the New York Daily News in 1924 and took its name from an 1885 poem by James Whitcomb Riley.

Who wrote the music for Annie?

Martin Charnin wrote the lyrics and Thomas Meehan the book. Strouse also composed Bye Bye Birdie and the All in the Family theme.

The original Broadway production of Annie opened in which year?

It ran nearly six years and set a record for the Alvin Theatre, now the Neil Simon.

How many performances did the original Broadway run of Annie play before closing in January 1983?

The Alvin Theatre record stood until Hairspray passed it in 2009.

How many Tony Awards did Annie win in 1977?

Including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. Producer Mike Nichols was among the nominees.

Before Broadway, Annie premiered in 1976 to poor reviews at which Connecticut theatre?

Mike Nichols joined as producer and the show was heavily reworked, then tried out at the Kennedy Center before New York.

Who originated Annie on Broadway after the first actress was replaced for being too sweet?

Vigard was the one replaced; McArdle had been playing the orphan Pepper. She earned a Tony nomination at 13.

Which future Sex and the City star played Annie on Broadway from March 1979?

She had started in the small role of July before succeeding Andrea McArdle and Shelley Bruce.

In what year is the musical set?

The depths of the Depression, complete with a Hooverville shanty town and a visit from Franklin Roosevelt.

What is the first name of the drunken orphanage keeper Miss Hannigan in the 1999 TV film?

Kathy Bates played 'Aggie'; in the 2014 film Cameron Diaz's version is Colleen Hannigan.

Grace Farrell comes to the orphanage looking for an orphan to spend which holiday at Warbucks' mansion?

She is the billionaire's assistant, and the visit is meant to polish his public image.

What is the name of the stray dog Annie adopts?

She fools a policeman into believing the dog is hers by calling out the name. Sandy was one of the few comic-strip elements Meehan kept.

How much does Warbucks offer on Bert Healy's radio show to the couple who can prove they are Annie's parents?

The offer sets Rooster and Lily's con in motion; they turn up as 'Ralph and Shirley Mudge'.

Why does Annie cry when Warbucks tries to replace her broken keepsake with a new one?

She still believes her parents will come back for her; the locket's other half becomes the key to the plot.

Which US president appears in the musical and is inspired by Annie's optimism?

He and his cabinet sing a reprise of 'Tomorrow' and make optimism a cornerstone of the administration.

Which song does radio host Bert Healy sing with the Boylan Sisters?

The orphans gleefully sing along at the orphanage. 'Easy Street' belongs to Miss Hannigan, Rooster and Lily.

The song 'Tomorrow' was originally written by Strouse for a 1970 short film under what title?

Its subtitle was 'The Way We Live Now'. Strouse wrote both music and lyrics for that version.

Besides 'Tomorrow', which song is named as one of the musical's most popular numbers?

Jay-Z sampled it for 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)' in 1998.

The musical premiered in London's West End in 1978 at which venue?

The show has since been staged in many countries and endlessly by schools.

The 1997 Broadway 20th-anniversary revival cast which singer as the orphanage keeper?

The Gimme a Break! star's casting, and a controversy over the title role, dogged the production.

The sequel Annie Warbucks broke Off-Broadway box-office records in 1993, running how many performances?

Producers raised $2.5 million to move it to Broadway but could not make it in time to be Tony-eligible.

Who directed the 1982 film version of Annie?

The writers had asked for Nichols. Columbia paid a record $9.5 million for the rights after a bidding war with Paramount.

Who played the orphanage keeper in the 1982 film?

Peters played Lily, Reinking played Grace and Tim Curry played Rooster. Kathy Bates took the role in 1999.

Who played Daddy Warbucks in the 1982 film?

The others played the part in the 1999, 2014 and 2021 versions respectively.

Aileen Quinn was chosen to play Annie in 1982 from roughly how many girls at casting calls?

The calls spanned the US, Canada and Europe. She was ten and from Yardley, Pennsylvania.

Where was most of the 1982 film shot over six weeks in 1981?

The university's Shadow Lawn mansion stood in for Warbucks' home.

The 1982 Annie cost about $35M and grossed how much, to mixed reviews?

Some estimates put its total cost with marketing at $59 million, making it Columbia's most expensive project to that point.

The 1982 film received two Oscar nominations, one for its song score and one for what?

It won neither. Aileen Quinn's two Golden Globe nominations were the film's other major honours.

In the 1982 film, Warbucks' bodyguards are the Asp and which turban-wearing giant?

Geoffrey Holder played him, and he rescues Annie by helicopter in the climax. Both characters come from the comic strip.

The 1999 TV movie of Annie aired as part of which anthology series?

Rob Marshall directed. About 26.3 million people watched, second only to Disney's 1997 Cinderella on ABC.

Who played the con-artist Rooster in the 1999 TV film?

Kathy Bates was Miss Hannigan, Victor Garber was Warbucks, and Audra McDonald played Grace.

The 1999 version won two Emmys and which prestigious broadcasting honour?

The original Broadway Annie, Andrea McArdle, appeared in it as the Star-to-Be.

In the 2014 film, Jamie Foxx's Will Stacks is a germaphobic mogul in which business?

The story moves to modern Harlem, where Annie Bennett lives in a foster home run by Cameron Diaz's Colleen Hannigan.

Quvenzhané Wallis, who played Annie in 2014, was the youngest ever Best Actress Oscar nominee for which film?

She was nine at the time. Her parents had lied about her age to get her the audition at five.

The 2014 Annie earned about how much worldwide?

On a budget of $65-78 million. Wallis earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical.

Who played the orphanage keeper in NBC's Annie Live! in December 2021?

Harry Connick Jr. was Warbucks, Scherzinger played Grace, Tituss Burgess Rooster and newcomer Celina Smith Annie.

The comic strip that started it all made its debut in which newspaper in August 1924?

It ran until June 2010, by which time only 20 papers still carried it.

What is distinctive about how Annie's eyes are drawn in the comic strip?

Along with the curly red hair and red dress, it made her instantly recognisable for 86 years.

The Annie radio serial, which began on WGN Chicago in 1930, went national on which broadcaster in 1931?

The 15-minute serial's decoder-pin promotions were later spoofed in A Christmas Story.

The original comic strip finally ended in which year?

Harold Gray had died in 1968 and other artists carried on, sometimes rerunning classic strips.

Which exclamation is one of Annie's catchphrases in the original comic strip?

Her other catchphrase was 'Gee whiskers'. The strip explained her lasting youth by giving her a February 29 birthday, so she aged only one year in appearance every four.

Who wrote the lyrics for the musical Annie?

He first pitched the idea in 1972, personally financed the rights and was almost $75,000 in debt by the time the show opened on Broadway.

Which famous director joined Annie as a producer after its poor 1976 Connecticut try-out?

Surprisingly, it was his first credit as a producer. He was talked into seeing the show by his friend Jay Presson Allen and her husband Lewis Allen.

The comic strip took its name from an 1885 poem, 'Little Orphant Annie', by which poet?

Riley was known as the 'Hoosier Poet'. Gray said the character herself came from a chance meeting with a street kid named Annie in Chicago.

Which actor played the con-artist Rooster Hannigan in the 1982 film?

Jack Nicholson, Mickey Rooney, Mick Jagger and Steve Martin were all considered for the part before Curry got it. Bernadette Peters played his girlfriend Lily.

Shot in summer, the 1982 film set its kidnapping climax on the eve of which holiday?

The change let Warbucks stage a fireworks-filled finale. Lyricist Martin Charnin later complained that the movie 'distorted what this musical was'.

Columbia paid a then-record sum for the film rights to the musical in 1977. How much?

It was the most ever paid for a stage musical at the time. The writers had asked for $5 million and wanted Mike Nichols to direct; Columbia won a bidding war with Paramount.

Who played Daddy Warbucks opposite Kathy Bates in the 1999 Disney TV film?

It was the second time he and Bates shared a film; both had appeared in Titanic two years earlier. The broadcast drew about 26.3 million viewers.

Who reworked the songs with Greg Kurstin for the 2014 film and sings its end credits?

She also has a cameo as an animal-control volunteer. The film picked up a Golden Globe nod for Best Original Song for the new number 'Opportunity'.

Where on Broadway did the original production of Annie open on April 21, 1977?

The Alvin is now the Neil Simon Theatre. Danielle Brisebois, later of Archie Bunker's Place, played Molly, the smallest orphan, in that cast.