This Annie trivia quiz has 50 free questions with answers and covers every version of the red-headed orphan: Harold Gray's 1924 comic strip, the 1977 Broadway musical by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan, the 1982 John Huston film with Carol Burnett and Aileen Quinn, the 1999 Wonderful World of Disney movie, the 2014 Quvenzhané Wallis remake and NBC's Annie Live! in 2021. Questions cover the plot (Miss Hannigan, Rooster and Lily, Grace Farrell, the locket, the $50,000 reward and FDR's cabinet), the songs, the record Broadway run, the girl who was replaced after a week, the actress who went on to Sex and the City, and the sequels that flopped. It suits theatre kids, school productions and anyone who has been humming 'Tomorrow' since childhood. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries the sentence that supports it.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The musical is based on a 1924 comic strip created by which cartoonist?
Harold Gray
Little Orphan Annie debuted in the New York Daily News in 1924 and took its name from an 1885 poem by James Whitcomb Riley.
Q 02Who wrote the music for Annie?
Charles Strouse
Martin Charnin wrote the lyrics and Thomas Meehan the book. Strouse also composed Bye Bye Birdie and the All in the Family theme.
Q 03The original Broadway production of Annie opened in which year?
1977
It ran nearly six years and set a record for the Alvin Theatre, now the Neil Simon.
Q 04How many performances did the original Broadway run of Annie play before closing in January 1983?
2,377
The Alvin Theatre record stood until Hairspray passed it in 2009.
Q 05How many Tony Awards did Annie win in 1977?
Seven
Including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. Producer Mike Nichols was among the nominees.
Q 06Before Broadway, Annie premiered in 1976 to poor reviews at which Connecticut theatre?
Goodspeed Opera House
Mike Nichols joined as producer and the show was heavily reworked, then tried out at the Kennedy Center before New York.
Q 07Who originated Annie on Broadway after the first actress was replaced for being too sweet?
Andrea McArdle
Vigard was the one replaced; McArdle had been playing the orphan Pepper. She earned a Tony nomination at 13.
Q 08Which future Sex and the City star played Annie on Broadway from March 1979?
Sarah Jessica Parker
She had started in the small role of July before succeeding Andrea McArdle and Shelley Bruce.
Q 09In what year is the musical set?
1933
The depths of the Depression, complete with a Hooverville shanty town and a visit from Franklin Roosevelt.
Q 10What is the first name of the drunken orphanage keeper Miss Hannigan in the 1999 TV film?
Agatha
Kathy Bates played 'Aggie'; in the 2014 film Cameron Diaz's version is Colleen Hannigan.
Q 11Grace Farrell comes to the orphanage looking for an orphan to spend which holiday at Warbucks' mansion?
Christmas
She is the billionaire's assistant, and the visit is meant to polish his public image.
Q 12What is the name of the stray dog Annie adopts?
Sandy
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.
Q 13How much does Warbucks offer on Bert Healy's radio show to the couple who can prove they are Annie's parents?
$50,000
The offer sets Rooster and Lily's con in motion; they turn up as 'Ralph and Shirley Mudge'.
Q 21The sequel Annie Warbucks broke Off-Broadway box-office records in 1993, running how many performances?
200
Producers raised $2.5 million to move it to Broadway but could not make it in time to be Tony-eligible.
Q 22Who directed the 1982 film version of Annie?
John Huston
The writers had asked for Nichols. Columbia paid a record $9.5 million for the rights after a bidding war with Paramount.
Q 23Who played the orphanage keeper in the 1982 film?
Carol Burnett
Peters played Lily, Reinking played Grace and Tim Curry played Rooster. Kathy Bates took the role in 1999.
Q 14Why does Annie cry when Warbucks tries to replace her broken keepsake with a new one?
It is all her parents left her
She still believes her parents will come back for her; the locket's other half becomes the key to the plot.
Q 15Which US president appears in the musical and is inspired by Annie's optimism?
Franklin D. Roosevelt
He and his cabinet sing a reprise of 'Tomorrow' and make optimism a cornerstone of the administration.
Q 16Which song does radio host Bert Healy sing with the Boylan Sisters?
You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile
The orphans gleefully sing along at the orphanage. 'Easy Street' belongs to Miss Hannigan, Rooster and Lily.
Q 17The song 'Tomorrow' was originally written by Strouse for a 1970 short film under what title?
Replay
Its subtitle was 'The Way We Live Now'. Strouse wrote both music and lyrics for that version.
Q 18Besides 'Tomorrow', which song is named as one of the musical's most popular numbers?
It's the Hard Knock Life
Jay-Z sampled it for 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)' in 1998.
Q 19The musical premiered in London's West End in 1978 at which venue?
Victoria Palace Theatre
The show has since been staged in many countries and endlessly by schools.
Q 20The 1997 Broadway 20th-anniversary revival cast which singer as the orphanage keeper?
Nell Carter
The Gimme a Break! star's casting, and a controversy over the title role, dogged the production.
Q 24Who played Daddy Warbucks in the 1982 film?
Albert Finney
The others played the part in the 1999, 2014 and 2021 versions respectively.
Q 25Aileen Quinn was chosen to play Annie in 1982 from roughly how many girls at casting calls?
9,000
The calls spanned the US, Canada and Europe. She was ten and from Yardley, Pennsylvania.
Q 26Where was most of the 1982 film shot over six weeks in 1981?
Monmouth University, New Jersey
The university's Shadow Lawn mansion stood in for Warbucks' home.
Q 27The 1982 Annie cost about $35M and grossed how much, to mixed reviews?
$57 million
Some estimates put its total cost with marketing at $59 million, making it Columbia's most expensive project to that point.
Q 28The 1982 film received two Oscar nominations, one for its song score and one for what?
Art Direction
It won neither. Aileen Quinn's two Golden Globe nominations were the film's other major honours.
Q 29In the 1982 film, Warbucks' bodyguards are the Asp and which turban-wearing giant?
Punjab
Geoffrey Holder played him, and he rescues Annie by helicopter in the climax. Both characters come from the comic strip.
Q 30The 1999 TV movie of Annie aired as part of which anthology series?
The Wonderful World of Disney
Rob Marshall directed. About 26.3 million people watched, second only to Disney's 1997 Cinderella on ABC.