STAGE REVIEW : ‘Annie’ Needs More Heart to Bolster Sequel

The success of the original 1977 “Annie” did not come just from the discovery of an adorable moppet who could sing and dance.

The key was that when the industrialist Oliver Warbucks met Little Orphan Annie, a spark ignited between one of the richest of the rich and one of the poorest of the poor at the time when America was wracked by the Great Depression. In its uplifting, exaggerated fantasy, Annie meets Franklin Delano Roosevelt and becomes the inspiration for the New Deal--and a symbol for why the New Deal was important.

In the new sequel to this comic-strip inspired musical, “Annie Warbucks,” Annie has changed--and not for the better. Unveiled Thursday in its San Diego premiere as a San Diego Civic Light Opera production at the Civic Theatre, Annie has settled into her life as the rich daughter of industrialist Oliver Warbucks, and now her big worry is whether daddy will still love her if he marries. It’s not that Warbucks wants to marry, however, but the Child Welfare Department is pressuring him to do so before he can legally adopt Annie.

The new story still has a social conscience, but it’s twisted.

Now that Annie is rich, she doesn’t forget her orphan friends, but she doesn’t do much for them either. Sure, they get a couple of trinkets at Christmas, and they’re pathetically grateful when they get “dolled up” for one of her parties. But generally when she comes to visit them in her chauffeured limousine, whining about not wanting a mother, she doesn’t bring them anything at all.

The orphans that helped facilitate her many escapes from their prison-like orphanage still live in that grim wire-gated facility, squabbling over their meager belongings and hating their daily macaroni and cheese, while Annie dines on meals prepared by Daddy Warbucks’ large, impeccably attired kitchen staff.

Instead of sharing her wealth or urging Warbucks to share his, Annie appeals directly to the government to help America--symbolized by FDR again--in one of the show’s most rousing songs: “Somebody’s Gotta Do Something.”

In this sequel, the Tennessee Valley Authority results from her efforts--a program that has gone down in history as a successful example of government intervention. But given the total lack of thought that Annie and Warbucks might personally do anything to help impoverished America, one could subtitle the song: “Somebody’s Gotta Do Something . . . But Not Me.”

Of course, if you’re willing to overlook the social issues, you can sit back and enjoy the adorable kids and the slick professionalism of this product.

Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, the creative team for the original “Annie,” are the well-seasoned forces behind the sequel. The cast, directed by Charnin, is top-notch, from Harve Presnell (who reprises his role as the original Daddy Warbucks) to charming big-voiced Lauren Gaffney as Annie and the irresistible 7-year-old Lindsay Ridgeway as Molly, one of the orphans still in the orphanage.

Alene Robertson is a comic delight who eats the stage as the wicked Mrs. Stark, the commissioner of New York’s Child Welfare Department, whose greed drives the action--even if her villainy seems to lack motivation.

Ellia English and M.W. Reid are welcome additions to the “Annie Warbucks” saga with English, in particular, providing a soaring voice as the wife in the black sharecropper family that Annie meets when she runs away from home so her father won’t have to marry.

The sets by Ming Cho Lee, adeptly lit by Ken Billington, offer a nicely detailed journey from the opulent Warbucks mansion to the gray orphanage to the railroad car where Annie stows away.

Peter Gennaro’s choreography is lively and particularly fun in the kids’ numbers. Keith Levenson’s musical direction is strong, but the score itself is just middling.

While the songs are pleasing, there is no equivalent of the “Annie” signature hit, “Tomorrow,” to send you out of the theater humming. “Love,” sung primarily by English, is an affecting song and “But You Go On” is a strong one (even though it later proves to be ironic). “Above the Law,” “The Other Woman” and “All Dolled Up” all have their moments.

One of the more exciting elements in this show is the process that brought it here. Five members of the National Alliance of Musical Theater Producers, including the San Diego Civic Light Opera, chipped in to do a pre-Broadway tour that would allow the creators to keep tinkering with the show.

It’s possible that the creative team may yet find the heart of this show--perhaps before the end of the San Diego run.

The team clearly wants to play up the parallels between the Great Depression, during which this show is set, and today. Jokes fly about Warbucks running for president one day--without specifically mentioning Ross Perot. There’s a stab at FDR’s know-nothing, do-nothing vice-president. And a crack about the meager taxes for the wealthy.

But in having his characters eschew personal responsibility for making the world better, the creators have forgotten what made Annie so wonderful in the first place. Annie was America.

It was easy to root for the tough little girl determined to better her life and that of her friends. It’s harder to sympathize with the poor little rich girl who whines about sharing daddy’s love with a new wife.

“ANNIE WARBUCKS”

Book by Thomas Meehan. Music by Charles Strouse. Lyrics by Martin Charnin. Based on “Little Orphan Annie” by permission of Tribune Media Services. Director, Martin Charnin. Choreography, Peter Gennaro. Sets, Ming Cho Lee. Lighting, Ken Billington. Sound, Tony Meola. Musical director and conductor, Keith Levenson. Production stage manager, Jeffrey M. Markowitz. With Lauren Gaffney, Harve Presnell, Alene Robertson, Ellia English, Harvey Evans, Joel Hatch, Marguerite MacIntyre, Cass Morgan, M.W. Reid, LaShayla Logan, Jeanette Brox, Alexis Dale Fabricant, Christine Flores, Missy Goldberg, Lindsay Ridgeway, Kathryn Zaremba and Raymond Thorne. At 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2. Through Oct. 25. Tickets are $17-$32. At San Diego Civic Theatre, 202 C St., 278-TIXS, 544-STAR, 236-6510; for group sales, 544-7800.