FAMILY : ‘Annie’: Letting the Sun Shine In on a Soggy Day

The sun’ll come out tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar that

Tomorrow, there’ll be sun

--”Tomorrow,” from the Broadway musical “Annie.”

The little red-haired kid may be all wet in her weather predictions, but in the Fullerton Children’s Repertory Theater’s current staging, “Annie” can warm you even on the soggiest day.

Inspired by Harold Gray’s classic comic strip, “Little Orphan Annie,” it’s easy to see why Thomas Meehan’s 1977 musical about the trials and triumphs of a plucky girl in Depression-era New York City was pegged by some critics as a kiddie show for adults.

Even for musical theater, the plot is far-fetched: Eager to find the parents who left her on the orphanage doorstep 11 years ago, Annie takes on the Big Apple and ends up winning the hearts of a hard-boiled billionaire, the President of the United States and his Cabinet and, shucks, all of America with her optimistic outlook.

Before you can say “leapin’ lizards!” the kid has pitched her “Hard Knock Life” for a lifelong stint on “Easy Street” as the ward and soon-to-be-adopted daughter of Oliver (Daddy) Warbucks, not to mention engineering a 180-degree turn in the nation’s economy to boot.

And all this on a bad hair day.

Still, if audiences go into this with the right outlook, a well-delivered “Annie” can charm even jaded adolescents. At last Saturday’s performance, FCRT’s red cast (the 50-member company is divided into two casts that alternate performances) handled the job quite nicely under the direction of Alberta Strey and Vicki Schindele, who also did the choreography.

*

Twelve-year-old Chelsea Caplin was a winner in the title role, tempering the character’s relentlessly sunny disposition with hints of real-life adolescent temperament. When Daddy Warbucks threatens to shuffle her off to his secretary so he can attend to business, Caplin’s Annie subtly manipulates the big guy with some well-placed sighs and wistful glances.

Musically, Caplin and her seven dorm-mates at the New York City Municipal Orphanage get things off to a rollicking start with a gutsy rendition of “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” a bucket-clanking, foot-stomping number that shows off the girls’ dancing skills well. Most notable among the orphan pack was Julie Perkins as the cantankerous Pepper.

The cast continued to do admirable service to the Charles Strouse / Martin Charnin score, even if, at their tender ages, they might not fully appreciate the often barbed humor of the lyrics.

Katherine Futterer’s Miss Hannigan, a veritable shrew in sponge-curlers, prompted belly laughs across the generation gap with her raucous version of “Little Girls.” Futterer’s subsequent performance with John Waite as Rooster Hannigan and Lisa Chips as his moll Lily St. Regis in “Easy Street” was on target as well.

Aaron Markley’s Daddy Warbucks was all booming efficiency, and although his singing voice could have been stronger, his musical moments with Annie were often heartwarming.

*

Considering the challenges posed by Ed Huber’s attractive but somewhat complicated two-level set, the crew handled set changes fairly well. Live music from a three-piece combo helped ease these transitions, and was a quality touch to the show overall.

Beverly Shirk’s costumes, especially the newspaper vest and burlap-bag jumper worn by some of the down-and-out residents of Hooverville, added to the show’s often wry social commentary.

* “Annie,” Fullerton Children’s Repertory Theater, Fullerton High School Little Theater, Chapman Avenue and Lemon Street. Continues tonight at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m., Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 4 at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. (714) 671-1084. $6. Running time: two hours, 25 minutes. Annie: Chelsea Caplin/Nancy Feldman

Daddy Warbucks: Aaron Markley/Brian Johnson

Miss Hannigan: Katherine Futterer/Katie Monken

Rooster Hannigan: John Waite/Shannon Prum

Lily St. Regis: Lisa Chips/Lindsay Fry

Grace Farrell: Courtney Caplin/Lizzy Chapman

FDR: Brian Chin/Jeff Craddock

Molly: Maite Ngo/Catherine Walters

Pepper: Julie Perkins/Tiffany Dacuycuy

Presented by Fullerton Children’s Repertory Theater. Book by Thomas Meehan. Music by Charles Strouse. Lyrics by Martin Charnin. Directed and choreographed by Alberta Strey and Vicki Schindele. Vocal direction: Katherine Peters. Sets: Ed Huber. Costumes: Beverly Shirk. Lights: Ben Makino.