Sequel Strikes a Chord : Director finds the music of ‘Annie Warbucks’ a selling point for O.C. Children’s Theatre.

Judging from its history, “Annie Warbucks” is as resilient as the crimson curls on the title character’s head.

The musical sequel to the 1977 hit “Annie” has had to bounce back more than once since its 1989 premiere in Washington as “Annie 2: Miss Hannigan’s Revenge.”

After that production flopped, the show underwent major surgery at the hands of its creators, Charles Strouse, Thomas Meehan and Martin Charnin--the team behind the original “Annie.”

The retooled, retitled version met with greater success in stagings in the Chicago area and the East Coast in 1991 and enjoyed a critically, if not financially, successful tour of the West Coast co-presented by five regional theater groups, including the Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego civic light operas.

In ‘93, it broke sales records in its off-Broadway run and did well at L.A.’s Variety Arts Theatre, but an anticipated Broadway run never materialized.

So, you might be wondering, where has “Annie Warbucks” been since, and will Orange County-area audiences ever have the opportunity to find out what happens when a poor kid with a big heart gets adopted by a bald guy with a big bank account?

The answer, like the kid says, is “only a day away.”

On Friday, Orange County Children’s Theatre opens a two-weekend run of “Annie Warbucks” at Cal State Long Beach’s University Theatre. The two-hour musical will be directed by Daniel Halkyard and feature 33 local youngsters 8 to 17.

Cindy Burnett, 12, stars as the plucky orphan whose hard-knock life takes a big turn for the better when she is befriended by lonely but paternal magnate Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks (John Blaylock, 17).

In Meehan’s script, the story opens 30 seconds after “Annie” leaves off, at Annie’s adoption by Warbucks on Christmas Day. It even begins with the predecessor’s closing tune, “A New Deal for Christmas” as Annie, Daddy Warbucks, his staff and her equally plucky orphan gal pals emote buckets of holiday optimism.

The coziness doesn’t last long, however.

A nasty bureaucrat soon declares that, according to the law, Warbucks can’t keep the kid if he doesn’t provide her with a mother, and the search for a Mrs. Warbucks is on.

Seventeen songs, a few mild political barbs and many scrapes later, Daddy has found his Mommy and Annie’s life is apparently complete. (And no, there are no plans for a sequel to the sequel.)

Many of the popular “Annie” characters are back, including Warbucks’ comely and long-suffering secretary Grace, staid butler Drake and a passel of orphans (including Peaches, a streetwise urchin who reads “Modern Romance” novels and has joined the band). And, don’t forget Sandy, arf arf.

Halkyard, a veteran children’s theater director and actor, admits that, at first, he wasn’t all that entranced with the idea of directing “Annie Warbucks.”

“What got me and the OCCT people started on this was looking at [the scripts] out there and realizing so much had been just run into the ground,” he said. “I thought the script was a little hokey, but then I listened to the score and just went nuts.”

He adds that he has made several cuts in the dialogue and tightened the final scene.

He thinks family audiences will be drawn to “Annie Warbucks” for the humor and optimistic spirit they may have enjoyed in “Annie.” But it’s the music he thinks they’ll remember when they leave.

“It’s to die for,” Halkyard said. “There’s not a bad song in the bunch.”

BE THERE

The Orange County Children’s Theatre presents “Annie Warbucks” at the University Theatre, Cal State Long Beach, 7th Street and East Campus Drive. 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Through Dec. 21. $6-$8. Tickets for Saturday’s matinee, which is signed for the hearing impaired, are $5. (714) 502-2244.

*

SANTA’S SKED: Everybody gripes about full calendars in December, but when Santa says he’s snowed, geez, how can you not believe?

The Santa in question here is “Santa Jim,” a.k.a. professional storyteller Jim Lewis. Having spent more than 15 years as a professional teller of tales for children and adults, Lewis is a rare commodity on the Santa-for-hire circuit.

Not only does he listen to kiddies’ wish lists, he ignites their imaginations with Christmas stories told from the Big Guy’s point of view. In the numerous sessions Lewis will be doing around Orange County between now and Dec. 25, the Lake Forest resident also answers many of those burning yuletide questions that kids ponder these wintry eves.

For instance, why does Santa use reindeer?

“I explain that I tried elephants . . . but they went right through the roof,” Lewis said in his jolliest tones.

Lewis--who points out that his full, snowy beard is the real McCoy, thanks very much--stepped into Santa’s boots about 17 years ago. A sales engineer-turned-boat builder, he was on a sailing trip in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez when children in local ports started pointing to his beard and calling him Santa.

He laughed it off at first but soon got into the spirit of the thing and began bringing supplies and basic medical necessities to the area’s needy children.

He’s adamant that kids should never pay for time with Santa, so he won’t appear at any of those assembly-line mall setups that sell pricey photo packages. (Parents are welcome to bring their own cameras, though).

Lewis can be found at more than a dozen venues between now and Christmas. Although he won’t be telling stories at all of them, he says he tries to give each child ample time to share his or her holiday thoughts and wishes--which might be considered a gift in itself.

BE THERE

“Santa Jim” Lewis tells stories Friday at the Mission Viejo Library, 25209 Marguerite Parkway. 11 a.m. (714) 830-7100. Also Monday at the Los Alamitos Library in Seal Beach, Tuesday at the Dana Niguel Library in Dana Point, Wednesday at the Laguna Beach Library, Dec. 18 at Tale of the Whale bookstore in Irvine and Dec. 22 at the Yorba Linda Library. Lewis appears as Santa (no stories) Friday at Cypress’ tree lighting (Cypress Senior Center, 9031 Grindlay St.), Saturday and Dec. 20-21 at Nordstrom in South Coast Plaza and Sunday at Nordstrom Rack in Costa Mesa.