One “theatre’s worth” of Capetonians ushered in the new year with the world’s most famous little orphan girl and friends.
The cast of Annie joined the audience after the show, which started later than usual at 9pm, on New Year’s Eve for a glass of bubbly and snacks on the piazza at Artscape.
An eclectic blues, jazz and rock band, Crooked, kept the party buzzing with old favourites from the likes of Elvis and Chuck Berry, the Beatles, Guns ’n Roses and the Rolling Stones.
The production of Annie runs at the Artscape Opera House until January 8
The family musical is now at Artscape and it’s just one of several fun outings to be had at the theatre this summer season.
Older folks may know the musical from the movie version which came out in 2014, with Quvenzhané Wallis playing the heroine of the story.
But did you know Annie is based on a comic strip, Little Orphan Annie, first published nearly 100 years ago, in the New York Daily News in the 1920s?
The story is set during the Great Depression-era New York.
Brave young Annie lives in Miss Hannigan’s orphanage, however, she is determined to find her real parents.
Her luck changes when she is chosen to spend Christmas at the residence of famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks.
But spiteful Miss Hannigan has other ideas and hatches a plan to spoil Annie’s search.
Annie was first performed on stage in 1977 and adapted into a movie in 1982 and again in 2014.
Since its first stage performance in 1979 it has been translated into 28 languages and has played in 34 countries, including South Africa.
See page 3 for more great offerings at Cape Town theatres for children this holiday season.
Tickets for Annie are available at Computicket and priced from R100-R500.
The gala performance saw Team Empire’s crew of children take to the stage in emphatic style with Emma-Rose Blacher leading her young peers in the title role.
Undoubtedly incredibly talented, this team of young stars had no problem displaying professionalism and perfection of the highest level.
Their skill could easily put older and more experienced actors to shame.
Another youngster who stood out in the production was Bonisiwe Nomoyi, whose interpretation of Molly was quite moving.