Annie

Annie

The Story

Fiery young orphan Annie lives in a miserable orphanage run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan.

Annie looks out for the other orphans and in particular Molly who says Annie is lucky because Annie's parents left a note saying that they would come back for her.

But Annie is concerned that her parents will never come for her and so she goes looking for them, only to be returned to Miss Hannigan's care by a police officer just as Miss Grace Farrell, personal secretary to wealthy industrialist Oliver Warbucks, knocks on the orphanage door looking for an orphan to stay with Mr Warbucks for the Christmas holidays.

Annie quickly charms the hearts of the household staff and even wins over the seemingly coldhearted millionaire, who soon plans to adopt her. However, when he buys her a locket to replace her old broken one Annie blurts out the story of her parents leaving her at the orphanage with the locket and the note and her wish to be reunited with them. Warbucks, touched by her plight, vows to find them.

This turns out to be a lucky coincidence for Annie as Grace quickly decides she is the perfect orphan for the job and insists on taking her to Mr Warbucks' mansion right away.

Back with Annie, Grace and Warbucks plans to find Annie's parents are progressing as they appear on popular radio show, Burt Healy's Hour of Smiles, to offer a reward to anyone who can prove that they are Annie's parents.

Meanwhile, Miss Hannigan bemoans Annie's good luck to her small-time conman brother, Rooster, and his ditsy girlfriend, Lily, as they dream of life on "easy street".

Unfortunately, along with a great number of other imposters Rooster and Lily hear the radio show and plot to swindle Warbucks out of the reward money, asking Miss Hannigan for inside info to help them pull off the heist.

Annie even gets to meet the President as the search goes on back home in New York City.

Their plan comes to fruition on Christmas eve just as Warbucks and Annie, who have given up on ever finding Annie's parents, are about to sign the adoption papers. Rooster and Lily announce themselves as Ralph and Shirley Mudge and bring driving licenses and Annie's birth certificate, and the story of the locket as evidence of their identity.

The plan nearly succeeds but with a little help from the President of the United States, Franklin D Roosevelt, Warbucks finds out what happened to Annie's real parents, Mr and Mrs Bennett, who have sadly died and foils their plot leaving Annie to live happily ever after as Annie Warbucks.

Chesterfield Operatic Society was founded in 1905 and we are proud to still be performing more than 100 years on!President: Mr. George Kenning We're on http://www.britinfo.net