Should Broadway’s Next Annie Be Classic or Completely Reinvented?

Andrea McArdle and Reid Shelton in the 1977 Original Production of Annie (Martha Swope/©NYPL for the Performing Arts)

by Chris Peterson

So what exactly do we want from a new Broadway revival of Annie?

Because I think there are two very different answers to that question.

Annie is officially coming back to Broadway in the fall of 2027 for its 50th anniversary, and Sam Pinkleton will direct the new production.

And immediately, I started wondering what kind of Annie we're going to get.

Do we want the classic?

Red dress. Red wig. Warbucks' mansion looking like Warbucks' mansion. A giant Christmas finale.

Basically, give us Annie.

Or do we want Pinkleton to completely rethink it?

That's become one of the more interesting questions whenever an older musical comes back to Broadway. Audiences have seen these shows before. In the case of Annie, they've seen it everywhere. Broadway. Tours. Community theatre. Schools. Multiple movies. Television.

There probably aren't many people buying a ticket to Annie who don't know what's coming when that orchestra starts playing "Tomorrow."

So does that mean a Broadway revival needs to show us something we've never seen before?

Maybe. I'm genuinely curious what people want.

Would you be excited by an Annie that radically changes the visual world of the show? Different orchestrations? Casting choices that completely change how we see some of these characters?

Or would you rather Broadway resist that temptation?

There is something to be said for doing a classic musical really, really well. Just look at the revivals of My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly, and Funny Girl.

You don't necessarily need to deconstruct Annie to justify putting it on Broadway again. Sometimes the justification can simply be: this is a great musical, here's an incredible cast, and a first-rate production of it.

Especially for a show celebrating its 50th anniversary.

But I also understand the other side. Broadway tickets aren't cheap. If you're asking audiences to come see a musical they already know backward and forward, maybe there should be some surprise waiting for them.

And that's where I'm torn.

What about you?

If you're bringing Annie back to Broadway 50 years after it first opened, what do you want?

A beautiful, big, traditional production of the musical we already love?

Or should a Broadway revival be doing something with Annie that we've never seen before?

I'm really curious where people land on this one.