Everything’s humming now! Good times are coming now! It’— Annie! ANNIE! And Annie has returned to Charm City once more (after running their tech week at Baltimore’s illustrious Hippodrome Theatre back in November 2024 before heading out on their national touring circuit!) Annie marks the first Broadway Across America tour to grace the Hippodrome stage this 2025 calendar year and— leapin’ lizards! It’s genius! Charming and heartfelt and a perfect way to carry that holiday spirit well into the new year, Annie is the classic family-friendly revival we’ve all been waiting for. Directed by Jenn Thompson with Choreography by Patricia Wilcox and starring Maryland’s own Hazel Vogel in the titular role, Annie is here to offer everyone in Baltimore that new deal of hope and much-needed optimism this January.

The classic stage musical about the perpetually optimistic orphan, down on her luck who ends up tumbling into the lap of luxury is here just in time to inspire Baltimore’s audiences with its infectious joy, its resplendent sets, effervescent choreography, and feel-good message. Some microphone issues aside at the very beginning and tail-end of the evening’s performance, the show is making a sensational splash at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, delighting young audiences, those young at heart, and everyone in-between.

Scenery slides, flies, and glides in that polished professional fashion giving you that authentic Broadway feel from the moment you enter into Miss Hannigan’s shanty-run orphanage right up through the big austere mansion of Daddy Oliver Warbucks. Scenic Designer Wilson Chin takes an overall simpler approach to the show’s New York City location in the early 1930’s, balancing the appropriate level of impoverished distressed scenery against the opulent interior of the Warbucks home. Add in some flare, compliments of Lighting Designer Philip S. Rosenberg— particularly under the 59^th street bridge when the trains and coppers rumble by and the light have that authentic flash-factor to them— and you’ve got a popping aesthetic that draws the audience into the world of Annie. Round out the aesthetic experience with some carefully placed sonic enhancements by way of Sound Designer Ken Travis (and once the mic-balance was adjusted, it stayed clean until the end of the performance) and you’ve got an impressive touring production to feast the eyes and ears upon.

With a depression-ridden verve overriding a good deal of the production’s libretto, Costume Designer Alejo Vietti takes his opportunity to shine where he can. Particular successes in his couture selections include the garish burnt orange full-length coat on Lily St. Regis…and the screaming green lime-affair dress and matching character shoes hidden beneath. Vietti hones in on the obnoxious volume of the Lily character and accurately reflects that in the trampy sidekick’s sartorial selection. Ragamuffin threads for the orphans and pristinely polished suits for Oliver Warbucks are the standard for Annie and Vietti follows that line of design, adding pops of color to Annie’s ‘gifted’ wardrobe, and delivers the expectation of the iconic red Christmas dress for the titular character late in the second act. Props and praise should also be handed out to Hair & Wig Designer Ashley Rae Callahan, who has done not only a flawless job on styling the bright-red notorious locks of Annie, making them look natural and suited to whichever scene she’s playing in, but also on the characters, like the messy pile of wayward curls featured on Miss Hannigan, and the stunning ‘bad-root’ job on Lily’s bleach-bottle dye-job wig.

The show’s choreography is exceptionally balanced. Choreographer Patricia Wilcox understands how to infuse fun into a musical number with an exciting and enthusiastic dance routine without making a number look ‘overchoreographed.’ This is particularly true for Rooster, Lily, and Miss Hannigan with their rendition of “Easy Street” and its reprise. There is most definitely dancing, but it’s silly-nonsense dancing, like three ne’er-do-wells tripping the life fantastic up in her office on some bathtub gin and back alley reefer. All too often this number reads like a blueprint for how to tap, cake-walk, jazz-kick, and side-shuffle. But Wilcox does an extraordinary job of letting these bums get their party on for “Easy Street.” There’s an easiness to the rest of Wilcox’ choreography as well; this is not to say that the big splashy numbers— like “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here”— aren’t filled to the brim with flourishing leap-spins and kick-turns by the overzealous waitstaff of the Warbucks Household, because they are. But all things in equal measure, which lends an air of authenticity to the on-stage experience. Wilcox does a fine job of creating rigorously enthusiastic choreography for the orphans as well and you get this best sampled during their opening bid of “It’s the Hard Knock Life” and again when they shake things up with their mini kickline during their version of “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.” Wilcox features vaudeville-inspired moves and gestures during “We’d Like to Thank You”, which is another number that’s meticulously crafted to look like it’s ordinary street chaos so that it doesn’t read as ‘forced dance routine.’

Chock-a-block with talent, everyone from the cheeky Bundles (at this performance, Ryan Mulvaney) busy trying to get his none-too-subtle flirt on with Miss Hannigan to the pessimistic Ickes (Stephen Cerf) who bursts out with unsuspecting lyrical-operatic sounds during “Tomorrow (Reprise)” in the White House during the White House visit scene, the cast is living their most glorious, best life on stage. You get punches of personality from every single character, with some actors doubling and tripling up in various roles— like Melinda Parrett who gives you a stiff-collared-closed-lip performance as cabinet member Perkins, a boisterous street personality as Sophie the Kettle during “We’d Like to Thank You” and a considerate, convivial show as Mrs. Pugh in Warbucks’ mansion. Mark Woodard is another one to keep your eye on as he does a rousing FDR imitation both in spirit and in vocal affectation. There’s something to be said across the board for both the subtlety and consistency of the accents and affectations in this production, and that of the overall 1930’s cadence and patois when it comes to their various dialogue deliveries; you really feel transported by these actors, very specifically to the 1930’s into the throbbing heart of NYC.

Vocally you get some astonishing sounds as well— the soft, gay-young-blade-dandy sound of (at this performance) Ryan Mulvaney as Bert Healy when he carefully croons his way through “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile”; it’s charming and reminiscent of a grown-up Mickey Mouse. Adding hilarious but well-sung backing vocals to that number are the lovely Boylan Sisters— Ronnie, Connie, and Bonnie (Savannah Fisher, Alloria Frayser, Caroline Glazier), and Fisher doubles up with the bombastic feature solo during “NYC” as the character Star To Be. The adult ensemble is bursting at the seams with little moments, from the street scenes to twirling all around inside Warbucks’ Mansion; it’s a true brilliant culmination of real Broadway talent, delighting their way through each minute, musical number, and scene.

While the greasy, grifting, princess-track-paramours pop up in three scenes and two numbers, they steal the show for those moments that they’re there— Rooster Hannigan (Rhett Guter) and Lily (Isabella De Souza Moore.) Guter rolls into the scene with a slickness that makes an oil rig look dry while Moore is brassy and obnoxious beyond compare. The bristly interactions that Moore’s character has with Miss Hannigan are hilarious and really make her character that much more enjoyable, regardless of how sparse and brief they are. Guter leads this trio through “Easy Street” with a slippery ease, making the number swanky, jazzy, saucy, and an overall jaunty good time.

The role of Grace Farrell is often conscripted to the ingenue character so it’s a nice change of pace to see Julia Nicole Hunter give her some depth. Snarky little quips with the utmost polish and poise when she exchanges barbs with Miss Hannigan, versus the nurturing and almost maternal vibes we get when we see her interacting with Annie, particularly in the second act, prove that Hunter has fleshed out the character into a more dynamic being. And her voice soars with classical resplendence for “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here” and her sections in “N.Y.C.” and the titular number, which she kicks-off opposite Drake. Hunter’s strongest trait in this role, isn’t perhaps her songbird voice but rather her facial expressions, which are animated and perfectly on-point, especially when responding and reacting to Oliver Warbucks.

When it comes to talented young performers, this touring company of Annie has them in spades. Molly (Olive Ross-Kline), Pepper (Aria Valentina Aldea), Duffy (Nora West), July (Anna Dillon), Tessie (Kylie Noelle Patterson), and Kate (Eva Lizette Carreon)— fondly referred to by Annie as the kids back at the orphanage are putting on a spectacular show, each with their own plucky and precocious personalities. When they do their rendition of “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” they have the whole audience smiling ear to ear, especially when they all simultaneously cartwheel at the end of the tune. Their militant movements during “It’s the Hard Knock Life” are as edgy as their vocals are bursting with energy. And they each take their turn having a good time giving loads of (much-deserved) grief to Miss Hannigan. Keep your eye on Olive Ross-Kline in particular, as the absolutely adorable Molly, who is loaded with gumption and personality for miles.

The aforementioned grief-deserving Miss Hannigan (Stefanie Londino) creates quite the scene no matter which scene she’s stumbling into. Londino is doing something unusually unique with her portrayal of the iconic harridan. While there are echoes of Carol Burnett in both her vocal affectation and delivery, there’s something refreshing and raw about her approach to the bumbling-drunk-and-hungover matron of the orphanage. Londino even affects this behavior into her shrill whistle-blowing; it’s a scream. Her physicality, her larger-than-life stage presence— particularly when towering over the tiniest of the orphans, Molly— and her overall spatial awareness of how her character sways and shuffles and trips about half hungover, half still-drunk in various scenes is a sheer comedic delight. Londino is balancing this routine against reality, keeping the character with toes on the ground so she doesn’t fall into campy-caricature territory and that’s a refreshing change of pace as well. You can even see a humanized moment in Londino’s Hannigan, at the top of the “Easy Street Reprise” when Rooster pops his switchblade and she has to think long and hard for a moment before ultimately joining back into the partying bandwagon. And her grizzly-drunk approach to “Little Girls” all but brings the house down; Londino can belt, no question. She’s got an impeccable balance on being a banshee blended with a boozehound; it’s remarkable.

Taking another refreshing approach to an iconic role, Christopher Swan imbues ‘Daddy’ Oliver Warbucks with something rarely seen in most productions— an awkward sense of humorous discomfort. While the ballsy, brass-taxes veneer is certainly present, there’s this almost precious awkwardness that gets translated as uncertain-humor in a great many moments when he’s first interacting with Annie, and later when the situation of the show finds itself being pulled deep into the well of emotional gravity. Swan has extraordinary facial expressions and although there aren’t many moments where he’s on stage and not the center of attention, when he is a tertiary or background figure, he chews scenery in the most hysterical of ways— like the “oh well, waste not, want not” moment with the glass of brandy. With a bold, beautiful voice, Swan situates Warbucks superbly in the range of all his numbers, with “Something Was Missing” and “I Don’t Need Anything But You” being his two most gloriously notable. His interactions with Annie feel genuine and watching their nurturing relationship blossom is pure, unadulterated joy from the moment she’s introduced through to the joyous ending of the production.

Tackling the titular role with rigorous aplomb and a revitalized approach to the ever-optimistic orphan, Hazel Vogel makes an extraordinary Annie. Singing, dancing, performing— you expect the trifecta of brilliance whenever you see a leading character on stage. Vogel delivers it tenfold with her sensational voice, stellar expressions, precision timing, and fluid movements. But Vogel is giving more than just a phenomenal voice— and let me state that again for the people in the back— her singing voice is truly phenomenal; the tonal clarity, consistency, resonance, and overall strength is astonishing. She’s bringing nuance to the character. Vogel doesn’t just bust out into “Tomorrow”, it’s layered with pathos and sentiment, almost like the character isn’t really sure if optimism is the way to go but she’s tried everything else so why not optimism. It’s a fascinating and beautifully functional approach to the character’s ethos. That first blast of “Tomorrow” is no small feat either. Vogel nearly gets upstaged by the hambone Kevin (playing the super-sweet dog, Sandy) who keeps rolling on his back with his head out to the audience with the “look at me I’m a cute dog” look on his face, making Vogel have to razzle and dazzle twice as hard (and boy does she ever) to get the audience back in her lap. There’s an indescribably spunk to Vogel’s portrayal of this iconic orphan, whether she’s waltzing around with Daddy Warbucks, slamming buckets and brooms around the orphanage, or just taking in all the sights on the streets of New York with true wonderment and awe. That is perhaps the most impressive feat of Vogel’s performance— the way she’s able to absorb the scenes around her and reflectively express them back to the audience in her facial features, her body language, her vocal intonation, so that we’re receiving the true ‘Annie’ experience through her eyes as if we’re her up on that stage living that journey. Hazel Vogel has a beautiful voice; “Maybe” and “Tomorrow” prove that hands down. She has an incredible sense of timing and spatial awareness on stage, evidenced frequently throughout the production, and is a true triple-threat-knockout-combo when it comes to musical theatre performance. The sun has come out— today— and her name is Hazel Vogel.

If you’re stuck with a day— that’s gray— and lonely! And given Baltimore’s current weather situation, it sounds like we’re all stuck with exactly that— so just stick out your chin— and grin— and get yourself tickets to the national tour of Annie at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre before it glides away to another city! A remarkable production, an excellent start to 2025— don’t miss Annie now through January 12^th, 2025.

Annie plays Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre from January 7^th 2025 through January 12^th 2025 on the Main Stage of The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center— 12 N. Eutaw Street in Baltimore’s Bromo Arts District. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 410-837-7400 or purchasing them in advance online.

To read the interview with Baltimore’s own Hazel Vogel on playing Annie, click here.