EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg steps into the role of Miss Hannigan in the new tour of the Tony-winning musical Annie beginning December 11 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. The stage and screen star will remain with the production through the end of the New York City engagement on January 5, 2025.
Carolyn Rossi Copeland Productions Inc. and Crossroads Live North America's tour of the family-friendly production launched in November at The Chicago Theatre. Hazel Vogel, a 12-year-old from Maryland most recently seen in the North American tour of Les Misérables, stars in the title role, joined by Stefanie Londino as Miss Hannigan (except for the remainder of the New York City run), Christopher Swan as Oliver Warbucks, Julia Nicole Hunter as Grace, Mark Woodard as FDR, Rhett Guter as Rooster, and Isabella De Souza Moore as Lily St. Regis, plus Kevin, a seven-year-old labradoodle from Georgia, as Sandy.
Whoopi Goldberg Doesn't Consider Herself a Singer, But She's Happy to Do Annie
The orphans are played by Aria Valentina Aldea, Eva Lizette
Carreon, Anna Dillon, Kylie Noelle Patterson, Olive Ross-Kline, and Nora
West, while the ensemble includes Stephen
Cerf, Anthony DaSilva, Savannah Fisher, Alloria Frayser, Brooke Olivia
Gatto, Caroline Glazier, Ryan Mulvaney, Joel Newsome, Melinda Parrett,
Lawrence E. Street, Drew Tanabe, and Stephanie Wahl. (Avril Kagan also joins the cast as a swing for the New York run.)
The 2024-2025 tour will continue on to visit more than 20 cities. For a full list of tour dates, visit AnnieTour.com.
Jenn Thompson, who at the age of 10 stepped into the role of Pepper in the original Broadway production of Annie, directs the tour, having handled the same duties for the musical's 2022-2023 tour. The production also has choreography by Patricia Wilcox, orchestrations by Dan DeLange, music supervision by Matthew Smedal, music coordination by Talitha Fehr, music direction by Andrew David Sotomayor, scenic design by Wilson Chin, costume design by Alejo Vietti, lighting design based on designs by Philip Rosenberg, sound design by Ken Travis, hair and wig design by Ashley Rae Callahan, and casting by Paul Hardt of Hardt Casting.
The tour stage management team is led by production stage manager Nykol DeDreu, stage manager Brigham Johnson, and assistant stage manager Tara Tolar-Payne.
Annie, which premiered on Broadway in 1977, features a score by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin and a book by Thomas Meehan. Based on the Depression-era newspaper comic series, the musical centers on its plucky title character and her journey from orphanage to the opulent Warbucks mansion. Annie won seven 1977 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The family-friendly musical has been revived on Broadway twice, in 1997 and 2012.
“Annie is a celebration of family and what can happen when you hold on to hope above all else. We’re delighted to kick off our new 2024-2025 tour at the iconic Chicago Theatre—arriving with a little ray of sunshine when we all need it most,” said Tony-winning composer Strouse in an earlier statement. “It is also a dream come true to bring Annie back home to New York City for the first time in 10 years, just in time for the holidays. And having the iconic Whoopi Goldberg join the company and make her first appearance ever in a production of Annie is a gift to us all! I know Martin and Tom would be thrilled, too.”
“I
love the theatre, and in my mind, there is no better way to spend the
holidays than to get back on stage,” added Goldberg. “I can’t wait
to step in to the delicious role of Miss Hannigan and perform for the
greatest audiences in the world—in my hometown of New York City.”
Christopher Swan and Hazel Vogel in the Annie national tour
Hazel Vogel and Kevin in the Annie national tour
Hazel Vogel and company of the Annie national tour
Julia Nicole Hunter, Hazel Vogel, Christopher Swan in the Annie national tour
Company of the Annie national tour
