Annie Live!: Grade NBC’s Latest Musical
NBC this Thursday night added to its repertoire Annie Live! Did you love it like tomorrow (which, I hear, is always a day away)?
Annie Live! starred 12-year-old Celina Smith, of Atlanta, as the titular orphan, while Harry Connick Jr. (Will & Grace) in a novelty-store bald cap played Daddy Warbucks and Taraji P. Henson (Empire) filled Miss Hannigan’s sensible shoes.
Rounding out the main ensemble were singer Nicole Scherzinger as Grace, plus Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt‘s Tituss Burgess and Smash‘s Megan Hilty (stepping in for a COVID-positive Jane Krakowski) as Rooster and Lily/”Ralph and Shirley Mudge.”
Sandy was played by… a dog named Sandy.
The live production — NBC’s sixth such musical in the past eight years, as detailed below — went off with nary a major hitch (save for some wayward cameras and a dropped-out mic here and there), performed in front of a fully vaccinated and masked audience of nearly 500 people.
NBC’s previous live musical productions include 2013’s The Sound of Music Live! (which TVLine readers gave an average grade of “C,” while 18.6 million viewers tuned in)… 2014’s Peter Pan Live! (TVLine reader grade “C,” 9.2 million viewers), 2015’s The Wiz Live! (TVLine reader grade “A-,” 11.5 million viewers)… 2016’s Hairspray Live! (TVLine reader grade “B,” 9.1 million viewers)… and 2018’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (TVLine reader grade “B+,” 9.4 million viewers). In 2020, the network aired Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical, a prerecorded stage show headlined by Matthew Morrison (TVLine reader grade “D,” 2.5 million viewers).
There was one or two technical issues not switching to the right cameras in a couple of shots….
A- or really a strong B+. But by far, NBC’s best production. Tempo was off on many numbers, but I thought the performances were overall very strong. Pleasantly surprised by Taraji’s performance! Didn’t know she had such vocal range.
You must have missed her performance at the Oscars when *that* song from Hustle & Flow was nominated for Best Original Song… and probably only won for her performance of the chorus.
I smashed that A button
but seriously Celine Smith’s star just rose a little bit higher tonight
She plays on Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan on Nickelodeon
Taraji gave an award worthy performance as did Celina. Very good production and performance by all the cast.
The camera operators needed another rehearsal or two and I wish they’d stop redoing Annie and pick some other show. I’m really tired of Annie.
The show itself, and the OG movie….weren’t good. I mean, the project is decent. But the songs, story, and plot are meh at best. I think a lot of today’s adults fondly remember a project that was really geared towards kids. As a child, we loved that a project was built around a child actress, rather than simply (and often cynically) aimed at kids. Lots of “family” projects were aimed at kids, but the kids weren’t the star, or at best they were there to service adult characters. “Annie” was about a kid, featuring a kid. She was strong and funny and capable, and we were just old enough to want to want to be like that.
.
But with a more mature palate, it is obvious that the show itself isn’t that great.
.
The OG movie didn’t need to be remade, ever. This was also unnessecary.
Don’t watch? I was thrilled to see the return to the stage play, even with a few tweaks. Loved it.
I loved Hard Knock Life!! Those girls were awesome!!
A very mixed bag. Other than the nicely natural Celina Smith, the kids were a bit grating. Nicole S. is not much of an actress. Harry needed to bring his energy up a few notches. Taraji left no scenery unchewed, but was fun. And yes she got some pipes. The choreography was overdone. That said, I enjoyed it. B-/C+
I loved it!!! Great performances by all.
Agree with Mimi, boy those girls were talented. They were a quintuple threat: they could act, sing, dance, tumble and jump rope! They were the best part of the show!
Have loved the show “Annie” ever since I took my children when they were young (They are now parents themselves). This cast was great, especially the “orphans.” Fabulous costumes and choreography, as well as the musical numbers made this production truly special, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The major problem with NBC’s. Annie Live! Was a few badly timed and switched cameras and cameras seen intruding in scenes. In one incident you saw an almost full screen shot of another camera.
I’d expect they’d drop in a few scenes from the dress rehearsal when they rebroadcast it/stream it on PEACOCK to replace those technical issues.
“Easy Street” was probably the most fun set of Annie villains ever cast. A+ for all of them.
I hope Jane K. is well soon.
I am so happy that I watched Annie. It was perfection filled with amazing talent especially Taraji P. Henson who surprised me to no end. She was fantastic. Harry Connick and Nicole Scherzinger and Tituss Burgess and Megan Hilty were all fantastic. As were the Orphans and the whole cast. The only weak role to me was Celina Smith as Annie. I thought she was too big for the role and lacked Charisma and the cute orphan factor. The girl has talent but IMO wasn’t right for this role. I did think she did a very good job but……. This was still the best live broadcast of a show that I’ve seen. I loved it 🥰.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought she was too big.
Very talented young lady but I agree, she was too big for the part.
Agreed, Taraji was awesome and the orphans were super super talented! But I couldn’t get behind Annie, I felt her acting felt flat, and couldn’t put my finger on it until y’all said you thought she was too big and didn’t have the cute orphan thing, and I thought, that’s it! Also Harry Conik Jr in a bald cap was distracting. I’m sure there was a talented, naturally bald actor somewhere that could have taken in this roll
I said the same thing!! Nicole and Harry were great – and Taraji’s voice was surprisingly good (though some of her comic lines were a bit muddled and she missed some extra laughs). Megan Hilty filled in at the last minute and she was terrific. But this Annie, while she was a good singer, was way too big and seemed a bit flat as a performer. And having nothing to do with ethnicity, I missed Annie’s red hair – she could have had red streaks at least in the Christmas party.
It was bright, and refreshing. Wonderful way to start the holidays. The purpose was to entertain, create happy moments, and it succeeded. Left me with a good feeling. Celina and ALL THE CAST were delightful. THE ENERGY WAS ELECTRIC. I loved the live production because I’m 72 y.o. in Podunk, America. I love live theatre. Keep up the good work everyone! Thanks NBC for this production. Thank you to producers, directors, cast, support, and all. Kudos to everyone!
I choose to ignore some comments I have read re. critique of production minor faux pois. I am not analyzing the musical in that way. I look at it is a very well done wholesome, joyful, kind, compassionate show of good cheer presented by an amazing crew. I just wish I’d been on stage with them!
I agree with Margaret. At 77, I don’t get much chance to get out to live theater so was totally enthralled with this play. While not wanting to critique the play I will say I was totally put off by the amount of commercials that were interjected into the play itself I left those comments on Twitter.
That’s how we pay for “free tv”
Horrible!
What show were you watching I totally disagree with your comments
Finally – someone I can agree with. I didn’t know the story and I like the musicals, so I watched it. It was terrible – a lot of off-key singing. My spouse came from another room to find where all the off-key singing was coming from. And – I don’t think it was nerves – as one newspaper critic mentioned. I sat through the whole thing because I wanted to see how it ended. I was just glad it did!
I wasn’t going to watch, as a kid the comic strip always gave me the creeps (those eyes), so I never paid much attention to the musical, even though Annie was *huge* in the ’80’s.
But then I started seeing the commercials with Taraji P. Henson and thought, “oh my, she is going to *own* this – I need to watch. And own it she did! She needs to make room for that Emmy!
The kids doing Hard Knock Life were phenomenal!!
They also did a knock out job on the set. Lastly, they kept the audience noise/reaction to a minimum compared to the other live events.
Bravo!
The lack of racism in these comments is so refreshing! I’m so happily surprised.
Yup the comments section over on EW will make your eyes bleed.
The cast was more talented than the production. Outstanding coreography. Those kids made the show! Everyone in the cast was excellent.
The production, however, was marred by a number of technical issues. There were times where the actors couldn’t hear the music or each other. Mics dropped out. The camera crew obviously had a few drinks before the show. It all looked like no one could hear their queues, again an audio issue.
If this production was on a stage without the TV crew it would have been over the top excellent.
Wasnt there a upraw in white actors playing black characters? So why is this acceptable?
🙄
That is only when the role is that of a historical black character being played by a white person, it would be like a white man playing MLK. An actual example is when Elizabeth Taylor played Cleopatra, a role that a person of color should’ve played
You do realise that Cleopatra was from the Ptolemaic line who were Macedonian Greeks so were white. While we don’t actually know who her Mother was so some people have suggested she may have been illegitimate and her mother a Black slave there is no evidence of this and it’s not the consensus of the history community. Even most of the depictions from around the time have her looking white. The idea she was black is a modern idea and its from sources that historians deem to be flawed or outright wrong
And you do realise there are plenty of times historical figures who were white get played by black people yet that’s fine, Take Hamilton as an example or the recent UK show about Anne Boleyn who had the a black actress playing her.
And its not just real figures people get up in arms about when previously non-white characters get played by white actors but where it gets applauded when white characters get played by non-white actors. It’s massively hypocritical.
If Black Historic characters have to be played by Black actors then its the same with white. And with fiction characters, if its traditional a black role and only black people should play it then traditional white roles can only be played by white people.
The only way race swapping both historical and fictional characters is fine is if its fine both ways. You can’t have it only being fine one way
Well…there’s always one idiot. The incidents w white actors playing black characters or voices is where the cultural identity is central to the character…Johnny Depp playing Tokyo for instance. If in the Lone Ranger movie they had decided to change the sidekick to a white man it would be fine but they kept the sidekick native American but let a Caucasian play him. In Annie, the economic status is key to characters but not race. The only real identifying brand in the original was the red hair of the girl but otherwise she could have been just about any ethnicity. Btw I’ve seen a lot of portrayals of Othello by non African or Moorish actors especially in prior generations by white in brown makeup.
Typo…Depp playing Tonto.
Thank you! I have seen a production of Aida (the opera, not the Disney musical) where the entire “Nubian” cast was white in blackface. Losing a few historically white characters these last few years really isn’t as offensive as decades-centuries of white people playing non-white roles.
Grinch
Upraw?
Found the racist! :D
😒
@RondyGiles Oh are you in an UPRAW now bro? Upset over a kid’s musical?! GTFOOH! Your privilege is waning, but the fear is real. You keep fighting diversity and equally. It’ll give you something to do between Heinekens.
😒
Typical white supremacist
Uproar, u moron!!!!
So he misspelled uproar? It wasn’t on purpose. How is he being racist? Geez, get a grip.
I was blown away, such a talented cast!
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That’s just straight-up racist. I suppose there’s something to be said for not pretending you aren’t but I’m genuinely disgusted by your comment.
Stop being stupid! It doesn’t matter what color Annie is.
Because you are a broken-down ho, nobody wants to touch you.
You know the character in the comic strip, right?
Loved it!! This is a huge show, with many sets and a big cast, and (a few technical issues aside) they nailed it. Taraji, Harry, Megan & Tituss were all fantastic. Nicole Scherzinger was surprisingly good—I had no idea she could do musical theatre. Celina Smith is a star! Such presence, and what a voice!
The choreography and dancers were superb and the staging was perfect. Even the smaller parts (like Molly and the “new girl in town” in the NYC number) were memorable. And the a capella ending with the girls singing “Tomorrow” reduced me to tears. I enjoyed NBC’s Hairspray, The Wiz and JCS, but this might be their best live event yet!
How ironic I watched The Wiz last night with poor Diana Ross surrounded by top Broadway talent!! MJ as scarecrow priceless! I didn’t like LIVE Wiz because too many r&b people with weak voices!! I loved watching Stephanie Mills (Wiz Bway Diva, slayed her Verzuz) duet with LIVE Wiz Dorothy!! They blew Home!! By the way everyone knows Nicole Scherzinger can sing Whitney..nuff said! My Juilliard alum used to get Bway tickets to shows with “original” cast joking r&b singers will ruin it!! Haha
Jon, do yourself a favor and check out Nicole as Maureen in, “Rent” at the Hollywood Bowl several years ago (it’s available on YouTube). She is phenomenal. The character of “Grace” in “Annie” is a rather thankless role. (I played the part many years ago in a local production in Camarillo, CA.)
I thought the dancing was outstanding in this but I was put off by the maturity of Celina. And c’mon, Harry… Shave your head for the occasion!!
Taraji P Henson stole the show!
No one else was convincing or compelling in the cast.
adequate, except Taraji P was exceptional!
This was the best play I ever see I give it 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍everyone did a wonderful job on the play I’m vary proud of everyone.
If that’s the best I feel sorry for you