ANNIE Study Guide

Southern California’s Premier Musical Theater CompanyPaul Garman, Executive Director/ProducerSteven Glaudini, Artistic DirectorBased on the Tribune Media Service Comic Strip LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIECreated by Sari Rose Poll,Education/Outreach CoordinatorBook by THOMAS MEEHAN, Music By CHARLES STROUSELyrics by MARTIN CHARNIN2010-2011 Season outreach programs sponsored byLONG BEACH PRESS TELEGRAMHONORARY PRODUCERS:ARLENE SOLOMON & SIDNEY SCHULMANASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: DON & TERRY MARTE GRECOFRIENDS OF SARA WENKLE KAPLANFRIENDS OF DON GARMANYOUTH PERFORMANCES UNDERWRITTEN BYARTS COUNCIL FOR LONG BEACH• DON KNABE, LOS ANGELES COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS2010-2011 SEASON SPONSORS:KEN & DOTTIE REINER • ACKERMAN FAMILY/EVALYN M. BAUER

2WHO?The Characters 3WHAT?Synopsis 4WHEN?1933 and FDR 5The Great Depression 6WHERE?New York City 7Orphanages 8WHY?“The Sun’ll Come Out Tomorrow” 9Create Your Own Comic Strip 1022

3are the main CHARACTERS of ANNIEANNIE: A red-headed eleven year old spunky and optimisticorphan in search for her parents.MISS HANNIGAN: A mean orphanage director who hateschildren.OLIVER WARBUCKS: A warm-hearted billionaire who openshis heart and home to Annie.GRACE FARRELL: Warbucks' faithful secretary. She immediately falls in love withAnnie.ROOSTER: Miss Hannigan's “no-good” brother always looking for some quick cash.LILY ST. REGIS: Rooster's girlfriend who happens to be smarter than she appears.FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT: As 32nd President of the United States, he aidsWarbucks in the search for Annie's parents.JULY: The quietest of the orphans. She is thirteen years old.DUFFY: The biggest of the orphans. She is thirteen years old.PEPPER: The toughest of the orphans. She is twelve years old.TESSIE: The cry-baby orphan. She is ten years old.KATE: The next to littlest orphan. She is seven years old.MOLLY: The littlest orphan. She is six years old.SANDY: An abandoned mixed–breed dog that Annie rescueswho becomes her faithful companion.33

4ACT 1It is 1933 and eleven-year-old Annie is in the Municipal Girls Orphanage, along withMolly, Kate, Tessie, July, Duffy, and Pepper. When Molly awakes from a bad dream at3:00AM, Annie comforts her. Molly then asks her to read the note her parents gave her when she was left at the doorstep of theorphanage. The note says that her parents will come pick her up, so the always hopeful Annie believes that they are still out there.Annie decides to escape to find her parents, but is caught by the villainous orphanage supervisor Miss Hannigan. Hannigan is angeredby this and forces all the girls to vigorously clean the orphanage. Shortly after the laundry man, Mr. Bundles, comes in to pick up thebed sheets. While Miss Hannigan is flirting with him, Annie climbs into the laundry basket and the orphans hide her under the blankets.Once Miss Hannigan realizes Annie is gone, the other orphans express their frustration. Annie successfully escapes, running into afriendly stray dog. As she comforts him, she tells him of better days yet to come. The dog catcher is after him, so Annie pretends he isher dog by calling him Sandy. Annie is later found by a cop sent by Hannigan and is brought back to the orphanage. Grace Farrell,assistant to billionaire Oliver Warbucks, comes to the orphanage seeking an orphan to bring to their home for Christmas. Grace seesAnnie when in Hannigan’s office and asks to take her. Hannigan reluctantly agrees. Once Grace has left, Hannigan explodes with herhatred for all the girls in the orphanage. Meanwhile, at the Warbucks Mansion, the servants and staff welcome Annie with open arms.When Warbucks returns to his mansion, he is very moody and not too happy to have an orphan in his house. He asks Grace to takeAnnie to a movie and Grace persuades him to come. As Annie and Warbucks begin to like each other, they enjoy a fabulous night inNew York City. Back at the orphanage, Hannigan's brother, Rooster, and his girlfriend, Lily St. Regis, pay a visit. Hannigan mentionsthat Annie is staying at a billionaire's house, and Rooster and Lily think they could use this situation to get rich. Warbucks sees a brokenlocket around Annie's neck and buys her a new one from Tiffany & Co. However, Annie bursts into tears saying it was the onlything left by her parents and refuses to accept a new one. Grace and the Warbucks' staff then pledge to find Annie's parents no matterwhat it takes.ACT 2Annie and Warbucks appear on the “Oxydent Hour of Smiles” radio show starring Bert Healy so that Warbucks can announce a rewardof 50,000 dollars to the couple that proves to be Annie’s parents. Healy and the Boylan Sisters then sing the Oxydent themesong “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.” The girls in the orphanage happen to be listening in at the radio and decide tohave fun by dancing and singing to the song. When Hannigan hears, she barges in and demands to know what was happening. Mollyannounces that Annie was on the radio and that there is a $50,000 reward for her parents. Hannigan is anything but pleased. Thereis a knock on the door and a couple named Ralph and Shirley Mudge come into the orphanage stating they left a little girl here elevenyears ago and have come back for her. Hannigan is shocked. The Mudges soon revealthemselves to be Rooster and Lily and explain their plan for the reward. They requestinformation about Annie from Miss Hannigan for one third of the money, though shedemands one half for this service because she knows about the note and the locket.They develop a complete plan to claim Annie and receive the reward. Back at the mansion,hundreds of couples are showing up. All are confirmed fakes because no oneknows about Annie’s locket. Warbucks brings Annie to Washington D.C. where sherequests to meet the president. Though shushed by the cabinet members, PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt asks her to stay, and she begins to sing Tomorrow. Rooseveltcommands his cabinet to sing with her since he believes that people must be optimisticduring tough times. Once back at the mansion, Warbucks tells Annie how much heloves her and wants to adopt her. However, “Mr. and Mrs. Mudge” show up to pickup Annie. Grace and Warbucks are shocked because they know about the note andthe locket, but they still don’t feel like they are Annie’s parents. Warbucks requests thatAnnie be allowed to stay one more night for the Christmas party. She wishes she couldstill be adopted by Warbucks and it is revealed by FDR that her parents are actuallyMargaret and David Bennett and died when she was a baby. Rooster and Lily show upto claim Annie and the money, but are arrested along with Hannigan by the SecretService. Annie, Warbucks, and everyone are delighted by this discovery as well asFDR's new deal for the economy.Beginning:Middle:End:44

5A chilly morning in early December, 1933.The stage is nearly dark. Asleep in thedormitory are six orphans.Franklin D. Roosevelt President Barack Obama123,188,000 Population of the U.S.A. 309,244,16260 years Life expectancy 78 years$1,368 / year Average Income $48,351 / year25 % Unemployment 9.9 %14 cents Milk Prices (per gallon) $3.689 cents Bread Prices (per loaf) $1.95FDR was born in 1882 in New York and was elected the 32nd President of theUnited States in November 1932 at the height of the Great Depression. ByMarch, there were 13,000,000 Americans unemployed and almost every bankwas closed. FDR provided hope for Americans in this hard time. To fix this problem,he created The New Deal program: Social Security, heavier taxes on thewealthy, new controls over banks and a work relief program for the unemployed.Warbucks:THOSE HAPPY DAYSTHAT WE WERE PROMISED…Roosevelt:ARE FINALLY HERE!All:WE’RE GETTING A NEW DEAL FOR CHRISTMAS!WE’RE GETTING A NEW DEAL FOR CHRISTMAS!WE’RE GETTING A NEW DEAL FOR CHRISTMAS!WE’RE GETTING A NEW DEAL FOR CHRISTMAS!In 1921, FDR contracted polioleaving him paralyzed from the waist down.The orphans are not going to have toreturn to Miss Hannigan in theorphanage. They will be treatednicely, be educated, and celebrateChristmas the way it’s supposed tobe—with love and happiness. FDR isimplementing the New Deal toreshape the “depression.”Everyone is getting a NEW DEAL!!!FDR: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.What does this phrase mean to you?55

61929 - 1939Former President Herbert Hoover said today in an interview, “Though I was in noway personally responsible for the 1929 stock-market crash…I have the deepestsympathy for the millions who are now ragged, hungry and homeless.”Elected president in 1928, Herbert Hoover promised more wealth and businesses for theAmerican people. Unfortunately, the economy plummeted when the stock market crashed onBlack Tuesday in October 1929. America experienced the greatest depression the nation hadever seen. Millions of Americans lost their jobs and homes. The now homeless Americans builtshanty towns that became known as “HOOVERVILLES” named after Herbert Hoover whopeople blamed for the depression. In 1933 the United States elected Franklin Delano Rooseveltto replace Hoover as president.TODAY WE’RE LIVING IN A SHANTYTODAY WE’RE SCROUNGING FOR A MEALTODAY I’M STEALING COAL FOR FIRES.WHO KNEW I COULD STEAL?WE’D LIKE TO THANK YOU, HERBERT HOOVERFOR REALLY SHOWING US THE WAYWE’D LIKE TO THANK YOU, HERBERT HOOVERYOU MADE US WHAT WE ARE TODAY.Using what you know about the Great Depression,write a story about this picture.What are some ways you can make yourself happy when times are tough or life isn’t going your way?66

10Little Orphan Annie was a daily American comic strip, created by Harold Gray, that first appeared on August 5, 1924 andappeared in newspapers until June 2010. Gray was inspired by James Whitcomb Riley's popular 1885 poem "Little OrphantAnnie:”Little Orphan Annie's come to our house to stay,An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away…Think about your school day and create your own comic strip.TITLE: _________________________________________________________________1010