This week, the national tour of “Annie” begins a month-long residency at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, with Whoopi Goldberg joining the cast as the villainous Miss Hannigan the following week.
The production is directed by Jenn Thompson, who played Pepper, one of the orphan girls, in the original Broadway production nearly half a century ago.
We spoke with Thompson about her long relationship with the show (this interview has been edited for brevity).
Q: How did you originally get cast in “Annie” as a kid?
A: I just auditioned like everyone else. They used to have these big massive open calls – the modern equivalent is an “American Idol” situation where people come from all over the country and line up for blocks and blocks. I had been a professional actor for a few years already. I believe I joined the union when I was seven, and I got into “Annie” when I was ten. I auditioned over a period of probably eight or ten months. I auditioned at least 10 times.
Q: Considering how many times I have seen “Annie” over the years, I should probably know this, but which of the orphans is Pepper?
A: Pepper is the tough one. The sort of bully. I like to think of her as misunderstood.
Q: How did you end up transitioning to directing the show?
A: I’ve been directing for a number of years. I started directing and stopped performing probably around 2008. I’m from a theatrical family. My parents had a theater company up in Connecticut, and that is where I started directing. In 2016, I directed a reboot of “Bye Bye Birdie” (which, like “Annie,” has music by Charles Strouse), and that sort of led to this tour of “Annie.”
Q: Do you approach “Annie” in any particular way?
A: My viewpoint is that of a 10-year-old. I approach it with a sensitivity to the kids because that is really my way in. I think in any production of “Annie” the kids are central, but maybe even more so for me. … The choreographer, Patricia Wilcox, who is a longtime collaborator of mine, had never seen “Annie” when I asked her to do the show, which I actually thought was great. I surrounded myself with other creatives and a design team that didn’t know the show and didn’t have a relationship with it. I thought that would be a good balance for me.
Q: Why does “Annie” hold up so well?
A: For starters, it’s beautifully written. It’s super solid. It’s a show about the 1930s written in the 1970s, but it doesn’t have a time stamp on it. It’s evergreen in that it doesn’t date itself. We always need to be reminded that we can choose hope and optimism. That it’s a choice and not a given. We have to work at it.
Q: Over the years, various productions have fiddled around with the show. You probably heard about the notorious production with a framing device that suggested it was all a dream.
A: I think that situation ended up with a cease and desist from the authors. … I am kind of a purist. This is a real return to the original. Lots of interpretations had ended up making their way into the stage version. A lot of what I did was return it to its original form. No concept has been added. You don’t need to do that with this show. I think there are enough new and interesting things in our interpretation, in the way it is designed and the way it moves. There’s a lot more dance than there was in the original.
Q: Composer Charles Strouse is now 96 years old.
A: He was with me during auditions, which was wonderful. He stopped into rehearsals and watched a run-through. Last year, he came to see the show in New Haven. He is a real mentor of mine and a humongous influence on me. It’s kind of miraculous to be able to share this experience with him.
Q: How did Whoopi Goldberg become involved?
A: We knew we were doing this at MSG, and we were looking for a marquee name to join us. Someone brought her name to the table, and we were like, “Would she do it?” It was great that she said yes. She’s such a unique talent with this huge theater history. It’s been wonderful to be part of her return to the stage.
Q: Is “Annie” a Christmas musical or a musical that just happens to end on Christmas morning?
A: It’s a musical that happens to end on Christmas. That’s an extra nice thing about it. I think Christmas is obviously a joyful time, but it’s also a vulnerable time. I think that’s why they chose that. They didn’t write it to be a holiday show – the same way I don’t think of it as a kids’ show, even though one of the protagonists is a young person. When we opened in New York all those years ago, “Annie” was a phenomenon akin to something like “Hamilton.” Another reason why it has endured is because it has such a multigenerational appeal. It speaks directly to you. It’s been wonderful going across the country and watching families come and see it and get something out of it.
Annie, Theater at Madison Square Garden, msg.com, Dec. 4 to Jan. 5.
