Oh, come on. You totally sang along with that world-famous phrase. You're probably still singing it. Let's keep it going...
"...tomorrow! Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow..." I'll let you finish it yourself. ("There'll be sun." In case you needed the lyrics.) Feel better? Now that I have that song stuck in your head, I have to share my history with the beloved musical, Annie. Now, my history is probably pretty mild compared to some girls. I never starred in it (except in my head). I never trounced around as an orphan. I never really performed it (except the occasional belting of the above tune). But like most girls, I've loved it for a very long time. I remember when my mom took me to see the Aileen Quinn movie version. 1982. Sometimes, I'll walk through a theater, and the smell of popcorn will take me back to that exciting moment. Not only was it an event to go see a movie...but this was Annie! 2 hours of little girls my age singing and dancing and happy-ending-ing! To go along with the release, there was a line of clothing. I had to have most of those outfits. One of my school pictures that year starred one of those lovely little dresses. I thought I was the coolest kid! As I grew older, I pursued my career in theatre. Of course, I took in every version of Annie I could. Yeah, that little girl inside me loved every moment. While I might have poked fun at the various versions with my more jaded theatrical buddies, my inner orphan clung to those promises of sunshine on the morrow. I must admit, that inner orphan was thrilled to see Annie revived on Broadway this year. I shared the "Hard Knock Life" excerpt with my five-year-old. She enjoyed it and asked to see it again. Thank goodness for DVR! I also caught a snippet of a PBS special behind-the-scenes program. And I believe I heard that they are making a new movie version! So a couple of days ago, I pulled out my DVD of Aileen Quinn. My five-year-old, who has the attention span of a gnat (I love her, but seriously...), was transfixed through (most of) the movie. I was quite impressed! And excited! This gives us a common bond. She's my little performer, so it makes me happy to share my love of theatre with her. Plus, now I can sing Miss Hannigan's "Little Girls" to her and make her squeal with delight, instead of just getting one of those, "Oh, Mom..." looks. I came home from work today and found her in front of the TV, watching...you guessed it. Annie. Made my heart swell. It's a little thing, yeah. But suddenly, I'm back in 1981, dreaming of red curls and tap shoes. And my sweet little girl is right there with me. "Together at last...together forever! We're tying a knot...they never can sever! I don't need sunshine now to turn my sky to blue. I don't need anything but you!" Oh, yes. I'm still a great, big theatre nerd.
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Duchess WriterAward-winning sci-fi author * Christ follower, wife, and mom * broadcast content producer. And yes, I am a real duchess. http://amzn.to/2eLTlH3 Archives
March 2023
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