Annie is back on the stage where it started. Goodspeed Musicals opened its 50th-anniversary production at The Goodspeed in East Haddam, Connecticut, on October 30, and the run continues through December 27, 2026.
The musical, with a book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin, had its world premiere at Goodspeed in 1976 before moving on to Broadway. Fifty years on, the East Haddam company has mounted a new staging directed by Jenn Thompson, with choreography by Patricia Wilcox and music direction by Adam Souza.
Laiken Jules plays Annie, with Emily Skinner as Miss Hannigan and Christopher Swan as Oliver Warbucks. Julia Nicole Hunter is Grace Farrell, Rhett Guter is Rooster, Kelly Berman is Lily and Mark Woodard is F.D.R. Sadie Jean Williams plays Pepper and takes over as Annie at selected performances. The other orphans are Adalyn Bickley (July), Ava J. Fernandez (Kate), Issa Gonzalez (Tessie), Anjali Roa (Molly) and Skyla Joy Ward (Duffy). Sandy is played by Scotty, with Savannah as understudy.
William Berloni, who trained the original Sandy for the 1976 Goodspeed production, is the animal director. The design team is Wilson Chin (scenic), Alejo Vietti (costumes), Philip S. Rosenberg (lighting), Ashley Rae Callahan (wigs, hair and makeup) and Jay Hilton (sound).
Goodspeed marked the occasion with a short opening-night video on its Instagram account.
If the clip does not load, watch it on Instagram.
The production runs about two and a half hours, including an intermission. An open-captioned performance is scheduled for Friday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m., and a sensory-friendly performance for Sunday, December 13 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available from the Goodspeed box office at 860-873-8668.
