March 29, 2011
Annie
From the moment the show began promptly at 2:30pm till the final bows, I was captivated by everyone's spectacular performance. All of the lighting was excellent and obviously very well planned, the slideshow at the beginning was a good example of this. The scenery (not to mention the scene changes) was very suitable. I especially admired the backdrop as it fitted in with every one of the fourteen scenes. The sound was clear and audible so the audience could follow the story completely without any trouble at all. How could I forget the band? Margaret Johnson (also the musical director) led this unbeatable team who provided the magnificent music. The costumes were wonderful! Many people contributed to the props and clothing and I'm very glad they did - everybody looked brilliant in full dress.
There were two real stars of the show, Annie (played by Lizzie Rowe) and Sandy (played by Sharon Korek's dog Lily). Unfortunately I wasn't able to see Georgie Cole performing as Annie and Dick and Bette Woodward's dog Eddie play Sandy but I'm sure that both did very well on the nights they were performing. Lizzie and Lily brought a real sparkle to the well known musical and threw everything into the production.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the show. All of the children acted superbly, as did all of the adults. Finally I would like to applaud the backstage crew for organising and running the performance. I hope that next year Pirton Players will set up another production, if they do, I'll be first in the queue for tickets. [Review by: Sarah Kenway (aged 11)]
I would like to add to Sarah’s review, beautifully written by probably our youngest contributor yet. I was fortunate enough to go to the first night of ‘Annie’ as a member of the audience – an unusual, but most enjoyable, experience for me. Georgie was a delight as ‘Annie’ and, just like Lizzie, commanded our attention whenever she was on stage, with or without her perfect ‘co-star’ Sandy. Her rendition of the songs was beautiful, and sung with such feeling. Well done to both girls and everyone else in the cast and crew too. We cannot complete this critique without mentioning our Directors, Julie and Janet, Julie for bringing this production to the table in the first place and for directing her first show, and Janet for lending her invaluable experience as a director to ensure the quality of the production was of the same standard that our audiences expect and have become used to seeing. Who ever said ‘never act with children or animals’? It was a walk in the park for Pirton Players! Well done all! [Additional Review by: Lorna Sexton]
Director - Janet Tackley
Musical Director - Margaret Johnson
Producer - Lucinda Rowe
Cast
Amy - Sadie Easterbrook
Annie - Lizzie Rowe
Annie - Georgie Cole
Apple Seller - Dave Tinney
Bert Healy - Mark Savage
Boylan Sister - Alison Cotterill
Boylan Sister - Stella Turner
Boylan Sister - Valmai Guess
Bundles - Mark Sadler
Cecille - Yvonne Taylor
Chauffeur - John Hayes
Child in NYC - Rebecca Turner
Child in NYC - Annie McConnellogue
Child in NYC - Jade Scovell
Child in NYC - Maisie Slade
Chorus - Alison Banks
Chorus - Gena Edwards
Chorus - Valmai Guess
Chorus - Alison Cotterill
Chorus - Jill Rogers
Chorus - John Hayes
Chorus - Mark Savage
Chorus - Marta Szreniawska
Chorus - Mark Sadler
Chorus - Yvonne Taylor
Chorus - Viv Tyler
Chorus - Stella Turner
Chorus - Antonietta Tinney
Dog Catcher - John Hayes
Dog Catcher - Marta Szreniawska
Drake - Mark Savage
Duffy - Sophie Carroll
Front of House Musician - Dave Eppy
Front of House Musician - Dave Stacey
Grace Farrell - Justine McCreith
Hooverville Inhabitant - Jacob Wood
Hooverville Inhabitant - Max Cooper
Hooverville Inhabitant - Emily Simmons
Hooverville Inhabitant - Patrick Welch
Howe - Daniel Eccles
Hull - Dave Tinney
Ickes - Peter Johnson
Johnson - John Hayes
Judge Brandeis - Dave Tinney
July - Victoria Turner
Kaltenborn - John Hayes
Kate - Ellie Tonge
Lily St Regis - Amanda Vines
McCracken - Mark Sadler
Miss Hannigan - Alison Gibbs
Molly - Kaia Sweatman
Morganthau - Mark Sadler
Mrs Greer - Viv Tyler
Mrs Pugh - Gena Edwards
Nanny - Antonietta Tinney
Nell - Nell Simmonds
Officer Ward - Daniel Eccles
Oliver Warbucks - Michael Tackley
Pepper - Issy Cooper
Perkins - Jill Rogers
Roosevelt - Tom Gammell
Rooster - Richard Easterbrook
Sandy - Lily
Sandy - Ed the Dog
Sophie - Sophie Davies
Sound Effects Man - Dave Tinney
Star To Be - Jill Rogers
Statue of Liberty - Ross Innes
Statue of Liberty - Thomas Rowe
Tessie - Olivia Abbiss
Usherette - Stella Turner
Crew
Band - Lucinda Rowe
Band - Howard Etherington
Band - Ron Snape
Bar - Malcolm Brodie
Chaperone - Richard Welch
Chaperone - Anton Jungreuthmayer
Chaperone - Emma Carroll
Chaperone - Phill Brown
Chaperone - Zoe Hammond
Chaperone - Nicola Stammers
Chaperone - Jan Simmons
Chaperone - Vanessa Cole
Chaperone - Susie Welch
Chaperone - Fizz Gibbs
Chaperone - Gilly Simmonds
Chaperone - Fran Manning
Chaperone - Ann Fausset
Choreographer - Amanda Vines
Choreographer - Mark Savage
Choreographer - Stevie Gibbs
Choreographer - Julie Dawson
Costumes - Stella Turner
Costumes - Amanda Vines
Costumes - Nikki Clark
Costumes - Valmai Guess
Director - Julie Dawson
Director - Janet Tackley
Dog Handler - Dave Woodward
Dog Handler - Sharon Korek
Dresser - Jackie Cowan
Front of House - Carol Brown
Front of House - Lesley Donovan
Front of House - Paul Turner
Front of House - Eleanor Dawson
Front of House - Derek Jarrett
Front of House - Val Bryant
Front of House - Janet Quinn
Front of House - Julie Dawson
Front of House Manager - Peter Donovan
Hair - Fran Manning
Lighting - Debbie Bassnett
Lighting - Peter Johnson
Make-up - Fran Manning
Musical Director - Margaret Johnson
Producer - Lucinda Rowe
Programme Design - Sarah Oliver
Programme Notes - Janet Tackley
Prompt - Loretta Concannon
Props - Anton Jungreuthmayer
Props - Peter Cole
Props - Vanessa Cole
Props - Lucinda Rowe
Props - Valmai Guess
Props - Raymond Webb
Props - Margaret Webb
Props - Georgina Flack
Publicity - Peter Donovan
Rehearsal Pianist - Sue Trost
Set Construction - Dudley Gentle
Set Construction - Chris Carrell
Set Construction - Trevor Clark
Set Construction - Neville Rowe
Set Design - Janet Tackley
Set Painting - Beth Harding
Sound - Mark Sadler
Sound - Carol-Anne McConnellogue
Sound - Peter Johnson
Stage Crew - Paul Kerswill
Stage Crew - James Vaughan
Stage Crew - Neil Tonge
Stage Crew - Graham Gibbs
Stage Crew - Lara Wood
Stage Crew - Becca Tonge
Stage Crew - Danny Simmonds
Stage Crew - Gina Railton
Stage Crew - Chris Carrell
Stage Manager - Georgina Flack
Technical - Nicola Stammers
