In 1977, a spunky red headed orphan took Broadway by storm. Thirty years, multiple broadway, community theatre, and school productions, and two film versions later, Annie remains one of the most loved musicals of all time. The tour comes to Calgary February 16th – 22nd and Edmonton March 10th – 15th.
We caught up with gay cast member Ricky Pope, on the tour bus en route to Eugene, Oregon. The Texas native laughed when I questioned the sanity of touring in the dead of winter.
“Touring is not glamorous at all. We are on the bus most mornings around 8 or 9 on the way to another city. Our winter hasn’t been too bad because we have been working our way up the coast of California. It has been really beautiful so far. I am excited about coming to Alberta! I like places that are colder anyways, so we will see if I like it that cold. I am originally from Texas so it is going to be a little bit of weather shock.”
Pope plays multiple characters in the show, and mentioned the special precautions that actors need to take to protect themselves in cold, dryer climates like the western prairies.
“I stay in(side) as much as I can. I am fortunate that I seem to have steel vocal cords so I don’t seem to lose my voice a lot,” he said. “I play Drake, who is Daddy Warbuck’s butler. Very British and efficient. I also play Burt Healy who is the radio host of the hour of smiles program. He is very much in love with himself. I also play a few other smaller roles. I love playing all sorts of things. It is a whole range of emotions I get to play over the evening and that is a nice thing as an actor.”
This is Pope’s second tour with Annie, and he couldn’t wait to come back.
“I like it because it is very different from other touring experiences. We have children and dogs in the cast, and their chaperones. It is a really broad rage of ages so it is more like touring with your family. These dogs are really good. They are really well trained. Humans do strange things more than the dogs.”
While a lot of newer musicals are struggling, whether touring or on Broadway, there is something about Annie that endures. The story of the little orphan whose sun will come out tomorrow is one that resonates in today’s world.
“By this day and age it is an institution. People have grown up with Annie and are now bringing their children to see it and have the same sort of experience. I think that is what people respond to in our show, it is an old school musical in the Rogers and Hammerstein style, and I think people respond to that. In some ways it is even more pertinent today than it was when it opened in 1977. Certainly with the economic crisis in the States right now, it resonates with the same situation there was in the 1930’s. People are losing their jobs and are uncertain of what is around the corner. This wonderful, optimistic little girl is a symbol of hope.“
One message that wasn’t likely intended in the original, but now certainly rings true within the concept of the show, is the redefinition of family. As gay couples in the States continue to fight for the rights to marry, adopt or raise their own children, Annie’s message is certainly familiar.
“The whole thing is really about the making of a non-traditional family. Annie doesn’t end up with the parents she thought she would end up with. I don’t think anything is more pertinent today, certainly to my own community, than talking about non-traditional families. Oliver Warbucks is a single parent who takes on this girl who has transformed his life, and that is very relatable to the gay community. It is a very wonderful production.”
