Jesus keep me near the cross contemporary version
JESUS KEEP ME NEAR THE CROSS CONTEMPORARY VERSION PROFESSIONAL
"The kids who turned us off were precocious kids, super professional kids. "The kids had to be super real, not show business types," he says. After the writer effuses that the cast looks like "a cross‐section of the white ethnic population living in New York City in 1933, the year the show takes place," she quotes the production's director Martin Charnin. The New York Times' coverage of "Annie"'s 1977 Broadway debut lamely explains why that is. That's significant, because for many years the same circumstances always culminated in a white lead. Scratch that: It's not a risk to anyone who doesn't have a death clutch on "tradition."Īt 12 years old, Smith is the second Black actor to play Annie, and the first to win the role in a nationwide casting search. The only risk one could possibly perceive in NBC's production would be in the casting of Celina Smith as Annie – and based on her press appearances and snippets of her singing voice that's not a risk at all. Thanks to the 1982 film's soundtrack a healthy slice of Generation X memorized Martin Charnin's lyrics for "Tomorrow" and "Maybe."Īnd while the story is set during the Great Depression, the fantasy it spins is timeless. Melodically and lyrically, Charles Strouse composed its bouncy score to be a catchy and universally appealing. There's a chance this live production will draw viewers inspired to reconnect to musical theater in the wake of Stephen Sondheim's death, although "Annie" is decidedly not a Sondheim work. The showstopper "It's the Hard Knock Life" has bounded through commercials, sitcoms and was sampled in a hit by Jay-Z. Its rags-to-riches plot about an adorable, eternally optimistic orphan who melts the frozen heart of a billionaire while outwitting her orphanage's scheming, resentful matron marries the Cinderella tale with the ethos of American striving. Related: What a friend we have in Black Jesus: "Jesus Christ Superstar Live" Out of all the productions executive producers Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron could have chosen to return Broadway to primetime, "Annie" may be the safest.įamily-friendly and kid-centered, "Annie" hooks into an inter-generational nostalgia and enjoyed hundreds of productions in community theaters and schools across the country each year prior to the pandemic. Even that presumes a shared sentimentality, like the annual broadcasts of classic animated specials and movies like " It's a Wonderful Life."Įnter "Annie Live!" NBC's first live musical broadcast since 2018's " Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert," starring John Legend as Mr.
Much of this is as benign as a cookie recipe that you only dig out in December. Traditionally, and for better or worse, this time of year reinvigorates our devotion to, um, tradition.