By Galen Simmons

What more could one ask for in a musical than a group of talented kids, a stellar cast to back them up and a very well-trained dog? (He’s a good boy! Yes, he is!)

With all these elements and so much more, director-choreographer Donna Feore has everything she needs for yet another smash hit with her 2025 production of Annie.

The musical starts on its strongest note as it transitions from Annie’s (Harper Rae Asch) heartfelt performance of “Maybe” – setting the stage for the iconic, redheaded orphan’s search for her parents – to the gravity defying performance of “Hard Knock Life” by all 11 child actors in the cast.

Let me just take a moment to express how blown away I was by that song alone. It was choreographed perfectly, complete with jumps and rolls and prop tosses and beds on wheels, while the timing of each of the young actors was impeccable. Beyond being stunned by the sheer talent on stage during that number, I had two thoughts. How much time and patience did it take to teach these kids to perform this number; and, if I were to try some of those onstage stunts, especially those involving the beds, the crew would probably need to roll me offstage on one of those beds afterward because I would not be able to stand up again.

An uproarious standing ovation was really the least the audience could offer after a number like that one.

Beyond the extraordinary talent of the young actors – and Clue the foxhound-poodle cross, who played Sandy – this production hit all the right notes I was hoping for, having only just watched the 1982 film based on the musical for the first time a few weeks prior to seeing it.

While a few plot points differ slightly – mostly due to the logistics of producing it for the stage instead of film – I found the chemistry onstage between Annie, Oliver Warbucks (Dan Chameroy) and Grace Farrell (Jennifer Rider-Shaw) made this production more enjoyable and emotionally rewarding in the end.

Laura Condlln as Miss Hannigan is another brilliant casting choice as she once again shows her penchant for physical comedy in this production. Her haphazard disregard for Annie and the other orphans, and her drunken drive to partner with her brother, Rooster Hannigan (Mark Uhre), and his girlfriend, Lily St. Regis (Amanda Lundgren), to dupe Warbucks out of his money and Annie out of her new family gives the audience a detestable villain to root against.

There is so much good in this production, from the ensemble to the set design to the choreography and, of course, the orchestra, it’s hard to do justice to this wonderful production in just 500 words.

If you’re anything like me and you see this musical, you’ll be humming “Tomorrow” and “Hard Knock Life” for days if not weeks. Personally, I’m on my second week for both.

Annie runs at the Festival Theatre until Nov. 2.