Review: Theatre 29!'s ANNIE is Fun for All

By: Nov. 28, 2018
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Review: Theatre 29!'s ANNIE is Fun for All
Miss Hannigan (Char Childs), Lily St. Regis (Katie
Fleischman), and Rooster Hannigan (Chris Fleischman)
plan how to move up to "Easy Street" dishonestly.

With this review, Broadway World welcomes Theatre 29!, in Twentynine Palms, California, to the family of community theatre companies whose productions we regularly attend. Yes, it's a schlep from most of the Coachella Valley, but the venue is easily accessible from the Morongo Basin and the High Desert, as well the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Station. The award-winning company, which is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary, schedules an appealing combination of straight plays and musicals.

Its current production, the Broadway perennial favorite, ANNIE, presents an impressive array of adult and child cast members with comedic and vocal ability, all of whose enthusiasm is catching. Where would ANNIE be without a Warbucks and a Miss Hannigan who generate lots of laughs, a Grace Farrell with a lovely voice, and an Annie that sings her heart out, while making all the grandmothers in the audience want to give her a hug? The Theatre 29! production has all of these in the persons of Charles Harvey, Char Childs, Cindy Ross, and Carly Bateman, respectively, as well a snooty butler (Kevin Myers) whose hilarious put-downs include eye-rolling and sourpuss facial expressions.

Review: Theatre 29!'s ANNIE is Fun for All
Grace Farrell (Cindy Ross) and Oliver Warbucks's Servants

Director Katherine Ferguson explains in the program notes that she did not undertake ANNIE before this season because this is the first time that "the stars aligned" to obtain the needed "bevy of young girls who can pull off the singing and dancing requirements and have acting chops." The enthusiastic "bevy," in addition to Carly Bateman, consists of Katelyn Coleman, Jessi David, Evelyn Gonzalez, Jocelyn Gonzalez, Haylie Rodriguez, and Alyssa Sahagun. Theatre 29!'s production also features imaginative staging and set design, which take advantage of the stage's unusual L-shape, great costumes (by director Ferguson) and excellent choreography (by Lisa Annette Goldberg and Scott Clinkscales), especially in the orphans' "Hard Knock Life" number. One other performer strives to steal the show - Porkchop Jimenez, a working dog in "real life," who is so well-trained that he can stay on stage for long stretches.

Adults who are unfamiliar with ANNIE need not worry that the show is geared only to children. The clever book and lyrics contain mostly G-rated bon mots that will fly right over the heads of most kids, but that adults will find hilarious. For example, when Warbucks learns that President and Mrs. Roosevelt will be his guests, he tells his assistant to call Al Smith to ask what Democrats eat. A PG-13 joke involves separating the syllables of "hotel" while referring to Lily St. Regis.

Tickets to ANNIE would make a great holiday gift for those looking for a feel-good Christmas-themed musical that is nonetheless likely to raise a lump even in the Grinch's throat. By all means, head out to Theatre 29! and relish the feisty redhead's triumph over poverty and evil.

Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 pm through Saturday, December 15th, 2018 and Sundays at 2:30, through Sun. Dec 16, 2018. Ticket prices are $10 and $15. Tickets are available on the company's Web site, www.theatre29.org ; by telephone, at 760-361-4151; and at the box office, at 73637 Sullivan Road, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277. The email address is administration@theatre29.org.

Theatre 29!'s production schedule through 2019 (its 20th anniversary season) consists of:

FROSTY THE DOUGH MAN, an improvisational comedy (December 29, 2019)

A BAD YEAR FOR TOMATOES (January 11-27, 2019)

Rogers & Hammerstein's OKLAHOMA (March 3-31, 2019)

THE MURDER ROOM (April 26-May 12, 2019)

Tennessee Williams' THE GLASS MENAGERIE (August 9-25, 2019)

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (October 4-27, 2019)

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS (November 22-December 15, 2019)

To get to Theatre 29! from the Palm Springs area, take the I-10 to Highway 62 North, follow Highway 62 through Morongo Valley, Yucca Valley (where it becomes Twentynine Palms Highway) and Joshua Tree until you reach Adobe Road in Twentynine Palms. Take a right hand turn on Adobe Road (South) and travel a few blocks until you reach Sullivan Road, which only has a right hand turn. The Theatre building is at 73637 Sullivan Road. Parking is available in front and to the west of the building.



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