Oh My God, We Get a New Star-to-Be

The 1977 musical Annie is coming back to Broadway and real theater-heads and Annie freaks know what that means: A new “Star-to-Be.” That character sings the best part in the best song in the show, “N.Y.C.” She doesn’t appear anywhere else, but for about one minute the entire production stops while an unknown ingénue with a healthy mix belts her face off. Doubt the importance? Check out pre-fame Sutton Foster playing the role in the 1997 Broadway revival. That girl is clearly a star (to be), and, within five years, she won her first Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, for a very Star-to-Be-esque role in Thoroughly Modern Millie. And the original actress in the part was future Tony nominee Laurie Beechman. Clearly, casting this role is of the utmost importance to the future of Broadway.

Luckily, the production is in the hands of a man we can reliably predict will understand the impact of this role. Sam Pinkleton, who won a Tony for Oh, Mary!, will direct the revival. Though the smuttier gay aspects of Pinkleton’s work on, say, Rocky Horror or Ta-da! may seem at odds with the sunny Annie, he seems earnestly thrilled. “If you ask any of my closest friends what I love more than anything on the planet, everyone will have the same answer: Annie,” Pinkleton said in a statement. “Annie is everything I love about New York City: gutsy, fearless, and funny as hell. It’s a perfectly constructed musical comedy that my collaborators and I will run toward with joy and abandon – with open hearts and total adoration for this legendary show that has made generations fall in love with musicals.” The production is being put on to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary, so that love for the original will be the name of the game. Annie will premiere on Broadway in Fall 2027. Get your orange wigs and red dresses out: We’re going to N.Y.C.