`Annie' perfect distraction

In these uncertain times, Annie, the current production at Toby's Dinner Theatre, is a perfect distraction. Set in 1933, the lowest point of the Great Depression, it deals with themes that are with us today: insecurity, hard economic times and unemployment. But it tells an upbeat story that leaves the audience in a buoyant mood.

The action begins in an orphanage where a band of little girls is ruled over by the mean Miss Hannigan. The girls' leading spirit is Annie, a bundle of energy and optimism.

Annie runs away, meets a stray dog that she names Sandy and falls in with a colony of homeless people. She is quickly found by a policeman and taken back to the orphanage.

But suddenly things look up: Miss Farrell, private secretary to billionaire Oliver Warbucks, comes to choose an orphan to spend the Christmas holidays in his Fifth Avenue mansion. Annie manages to be chosen.

Warbucks has been urging the newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt to do something about the economy. Now, growing fond of Annie, he approaches FDR again, asking him to assign the FBI to the job of finding Annie's parents. He announces that he will present the parents with $50,000.

Miss Hannigan's crooked brother and his moll get wind of this and pose as the parents, and for a while it looks as if they will succeed. But the show ends happily in a big Christmas party at the Warbucks mansion, with FDR as the guest of honor.

If you're old enough to have read the comic strip "Little Orphan Annie," you should probably forget about it when you go to see Annie. The strip, which was begun in 1924 by Harold Gray and ran until his death in 1968 (and later, written and drawn by others), depicted life as a continuous struggle in which happy endings were rare and temporary. Annie and Daddy Warbucks were as tough as leather - individualists who admired strength and asked favors of no one.

Obviously this is no basis for a sentimental musical, so in the show Warbucks and Annie have become stock Hollywood characters: the brusque executive, too busy making money to feel for the people around him, and the cute little moppet who brings out the warm heart that beats beneath the businessman's hard exterior.

In the comic strip, Warbucks was a profiteer who made his fortune during World War I (hence his name). As a spokesman for the cartoonist's conservative political views, he complained about government interference in business. In the musical, though, Warbucks urges FDR to rescue the economy, and the result, Roosevelt's New Deal program, is praised in a musical number that closes the show. For some of us, this irony adds to the fun.

In the cast, David Reynolds is an imposing Oliver Warbucks. Lynne Sigler takes the edge off Miss Hannigan's cruelty by playing the role for broad comedy. As the crooked couple, David James and Carla Della Torre are effective, as are AK Brink as Miss Farrell and Robert Biedermann as FDR. Richard Evans does a nice job as a radio star in an amusing parody of 1930s broadcasting. Sandy is portrayed by a gentlemanly Labrador called Mojo.

The children's roles are double cast. On the night we attended, Samantha Glass gave a confident performance as Annie. The other orphans provided the high point of the show, a bouncy production number sung and danced to "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile." The elaborate, grown-up choreography was charmingly performed by Sarah Branzelle, Katelyn Glass, Jennifer Gold, Elizabeth Haaser, Kassidy Sharpe and Corinne Ung.

The direction by Toby Orenstein and the choreography by Ilona Kessell maintain Toby's usual high standards, and Larry Munsey's costume designs, especially the women's, deserve praise for their convincing 1930s look.

Toby's Dinner Theatre, 5900 Symphony Woods Road, Columbia, presents "Annie" on selected dates through Feb. 13. Evenings: Doors open at 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday. Matinees: Doors open at 10:30 a.m. Sunday and Wednesday. Reservations are required. Information or reservations: 410-995-1969 or 800-888 -6297.