Annie The Musical At The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford Review
TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW.
Reviewed by Helen Noble
The Alhambra Theatre Bradford ‘Annie the musical’.
10 – 15 July 2023.
Recommended age 5+
Running Time: 2 hrs 30 mins.
The smash- hit production of ‘Annie’ comes to Bradford for one week only direct from London’s West End. This ‘glorious revival’ (The Times) stars Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood as the tyrannical Miss Hannigan!
Set in 1930s, Annie is living a life of misery in an orphanage run by the horrible Miss Hannigan. The famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks offers to take in an orphan for the Christmas holidays and Annie is in the right place at the right time. He really bonds with Annie and promises to help find her real parents offering a large reward, The even more horrible brother of Miss Hannigan hatches a plan to get his hands on the money.
The stage set is designed with massive pieces of jigsaw which portray the pieces of Annie’s life been put together, the scenery swiftly changes between scenes, starting at the orphanage where the children are soon dragged out of their beds and put to work scrubbing and cleaning by Miss Hannigan who staggers about due to her ‘medicine’.
The Stricltys one and only Craig Revel Horwood stars as ‘Miss Hannigan’ Alex Bourne as Oliver Warbucks, Paul French as Rooster, Amelia Adams as Grace Farrell, Billie-Kay as Lily St. Regis, David Burrows as Lt. Ward/Franklin Roosevelt and Lukin Simmonds as Bert Healy.
All of the casts acting, dancing and singing is absolutely immense, especially the orphan children, they have multiple castings for them over the coming shows, as does Annie but tonight’s Annie was cast with Poppy Cunningham who at only 11 years old was outstanding in centre stage giving an excellent and very confident performance. There was also a four legged little guy called Sandy who tried to steal the show, he was very well behaved and definitely deserved a treat or two.
I did feel the music was slightly over powering the actors singing, everyone was joining in, singing along to the well known songs which included It’s The Hard-Knock Life, Easy Street, I Don’t Need Anything But You and the unforgettable Tomorrow.
A fantastic night full of fun, laughter, sorrow and happiness.
The Alhambra is a traditional theatre, the main theatre building is modern with bright lights which not only look fabulous but makes the building easy to find.
On the ground floor there is a ticket kiosk and a kiosk for purchasing soft drinks and sweets. On the first floor there is an impressive bar/cafe area, also a merchandise kiosk. The staff were welcoming and helpful.
The venue has disabled parking onsite to the left of the buildings entrance it says no entry but there is a buzzer system to allow entry.
There are plenty of carparks within a couple of minutes walking distance from the venue, Sharpe street car park is just up the hill from the Alhambra, If using any of the NCP car parks if you inform the ticket office on arrival they give you an additional parking ticket to enable a discount on your parking fee.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £24.00 to £49.50 (booking fees may apply).
Annie The Musical at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford from 10 – 15 July 2023, for more information or to book tickets visit www.bradford-theatres.co.uk or call the box office on 01274 432000. Alhambra Theatre, Morley Street, Bradford, BD7 1AJ | 01274 432000