'Annie' makes a stop at Centennial Hall

Broadway in Tucson brings the new national tour of “Annie” — along with its iconic song, “Tomorrow” — to Centennial Hall next week. This revamped production is helmed by Martin Charnin, who directed — and won a Tony for — the original 1977 production. This marks his 19th time as director of the musical.

“Annie,” based on a comic strip about an eternally-optimstic little orphan girl during the Depression, never went too far away after that ‘77 production — it often travelled on the road (Broadway in Tucson presented it in 2005), was made into a movie a few times, got countless school productions, and a revival hit Broadway in 2012. That James Lapine-directed production played for a little more than a year, but was a critical and financial flop. The producers decided against putting it on the road, and not long after that Charnin announced he would be directing the non-Equity road show that stops in Tucson.

We spoke to Charnin from his New York home about how this production is different from the others.

Why do you think the 2012 Broadway version of ‘Annie’ failed?

“I don’t mind when other directors or theater companies take it or have a different take on material. But when that take is at the expense of what the root of the original is, then I get very upset. The Broadway version was professional but misguided; it attempted to turn ‘Annie’ into something that it really isn’t. What was lost in my opinion was the heart and the spunk and the humor, and when those things go, another kind of energy takes over and it begins to disappoint the audience. ”

What is it about this production that works?

“... I’m directing it, which is one of the reasons that I think this one is working. Not I think, I know. What I’ve done is restored or resurrected. My job is theatrical triage, I’m restoring it to its original approach. I’m bringing it back. I’m not duplicating what I did 38 years ago. Every time you do a show, you learn something from it. This one has a totally new set, new orchestrations, but never at the expense of what the material was originally about. So I don’t think it will disappoint.”

You’ve directed Annie 19 times. How do you keep it fresh?

“It’s like reading a book. You find something different on page two that you didn’t realize was there before. As the world changes, it takes on a different kind of relevance. When you put a brand new bunch of actors on stage, you’re going to find that they relate to one another differently. Their tone is different.... You’re constantly looking for those things.”

What do you think is the musical’s enduring quality?

“Annie is a perfect kind of show to introduce young people to the theater world. It has a wonderful story about spunk and optimism and positive issues. About family and love — really healthy things. It’s not cynical. In the last four to five years, we’ve gotten to be a very terribly bullying, cynical country. You need someone to pat you on the back and to show you that there’s a better way to say ‘hello,’ pay a compliment and say ‘goodnight.’ And ‘Annie’ fills those ...little places in societal living.”