Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Greetings Infomaniacs,

'Annie', based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, is one of the longest running and most successful musicals in Broadway history. It won seven Tony awards, including Best Musical and Best Actress.

Enjoy!

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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "Music is the universal language of mankind."

HINT: (1807 - 1882), was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline.

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RANDOM TIDBITS
At the time, Annie was the most expensive musical ever made. Different sources record the actual cost of Annie differently, but most agree it was around $40 million to make; a large part of that ($9.5 million) went into buying the rights to the popular 1977 Broadway play the film was based on.

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Albert Finney wasn't the first choice to play Warbucks. There were many actors ahead of him in the line-up. Finney had Hollywood experience, but the stage was more his realm. Reportedly, Sean Connery was approached, but didn't want to appear bald.

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The first incarnation of the show-stopping "Easy Street" was literally performed in a street, with the three enthralling villains of the film, Hannigan, Rooster, and St. Clair, displaying their joyous greed against a backdrop of dozens of dancing street vendors.

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Annie attracted Tim Curry because musicals were some of the only movies he was allowed to watch growing up. He was the son of a Royal Navy Chaplain and a school secretary. He described his childhood as "strict," and that fact might have had an effect on his career choices.

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Ten-year-old Aileen Quinn was awarded the Razzie for Worst Actress in a lead role, but took home a Best Young Artist Award, too. She also received a Golden Globe nomination.

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Annie's climactic scene was partly shot on the Passaic River's NX railroad drawbridge, which took place in the dead of night. New Jersey's child labor laws prohibited children employed in making films from working after 11:30 p.m. and before 7 a.m. More night hours would be needed to complete the shoot, and the state government was accommodating, with Governor Brendan Byrne helicoptering to the set to sign a bill amending the law.




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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "Music is the universal language of mankind."

ANSWER: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.