Th inspiration for \'Annie - A New Musical\' came about quite by chance in a New York bookshop in 1971. As Martin Charnin, a Broadway lyricist, was browsing the sheleves, a comic book strip: "Little Orphan Annie, her life and times" caught his eye. His imagination was fired and he put the idea for a Musical to his friend Thomas Meehan. A writer for the New Yorker and other magazines, Meehan was initally unimpressed but soon warmed to the senario Charnin had in mind - a piece set in New York City during the great '30s deoression but reflecting contemporary concerns. To understand the background we must remember that at that time Nixon was in the White House, the Vietnam War show little sign of resolution, there was a major economic downturn and with it an all pervading sense of doubt and despondency. Here was the ideal climate for a Musical in which innocence, faith and hope were victors over cynicism, distrust and pressimism using Little Orphan Annie's indomitable optimism as a beacon of hope for present hard times. There's an interesting twist to this tale. Ur tiij icer 5 years for 'Annie' to come to fruition so that by the time it opened for it's record breaking run at the Alvin Theatre in New York April 21st 1977, Watergate had done for Nixon, the Vietnam war was over and America's economy was taking off for what we now know became its greatest boom ever. Just shows you that "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow"!
Written By: Thomas Meehan
Music and Lyrics: Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin
