Photo: Paul Gilmore/NBC
The sun will come out Dec. 2!
Annie Live!and its star-studded cast are just days away from their NBC debut, and you can bet your bottom dollar that it will be a show-stopping production.
NBC is taking the beloved Broadway classic to television for a live adaptation of the monster hit musical, as the network continues in its holiday tradition of bringing Broadway favorites from the stage to the screen.
Paul Gilmore/NBC
“When we decided to bring back NBC’s holiday musical tradition, we were looking for something that was critically acclaimed and universally beloved – and while that’s definitely the case withAnnie, it absolutely applies to Taraji as well,” said Susan Rovner, Chairman of Entertainment Content at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming.
After a nationwide search,Celina Smith has been cast as the show’s titular character. The 12-year-old talent will get to singAnnie’s show-stopping “Tomorrow,” among other hits such as “Maybe” and “It’s a Hard Knock Life.”
“It’s just so amazing being able to perform with such an iconic cast, and I’m just so excited for this journey to start,” Smith toldToday. She even wowed audiences with apreview performanceduring this year’sMacy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
NBC kicked off the recent trend of bringing musicals live to air withThe Sound of Music Live!starringCarrie Underwoodin 2013. Annie Live!is the network’s most recent foray into staging musicals live during primetime (other recent NBC stagings includedHairspray,The WizandJesus Christ Superstar).
Anniethe Broadway musical (2012).Andrew H. Walker/Getty
Read on for all theAnnie Live!details: How to watch, who’s in the cast, and everything in between.
When willAnnie Live!air?
Annie Live!will premiere on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 8/7c on NBC.
NBC
Who’s in theAnnie Live!cast?
In addition toSmith as Annieand Henson as Miss Hannigan, the rest of the cast is filled with familiar faces. Six-time, Emmy-nominated actorTituss Burgesswill play Rooster Hannigan, Miss Hannigan’s brother who helps her scheme to get the reward money.
Harry Connick Jr.is cast as Daddy Warbucks,Nicole Scherzingeras Grace Farrell, andMegan Hiltyas Lily St. Regis.
Connicktold PEOPLEin June, “It’s such a classic show and it’s a show that I’m so familiar with, just from seeing it a million times … It’s one of those things where you watch it and enjoy it and never really imagine yourself a part of it, so when I was asked to play Daddy Warbucks it was kind of surreal because that’s such an iconic role.”
NBC also announced that Alan Toy has been cast as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who, like Toy, contracted polio which resulted in paralysis. Toy isthe first polio survivor to play the character, and he described the role as “a huge honor.”
How was the Annie actress discovered?
NBC put out an open casting call for “a young future star” to fill Annie’s Mary Janes. Some of the requirements that were listed onCast It Talentincluded “a heart of gold … an excellent voice with a strong high belt, great comedic timing and excellent dance skills.”
Smith, who’s cast as Annie, described the long-audition process as a task that started with a self-tape and ended with one exciting call. The actress, who started singing at age seven, has held roles on Nickelodeon’sYoung Dylanand previously toured withThe Lion Kingplaying Young Nala.
Has COVID affectedAnnie Live!production?
Tony award-winning actressJane Krakowskiwas originally set to play Lily St. Regis,but has pulled outafter contracting a breakthrough coronavirus case while filming a project in Europe despite being double vaccinated. Hilty will replace her role.
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“She’ll be cheering Megan [Hilty] and the cast on from the sidelines,“a source tells PEOPLE.
Unrelated to COVID,Andrea McArdle also announced her withdrawalfrom the production due to a family emergency. Best known for originating the Broadway role of Annie in 1977, she was set to play Eleanor Roosevelt in the live adaptation.
When didAnnie Live!rehearsals begin?
Rehearsals began on Oct. 18, when members of the cast and director Neil Meron posted onInstagrama photo of theirAnnie Live!binder writing “Day 1 … And there will be lots of #Tomorrows.”
Annie Live!marks the sixth live musical to air on NBC since 2013’sThe Sound of Music Live!.The network has previously aired 2014’sPeter Pan Live!, 2015’sThe Wiz Live!,2016’s Hairspray Live! and 2018’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.
source: people.com
