Tomorrow, tomorrow... or, to be more exact, six weeks from now, Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood will reprise his cross-dressing performance as Miss Hannigan in the West End production of ANNIE, taking over from Miranda Hart. Can you spot the difference?!
Producers of the West End production of Annie have announced that, for ten weeks from 18 September to 26 November 2017, Craig Revel Horwood will join the West End company to play the role of Miss Hannigan. Horwood takes over from Miranda Hart, who finishes on 17 September 2017.
Also announced today, Nikolai Foster’s production will extend booking at the Piccadilly Theatre to 18 February 2018.
Best known on television as a judge on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, Craig Revel Horwood received great critical acclaim in Foster’s production of Annie that toured the UK in 2015. Previously in the West End he has performed the role of Munkustrap in Cats, was Dance Captain in Miss Saigon and played the role of Harry in Crazy for You. His production of Son of a Preacher Man will open in Bromley in September before embarking on an extensive UK tour. During his ten-week run, because of his Strictly Come Dancing commitments, Revel Horwood will not play the role of Miss Hannigan on Saturdays.
Craig Revel Horwood said:
“I am so pleased to be returning to the West End, especially to a role I had such a brilliant time performing on tour. Miss Hannigan is evil, sassy and fab-u-lous. It will be a real challenge for me not to take her man-hungry, wicked ways to the Strictly judging panel each Saturday night – though I am sure my fellow judges will keep me in check! I can’t wait to get started.”
In Annie, set in 1930s New York during the Great Depression, brave young Annie is forced to live a life of misery and torment at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. Her luck changes when she is chosen to spend Christmas at the residence of famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks. Meanwhile, spiteful Miss Hannigan has other ideas and hatches a plan to spoil Annie’s search for her true family…
Nikolai Foster’s production arrived in the West End 40 years after the original Broadway production opened in 1977 and received seven Tony awards including the Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. The last West End production of Annie opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in 1998. In 1982, Annie was adapted for the big screen directed by John Huston with a cast including Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters and Albert Finney and in 2014 a further feature film was released, directed by Will Gluck, with a cast including Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx. The much-loved score includes the classics It’s A Hard Knock Life, Tomorrow and Easy Street.
