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Composer Strouse hopes to revive Annie musical in West End

Published Thursday 25 September 2008 at 11:10 by Matthew Hemley

Broadway composer Charles Strouse has revealed plans are afoot to revive his musical Annie in the West End.

Strouse told The Stage he is meeting with producers of a current UK touring version to discuss the possibility of bringing it to London. He is due to go to Cheltenham Everyman Theatre to see a performance of the show, produced by Chris Moreno and directed by Chris Colby, and consider whether it should make the transfer in 2009. If it does, it will be the first time Annie has been seen in the West End since 1998, when Lesley Joseph played the role of Miss Hannigan in a version at the Victoria Palace Theatre.

Strouse said: “Hopefully it will come back to the West End again. That is what I think its future will be - in London.”

Annie, composed by Strouse, with lyrics by Martin Charnin, opened at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway on April 21, 1977, and closed in 1983 after more than 2,000 performances. A film version was released in 1982 and the musical has enjoyed numerous outings in the West End and several tours. The current production stars Ruth Madoc as Miss Hannigan.

A spokesman for Josef Weinberger, the company controlling the stage rights, said: “The authors of musicals reserve the right to allow a production to be brought into town and usually will view the production before making that decision. The producers have not committed to bringing the show in, but were merely enquiring if rights would be available for a limited season in London.” He said a proposal had been made for a “limited Christmas run” in 2009, but nothing was confirmed.

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