ANNIE and Pedrigree Raise Over $1 Million to Help Dogs Find Homes

In a dual effort to raise awareness for dog adoption and help more dogs find loving homes, ANNIE teamed up with PEDIGREE Brand for the "See the Show, Help a Dog" initiative. At the heart of the partnership is the PEDIGREE Brand belief that every dog deserves a loving home. It's a sentiment shared with ANNIE and Broadway - an organization that has cast shelter dogs in starring roles for decades.

That's why together, PEDIGREE and ANNIE worked to create awareness for the importance of dog adoption and their shared commitment to helping dogs with a $1,000,000 donation to PEDIGREE Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping dogs find loving homes. This month, we will celebrate our partnership and commitment to the cause with a check presentation to PEDIGREE Foundation after the matinee performance on November 20.

Since its 1977 debut, ANNIE has starred a real-life shelter dog as Annie's adopted and loyal companion, Sandy. Most recently animal trainer and Tony Award Winner Bill Berloni conducted a nationwide search for a real-life shelter dog to play the role of Sandy, and discovered Sunny, who was plucked from a Houston shelter to train for the big role.

ANNIE, the critically acclaimed new production of the Tony Award-winning musical, is now in its final weeks on Broadway, and will play its final performance on Sunday, January 5, 2014.

ANNIE features a book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin, with all three authors receiving 1977 Tony Awards for their work. ANNIE is directed by Pulitzer Prize and three-time Tony Award-winner James Lapine and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Andy Blankenbuehler.

The production will launch a US Tour in the 2014-2015 season.

ANNIE stars Tony Award-winner Faith Prince as Miss Hannigan, Anthony Warlow as Daddy Warbucks, and 12-year-old Taylor Richardson as Annie. The cast also includes Brynn O'Malley as Grace Farrell, Clarke Thorell as Rooster Hannigan, and Kirsten Wyatt as Lily St. Regis. The Orphans are Amaya Braganza as July, Gaby Bradbury as Pepper, Tyrah Skye Odoms as Tessie, Emily Rosenfeld as Molly, Brooklyn Shuck as Kate, Sadie Sink as Duffy and Skye Alyssa Friedman as standby for the roles of Annie, Duffy, Pepper, July and Tessie. The production also features Jane Blass, Mary Callanan, Jeremy Davis, Tessa Grady, Justin Greer, Joel Hatch, Danette Holden, Fred Inkley, Gavin Lodge, Alexandra Matteo, Shina Ann Morris, Justin Patterson, David Rossetti, Sarah Solie, Sam Strasfeld and Ryan VanDenBoom.

TONY and EMMY Award nominee Ron Raines will join the cast as Daddy Warbucks on Tuesday, December 10. Australian superstar Anthony Warlow will play his final performance as Daddy Warbucks on Sunday, December 8.

Anthony Warlow is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance with this production.

The original production of ANNIE opened April 21, 1977 at the Alvin Theatre and went on to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, seven Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical, the Grammy for Best Cast Show Album and seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book (Thomas Meehan) and Best Score (Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin). The show was one of the biggest Broadway musical hits of the 1970s, running for almost six years and playing 2,377 performances.

The score for ANNIE includes "Maybe," "It's the Hard Knock Life," "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile," "Easy Street," "I Don't Need Anything But You" and the eternal anthem of optimism, "Tomorrow".

The creative team includes scenic design by Drama Desk Award-winner David Korins, costume design by Tony Award-winner Susan Hilferty, lighting design by two-time Tony Award-winner Donald Holder and sound design by Tony Award-winner Brian Ronan. Projection design is by Wendall K. Harrington. Music director is Todd Ellison. Orchestrations are by Michael Starobin. Dance music arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire. Musical coordinator is Patrick Vaccariello. Hair and wig design is by Tom Watson. Casting is by Telsey + Company. Animal training is by William Berloni.

The digital recording of the New 2012 Broadway Cast Recording for ANNIE is available for download at iTunes, Amazon.com, and other digital websites, and can be purchased at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway at 47th Street) and national retail outlets. The New 2012 Broadway Cast Recording for ANNIE is produced by Shout! Broadway comprised of 12-time Grammy Award winner Thomas Z. Shepard, Douglas Denoff and Dennis J. Grimaldi.

Performances are Tuesday at 6:30 PM, Wednesday at 2:00 PM, Thursday at 6:30 PM, Friday at 8:00 PM, Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00 PM, Sunday at 1:00 and 6:30 PM.

ANNIE is produced on Broadway by Arielle Tepper Madover, Roger Horchow, Sally Horchow, Roger Berlind, Roy Furman, Debbie Bisno, Stacey Mindich, James M. Nederlander, Jane Bergère/Daryl Roth and Eva Price/Christina Papagjika.