TV: Meet ANNIE's Andrea McArdle as Miss Hannigan

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BroadwayWorld TV's west coast correspondents Dean Butler and Michael Sterling spent an afternoon with Andrea McArdle and the cast of Musical Theatre West's production of ANNIE at the beautiful 1070-seat Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. ANNIE, opened October 30th and continues through November 14th. Musical Theatre West Artistic Director/Producer Steven Glaudini directs with musical direction by Daniel Thomas and choreography by Roger Castellano.

Andrea McArdle first captured the hearts of theatergoers everywhere in 1977 when she originated the title role in the mega-musical ANNIE, based on the popular Harold Gray comic strip "Little Orphan Annie". As Annie, Andrea became the youngest performer ever to be nominated for a Tony Award as Best Lead Actress in a Musical. She also received the Theater World and Outer Critics' Circle Awards for her performance and went on to star when the show was produced on London's West End. (Fun fact: Catherine Zeta-Jones played young orphan Molly in this production).

Since then, she has starred in several Broadway musicals and appeared in theatres in New York, nationally and internationally. She has performed in concert halls from Carnegie Hall to the Hong Kong Philharmonic and casino hotels in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City. She has honed her craft by working with some of the great legends of the entertainment industry such as Ethel Merman, Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Bob Hope, Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Steve Martin and Martin Short, to name a few, and was privileged to have appeared on television with Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin and Dinah Shore.

On Broadway, Andrea starred in the Jerry Herman musical JERRY's GIRLS alongside Carol Channing and Leslie Uggams; she portrayed the sassy Smoking Car, Ashley, in Andrew Lloyd Webber's STARLIGHT EXPRESSS; and starred as Margy Frake in STATE FAIR; as Fantine in LES MISERABLES and, most recently as Belle in Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. She toured nationally starring as Sally Bowles in CABARET and as Eponine in LES MISERABLES.

Returning to her roots, Andrea recently starred as Miss Hannigan in ANNIE at the North Carolina Theatre. Other theatre appearances include starring as Esther, the Judy Garland role, in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS; Sonia in THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG; Luisa in THE FANTASTICKS; Eva Peron in EVITA; Nancy in OLIVER; the Narrator in JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT; Annie Oakley in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, Sandy in GREASE and as Mama Rose in GYPSY.
In addition to ANNIE, Andrea's film and television credits include starring as Judy Garland in RAINBOW, appearing in THE LEADING LADIES OF BROADWAY on PBS, ALL MY CHILDREN on ABC and headlining her own PBS special Andrea McArdle ON BROADWAY.

ANNIE tickets may be purchased online at www.musical.org or by phone at 562-856-1999 x4. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Musical Theatre West Box Office located at 4350 E. 7th Street, Long Beach, CA 90804 from noon to 6PM Monday through Friday.

ANNIE is written by Tony Award-winners, Thomas Meehan (Book), Charles Strouse (Music) and Martin Charnin (Lyrics).

The performance schedule for ANNIE is Thursdays and through Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm, Sundays at 2pm. (note: no 2pm performance on 10/30 with a 7pm performance added 11/7.) Tickets start at $30 with last row seating available at an additional discount. There is a $3 service charge per ticket. Prices are subject to change without notice. Group rates are available for 15 or more. Musical Theatre West performs at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center located at 6200 E. Atherton Street, Long Beach, CA 90815.

ANNIE is the first show of Musical Theatre West's 2010-2011 Season, and is made possible through the generous contributions of Honorary Producers Arlene Solomon and Sidney Schulman and Associate Producers Don and Terry Marté Greco.

Musical Theatre West 2010-2011 Season Sponsors are the Ackerman Family/Evalyn M. Bauer Foundation and Ken and Dottie Reiner.

For more information on Musical Theatre West's production of ANNIE, please visit www.musical.org.