Faith Prince Takes Over for Jane Lynch as 'Miss Hannigan' in ANNIE Today

Tony Award-winner Faith Prince will return to Broadway as evil orphanage matron Miss Hannigan in the new Broadway production of ANNIE at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets). She will begin performances tonight, July 19. Emmy Award-winning "Glee" star Jane Lynch will play her final performance as Miss Hannigan on Sunday, July 14.

"I had the wonderful experience of working with Faith Prince on Falsettoland and I am thrilled that she will be joining the ANNIE company as Hannigan, a role she was born to play," commented directed James Lapine.

Faith Prince has dazzled Broadway audiences since winning the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance as Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. In 2008, she was nominated for Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for A Catered Affair. Other Broadway credits include The Little Mermaid, Bells Are Ringing(Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations), Nick & Nora (Outer Critics Circle Award), Jerome Robbins' Broadway (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), Little Me, The Dead, and Noises Off. She also starred in the world premiere of Terrence McNally's Unusual Acts of Devotion. Most recently, Faith starred in the national tour of the Broadway hitBilly Elliot. Prince currently recurs on Lifetime's hit series "Drop Dead Diva" as Brooke Elliott's mother, Elaine. She was a series regular on Showtime's "Huff," starring as Kelly Knippers, the love interest of Oliver Platt, and recurred for five seasons on "Spin City". Other television credits include "A Gifted Man," "Happy Endings," "Ugly Betty," "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI," "Faith," "House," "Medium," "Sweet Potato Queens," "Monk," "Now and Again," "Welcome To New York" and "Law and Order". Film credits include Our Very Own, Picture Perfect, Dave, and My Father the Hero. Prince works often with the Boston Pops, Utah Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, and Philly Pops, and recently starred in the Orlando Philharmonic's concert version of Sweeney Todd. Faith toured her show Moving On in Australia to rave reviews, and also toured in Over the Rainbow, a concert celebrating the centennial of Harold Arlen. Prince's new album, Total Faith, was recorded at the Royal Room in the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach and was recently released by Broadway Records. Her award winning album, A Leap Of Faith, was recorded at Joe's Pub.

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 is playing at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway, between 46th and 47th Streets).

ANNIE currently stars Jane Lynch as Miss Hannigan, Anthony Warlow as Daddy Warbucks and Lilla Crawford as Annie, with Brynn O'Malley as Grace Farrell, Clarke Thorell as Rooster Hannigan, and J. Elaine Marcos as Lily St. Regis. The Orphans are Madi Rae DiPietro as July, Georgi James as Pepper, Junah Jang as Tessie, Tyrah Skye Odoms as Kate, Taylor Richardson as Duffy, Emily Rosenfeld as Molly, Brooklyn Shuck as standby for Molly, Kate, Tessie, July, Duffy, Sadie Sink as standby for Annie, Tessie, Duffy, July & Kate and Jaidyn Young as standby for the roles of Annie, Pepper, Duffy and July. The production also features Ashley Blanchet, Jane Blass, Mary Callanan, Jeremy Davis, Fred Inkley, Merwin Foard, Joel Hatch, Danette Holden, Amanda Lea LaVergne, Desi Oakley, Keven Quillon, David Rossetti, Sarah Solie, Dennis Stowe, Ryan VanDenBoom and Matt Wall.

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.

In a dual effort to promote dog adoption and provide shelters with resources, PEDIGREE Food for Dogs and ANNIE have teamed up to help raise $1 million to help dogs find loving homes. For each Annie ticket sold through December 31, 2013, PEDIGREE will donate $2, up to $1 million, to PEDIGREE Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping dogs find loving homes. In addition, co-branded merchandise will be available at the theatre and online with 100 percent of the proceeds going toPEDIGREE Foundation. For more information on The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive and other brand initiatives, visit www.pedigree.com orwww.facebook.com/pedigree.

The New 2012 Broadway Cast Recording for ANNIE is produced by 12-time Grammy Award winner Thomas Z. Shepard, Douglas Dennoff and Dennis J. Grimaldi for Shout! Broadway, and is available in stores, at the Palace Theatre and for digital download at iTunes, Amazon.com, and other digital websites.

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

Tickets for ANNIE are available through www.ticketmaster.com, by calling 877-250-2929, or in person at the Palace Theatre box office (1564 Broadway between 46th and 47thStreets).