ANNIE Tour to Play The Hippodrome in January

Leapin' Lizards! The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center has announced that an all-new tour of the iconic Tony Award-winning musical ANNIE will play Baltimore's historic Hippodrome Theatre from January 7-12, 2025. Tickets for the engagement are on sale now. This all-new tour is produced by Crossroads Live North America. 

Tickets can be purchased at BaltimoreHippodrome.com, Ticketmaster.com or in-person at the Hippodrome Box Office (12 N Eutaw Street) Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. and show days 11 a.m. to showtime. Groups of 10 or more should contact BaltimoreGroups@BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com or call 888-451-5986. 

“This show, with its iconic title character, continues to delight generations of theatre-lovers old and new by joyfully singing directly into the face of great adversity with perseverance, guts and guile,” said director Jenn Thompson. “For decades, ANNIE has continued to shine brightly, not only as an appeal to our better angels, but also as an example of the thrill of hope, hard-won: promising a better ‘Tomorrow' not only for Annie herself, but for all who need her message now more than ever.”

ANNIE is directed by Jenn Thompson, who at the age of 10 stepped into the role of “Pepper” in the Original Broadway production, choreographed by Patricia Wilcox (Motown, A Night with Janis Joplin), music supervision by Matthew Smedal, with orchestrations by Dan DeLange. Talitha Fehr is the Music Coordinator and Jennifer Christina is the Music Director.

The design team includes scenic design by Wilson Chin (Pass Over), costume design by Alejo Vietti (Jersey Boys), based on lighting design by Philip Rosenberg, sound design by Ken Travis (Disney's Aladdin), hair & wig design by Ashley Rae Callahan and casting by Paul Hardt of Hardt Casting, LLC.

Holding onto hope when times are tough can take an awful lot of determination, and sometimes, an awful lot of determination comes in a surprisingly small package. Little Orphan Annie has reminded generations of theatergoers that sunshine is always right around the corner, and now the best-loved musical of all time is set to return in this new production – just as you remember it and just when we need it most.  This celebration of family, optimism and the American spirit remains the ultimate cure for all the hard knocks life throws your way.

Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as, “one of the best family musicals ever penned!”, ANNIE features a book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin. All three authors received 1977 Tony Awards for their work.

By permission of Tribune Content Agency, LLC, ANNIE is based on Harold Gray's popular comic strip “Little Orphan Annie” which premiered in the 1920s in the New York Daily News and became one of the most widely read strips in the 30s and 40s.  Lyricist Martin Charnin bought a coffee table book called “The Life and Hard Times of Little Orphan Annie” as a Christmas gift for a friend in 1970. The clerk at the bookstore was too busy to wrap the book, so Charnin took the book home to wrap it.  Instead, he read it and fell in love with the strip and set out to secure the rights. The friend never got the book.

The original production of ANNIE had its world premiere on Aug 10, 1976 at the Goodspeed Opera House (Michael J. Price, Executive Director) and opened on Broadway on April 21, 1977 at the Alvin Theatre (Neil Simon theatre).  It 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).  It closed on Broadway after playing 2,377 performances.  ANNIE was revived on Broadway in 1997 and again in 2014. It has been made into a film three times (1982, 1999, 2014) and was most recently featured as a live television production on NBC.  The show remains one of the biggest Broadway musical hits ever; it has been performed in 28 languages and has been running somewhere around the world for 45 years.  

The beloved 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.”

This production of ANNIE was licensed by Music Theatre International.

Broadway Across America (BAA) is part of the John Gore Organization family of companies, which includes Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com, Group Sales Box Office, and Broadway Brands. Led by Tony, Oliver, and Emmy award-winning theater producer John Gore (Owner & CEO), BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, operating in 48 markets with more than 400,000 subscribers. Presentations include Disney's The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon, and Hamilton. Current productions include & Juliet, Hadestown, Hamilton, Hell's Kitchen, MJ the Musical, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, The Outsiders and Stereophonic.

The John Gore Organization is the leading presenter, distributor, and marketer of Broadway theater worldwide. Under the leadership of theater producer and owner John Gore, its family of companies includes Broadway Across America, Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com, and Group Sales Box Office. Its productions span Broadway, Off Broadway, London's West End, Japan, Canada and 48 markets in North America. The company has won Tonys in every producing category, as well as numerous other Drama League, Drama Desk and Olivier awards. The John Gore Organization is committed to supporting theater access and education programs that introduce Broadway to the next generation of audiences and theater professionals.

The Hippodrome Broadway Series is presented in partnership with THE HIPPODROME FOUNDATION. The Hippodrome Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization established in Baltimore, Maryland in 1976. Formerly known as the Baltimore Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA), the foundation was created to present live theater at the Morris A. Mechanic Theater. Over the years, HFI has evolved into its present incarnation as the largest presenter of Broadway in Maryland working in partnership with Broadway Across America to bring in the very best possible shows.

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