News: NBC Announces "Annie Live!" 2021 Holiday Broadcast
Reid Shelton and Andrea McArdle
NBC has announced that “Annie” will be its next live TV musical with a 2021 holiday broadcast. The musical will be the latest in NBC’s live musical series, with previous credits including “Hairspray,” “Peter Pan,” “The Wiz,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and “The Sound of Music.”
The production will be led by City Center Encores Artistic Director Lear deBessonet, with Robert Greenblatt serving as executive producer alongside Neil Meron, who previously served as executive producer for NBC’s “The Sound of Music” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The rest of the creative team includes choreographer Sergio Trujillo, costume designer Paul Tazewell, and scenic designer Jason Sherwood. Both Tazewell and Sherwood have earned Emmy Awards for their work on TV musicals; Tazewell designed costumes for NBC’s “The Wiz Live!” and “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” and Sherwood worked as the production designer for FOX's “Rent: Live.”
Andrea McArdle and cast
“Annie” will be NBC’s first live musical since 2019, although unrealized productions of “Bye Bye Birdie” and “The Music Man” have also previously been announced.
The musical originally premiered on Broadway in 1977 and featured Andrea McArdle in the titular role. Based on the 1930s comic strip, “Annie” tells the story of a spunky young orphan and her journey from a poor orphanage to the extravagant mansion of Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks.
All photo credit to: Martha Swope/NYPL for the Performing Arts)