The Ultimate Optimist: Annie

If you haven’t seen the musical “Annie” lately, let me refresh your memory. Perhaps everything that is good in life is packed into the 90 pound, red-haired personae of little orphan Annie. Independent, clever, spirited…searching for love. She is the life of the party, and the hope of the other orphans. She has no last name. Maybe that’s because we all might see a little bit of her in us.

Daddy Warbucks is wealthy and connected beyond our imagination (he invites the President of the United States to dinner for Christmas.) Money and power were his goals. But, alas, he has no family. His secretary fetches an orphan (Annie) to join him for Christmas. The point of the show is cleverly disguised when Warbucks says to Annie: “You don’t have to worry about who you step on while you are on your way up…as long as you don’t plan on ever going back down again.” In the end, he is willing to spend his fortune to make Annie his ‘family.’

Annie is hope, promise, love, adventure and accountability. The music is wonderful, the message is magnificent. Especially when Annie is your daughter. We are so grateful.