My daughter is heavily involved with her high school drama department, and they performed Annie this fall, so I was looking forward to bringing her to the National Theatre’s production. Unfortunately, she’s down for the count with a nasty virus, so I took her understudy, aka my husband.
If you have a child who hasn’t seen it, or you just want to revisit the family favorite, this is a great venue. I’ve yet to attend a lack-luster performance at the National Theatre. Make sure you arrive early and can take a picture out front of the window display with Annie and Daddy Warbucks.
With all of the little girl (and mom) bladders in attendance, the restroom line gets really long before the show and at intermission, so take that into account as well. If you don’t mind waiting after the performance, you can stick around out front and even have the actors sign your playbill and indulge in a few selfies.
My husband enjoyed the set designs, and the actors definitely pulled their weight. Annie had the requisite chops to hit the high notes, Miss Hannigan was feisty and duplicitous and Oliver Warbucks had a commanding stage presence. And of course Sandy the dog got lots of oohs and aahs being cute and hitting all his marks.
The numerous kids in the audience seemed to really enjoy themselves, but keep in mind that it’s a long show and some little ones might get restless. Intermission wasn’t until 9 p.m. for the 7:30 show, so make sure your child’s up to sitting still that long. The numbers move along at a nice pace, which helps. And of course the songs are engaging and will be stuck in your head for days!
We drove and used Parking Panda to reserve a spot; the theatre provides a link with detailed parking information: http://thenationaldc.org/directions-parking/. The show runs through this Sunday the 20th and tickets are still available at http://thenationaldc.org/. Ticket prices are in the $50-100 range.
So if you’re looking for a family-friendly theatre date with the kiddos, and don’t mind them belting out “tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow!” for the next few days, this is a fun show. Bet your bottom dollar you’ll enjoy it!
Meet the Reviewer!
Debbie Williams is a northern Virginia mom and managing editor of Washington FAMILY Magazine.
