Annie is one of those musicals that never seems to disappear and Coronation Street's Claire Sweeney is the perfect Miss Hannigan in the latest production of this evergreen classic ☆☆☆☆20:09, 06 Aug 2026Next year will mark 50 years since Annie premiered on Broadway and quickly went on to become an era-defining musical for the late 1970s, winning multiple Tony Awards and creating a mass hysteria seen today with the likes of Wicked and Hamilton.‌Since it began, the tale of the redheaded orphan has never been off the stage in one form or another, and as the latest UK touring production stopped at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle, it was easy to see why that is as an excited audience made up of families piled into the auditorium.‌In case anyone is unfamiliar with the story, the action all takes place in December 1933 during The Great Depression when Annie, abandoned on the steps of an orphanage in New York City as a baby with just a note and half of a silver locket, decides to look for her parents once and for all. Along the way, she is randomly selected to spend Christmas with Oliver Warbucks, a billionaire pulling a PR stunt to save his public image.‌It all goes well and Warbucks decides to adopt Annie, much to the chagrin of orphanage manageress Miss Hannigan, who, along with her evil brother and his girlfriend make a cack-handed attempt at scamming the wealthy businessman out of thousands of dollars. Amongst the musical's best-known numbers are Maybe, Hard Knock Life and, of course, Tomorrow.Originally based on Harold Gray's long-running cartoon strip Little Orphan Annie, Martin Charnin and Charles Strouse set about adapting the comic as a story in its own right in the late 1970s and the result was an overnight hit but the story was really propelled to global success with the release of the 1982 film starring Aileen Quinn, and A-Listers like Carol Burnett, Tim Curry and Albert Finney.‌A made-for-TV version followed in 1999 with Kathy Bates and Victor Garber before Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx starred in a modern remake more than a decade later. But none of the films have ever really been able to capture the true essence of the original stage production without adding a certain type of Hollywood gloss.Annie launched the career of Broadway belter Andrea McArdle when she took on the title role in her early teens, whilst Sarah Jessica Parker took over the part in the years before she became a Hollywood star. Others to take on the role include Sadie Sink in the years before she found fame with Stranger Things, whilst Breakfast Club star Molly Ringwald also appeared in the musical early on in her career.Newcastle audiences were treated to an incredibly confident performance by June Young, who was not afraid to tap into the more dramatic elements of the script and thereby offer up a fresh take on the beloved character.‌Alex Bourne has played the role of Oliver Warbucks numerous times over the course of his career, and did not disappoint as he offered up slick renditions of some of the very few male-led songs like Something Was Missing and NYC.Standout performance of the evening has to go to Claire Sweeney, who is the latest name to take on the role of hysterical gin-soaked tyrant Miss Hannigan. Having left her role as Cassie Plummer on Coronation Street especially to take on the part, which in recent years has been played by Craig Revel Horwood, the late Paul O'Grady and Jodie Prenger, her exit scenes on the ITV soap aired just days ago.‌Claire, who has previously starred in musicals like 9 to 5, Chicago and Tell Me On A Sunday over the years, took over the part from Strictly Come Dancing star La Voix. In interviews, she has claimed that Miss Hannigan is a dream role for her, and her rendition of Little Girls, in which her character drunkenly laments what her life has become, can only be described as a masterclass in comedy.This production of Annie, which was originally directed by Nikolai Foster and was initially staged a decade ago, seems to have taken a bit of inspiration from Matilda The Musical, with jigsaw pieces and flashing lights making up the set instead of favouring darker scenery to suggest the era in which it is set.‌This could be a little jarring for those who grew up attending more traditional productions of the show and it was at times a little garish, but, sometimes, change is needed.It's also easy for the songs, which by all accounts are musical theatre standards by now, to become tired over the years but the orchestration was excellent, with every note punched out with such precision that it almost sounded as if they were new.As the incredible cast took their well-earned bows, audience reaction proved that, if nothing else, when it comes to Annie - the sun will always come out tomorrow.Article continues belowAnnie is touring the UK until March 2027. For tickets and more information, go to www.anniethemusicaltour.uk