Annie’s not an orphan in LV

Friday, June 16, 2000 | 8:52 a.m.

Traditional roles were sent topsy-turvy Wednesday night at Mandalay Bay Theatre. The kids got to baby-sit the grown-ups.

They did a good job, too.

"Annie," Mandalay Bay's latest foray into full-length Broadway musicals, has touched down for a five-night stay on its national revival tour of the production that captivated Broadway for more than 2,300 performances beginning in April 1977.

Expectedly, a fair amount of suspended cynicism must be practiced before even stepping into the plush Mandalay Bay Theatre to take in the 2-hour, 45-minute (counting a 15-minute intermission) production. Compared with the sexy, smart and sassy "Chicago," Mandalay Bay's former Broadway tenant, "Annie" is a trip to the playground.

The lead role is handled by Ashley Wieronski, who plays the 11-year-old Annie. Sparked by an equally engaging crop of orphans (Tracy Brancifort, Melissa Rocco, Amy Sheff, Jessica Peters and Amanda Shipgler), the story of little Orphan Annie's famous plight is certain to appeal to kids. Wednesday's crowd included a heavy population of youngsters (parents should remember that trying to navigate a child through a nearly three-hour musical beginning at 7:30 p.m. is a wholly unique challenge).

Still, the show never bored and did what it set out to do -- cause young and old to chuckle at the dang cuteness of it all.

Naturally, the adult performers played off the youngsters' enthusiasm. After the kids broke out with "It's the Hard-Knock Life," to open the show, Victoria Oscar took the stage as foil Miss Hannigan, head of the New York City Municipal Orphanage. Mean yet hapless, Hannigan played the role as if she was Aunt Bee's evil twin, taunting the kids with the classic offer of "no warm mush for breakfast. Today, it's cold mush."

What a creep.

Daddy Warbucks is played by burly Patrick J. Cogan. His voice is booming, and he's a strong dude, capable of carrying around Wieronski as if she were a duffel bag. Cogan's presence is big and carries his many scenes.

Impressive as well was Jeffrey B. Duncan, who had the daunting task of playing Franklin D. Roosevelt -- the paralyzed leader of the free world during the Great Depression and World War II -- in comedic fashion. But he pulls it off with an impersonation that, while perhaps not in the class of Dana Carvey's George Bush, still draws laughs.

Because of the show's 1933 setting, a few references are sure to cause kids to go "huh?" and adults to roll their eyes. The dropping of names such as Lou Gehrig, Al Smith, Eliot Ness and J. Edgar Hoover might force parents to conduct a mini-history lesson. Also played up is the uncomfortable notion that the homeless are actually a pretty happy-go-lucky lot, which is celebrated during "We'd Like to Thank You" (the song's sarcastic lyrics notwithstanding).

But the production does have many satisfying moments, mostly because it's fairly risky to produce a full-length Broadway show using children (and a dog) as chief elements. There are moments in "Annie" where you're practically rooting for the troupe not to blow it.

The most telling example was Wieronski's rendition of "Tomorrow," a difficult song under any circumstances, let alone in a 1,800-seat theater while a nervous dog tugs on your leash.

But the kid pulled it off. Good for her.