Review: Annie – Felixstowe Musical Theatre

It’s often said that working with children and adults is a recipe for disaster, but that certainly isn’t the case with Felixstowe Musical Theatre’s latest offering, Annie.

Annie is a familiar story to most, it tells the tale of an orphan searching for her parents who left her with a note saying they would be back for her one day. The part of Annie is made for Aimee Butcher, the talented young actress plays the lead role superbly, Aimee surely is a star of the future.

From the opening scene in the Orphanage and the rousing tune of ‘Hard Knock Life’ coupled with a brilliantly choreographed dance routine by the younger members of the ensemble, FMT’s performance could rival some more professional productions.

Although Annie (Amiee Butcher) is of course the star if the show, Sally Branch as Grace Farrell and Chris Branch as Oliver Warbucks also deserve a mention, as does Jacki Williamson’s portrayal of Mrs Hannigan which was just brilliant – even despite the odd prop mishap!

Overall FMT’s production of Annie works well, all performances from the cast were strong – and all managed to keep the American accent throughout.

And as for working with animals – well, Poppy as Annie’s canine friend Sandy was well cast and poppy was beautifully behaved, even when the audience erupted into applause at the end of the show!

— Wendy Cook — Ipswich24