Annie Warbucks - Production History

Production History

Annie Warbucks was developed in a workshop at the Goodspeed Opera House, directed by Charnin and choreographed by Peter Gennaro. The musical played several out-of-town tryouts, starting at the Marriott Lincolnshire, Chicago in February through April 1992 and then the Drury Lane in Oakbrook, Illinois, followed by a five city United States tour, including San Diego in October 1992.

It was originally planned that Annie Warbucks would open on Broadway, but a "major investor pulled out". Some characters were cut and the budget reduced. The Off-Broadway production opened after numerous delayson August 9, 1993 at the Variety Arts Theatre, where it ran for 200 performances. The cast included Harve Presnell as Warbucks, Donna McKechnie as Sheila Kelly, and Kathryn Zaremba in the title role.

The show broke all off-Broadway box office records for the time. According to The New York Times "The producers, who were seriously considering moving the show from the Variety Arts Theater to Broadway until two weeks ago, said the persistent cold weather had cut into the show's dwindling ticket sales, prompting the decision to shut down."

The New York Times reported about the complicated Tony Award situation with reference to a contemplated move to Broadway: "With $2.5 million from an investor secured for a move to Broadway, the producers discovered late last week that they couldn't make the move in time to be eligible for Tony consideration, which was a big part of the reason for moving in the first place.... a provision in the Tony rules...says a show must transfer to an eligible house within 30 weeks of its original opening at an ineligible house in order to qualify for any nominations.... The investor...promptly took his money back."

It has become a popular choice for high school, community theatre, and summer stock productions.