By Patrick McDonald
Special to ShowBiz Chicago

CHICAGO – Plucky orphans, a lost dog, a capitalist with a heart-of-gold and America’s favorite comic strip heroine are back in Chicago, just in time to celebrate Christmas a month later.

Annie, the venerable Broadway stalwart (it premiered way back in 1977) begins a limited run at the Auditorium Theater from January 20th through the 24th.

The old girl orphan hasn’t aged, only we have. The songs, story and characters are as familiar in American pop culture as its previous comic strip incarnation. Annie began her life as “Little Orphan Annie” in 1924 in the funny pages, created by Harold Gray. Already popularly rendered as a strip and radio show, Martin Charnin began the adaptation of the Broadway musical in the 1970s.

Recruiting librettist Thomas Meehan and popular composer Charles Strouse, Charnin fashioned a hummable mega-hit, which includes the standards “Maybe,” “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” “N.Y.C.” and of course, “Tomorrow.”

The touring company of the Auditorium production is a tight, professional ensemble. Mining the rich source of previous productions and two film versions, the lead characters and background chorus bring life and energy to the essential story of a girl’s orphanage in New York City, featuring Annie, a girl who knows that somewhere out there the parents who abandoned her at that orphanage doorstep will someday come back to her (”Maybe”).

The orphanage is run by the comically inept Miss Hannigan, who is sick of her bureaucratic job and the orphans under her care (”Little Girls”). When Annie is swept away to spend the Christmas holidays with billionaire Oliver Warbucks, the plot engine is revved up to include a nationwide search for her parents, a visit to newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt, and a Christmas Eve surprise.

There is a lot crammed into the somewhat overlong book, but the cast makes up for the length with a verve that is a cut above the level of a touring company. Lynn Andrews as Miss Hannigan is a scene stealer, milking her oiliness for maximum laughs, especially during her signature “Little Girls” number. David Barton as Warbucks is a revelation, with the perfect balance of perplexed bluster and heart-melting adaptation in his bond with Annie.

The orphan chorus was strong and showcased their cuteness for all it was worth – it’s great to see that a simple kick line can still draw an audience applause in this cynical age. Madison Kerth as Annie was up to the challenge, but it would be interesting to see this particular lead interpreted differently. It seems that all the girls as the Little Orphan are required to belt like Andrea McArdle, the original B’way Annie (Andrea can be pleased that she established such a legacy). Kerth also seemed more comfortable as an orphanage member than a poor little rich girl.

And in one more astounding piece of casting, Jeffery Duncan as Franklin Roosevelt was like seeing the man at that Disneyland Hall of Presidents, the actor looked exactly like him. Quick, someone call a casting agent for “Sunrise at Campobello.”

The first act was more compelling than the second, but it seems as though all of the stronger numbers are also in this initial sequencing. We all can live the rest of our lives without hearing “New Deal for Christmas” again, despite the cheeky references to Roosevelt’s brain trust cabinet. But ultimately it is the songs that still maintain, despite their almost clichéd over-extension. There is real wit in the wordplay, such as “so senator, so janitor, so long for awhile” and references to 1930’s culture in “go ask the Gershwins or Kaufman and Hart, the place they love the best” that fulfills the tunesmith in all of us.

And this faithful musical, set in the Depression, sure had some similar funkadelics to our current economic downturn. Sometimes adding some sap, like a lost dog found and a little orphan adopted into the material world, is just the right ingredient to make it through another day- into that elusive territory called Tomorrow.

“Annie” runs January 20th through January 24th at the Auditorium Theater, Chicago, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com for show times and details.