‘Annie’ Returning to Broadway for 50th Anniversary

A revival of “Annie” will premiere on Broadway in fall 2027, timed to the classic musical’s 50th anniversary. Sam Pinkleton, the Tony-winning director of “Oh, Mary!” and “The Rocky Horror Show,” is leading the new production. Casting and other key creatives will be announced at a later date.

“Annie” revolves around a young orphan who gets adopted by a billionaire as a way to rehabilitate his image. First staged on Broadway in 1977 and adapted into several feature films — most notably the 1982 movie starring Carol Burnett, Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters — “Annie” introduced seminal musical theater songs like “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life.”

“If you ask any of my closest friends what I love more than anything on the planet, everyone will have the same answer: ‘Annie’,” said Pinkleton. “’Annie’ is everything I love about New York City: gutsy, fearless and funny as hell. It’s a perfectly constructed musical comedy that my collaborators and I will run toward with joy and abandon — with open hearts and total adoration for this legendary show that has made generations fall in love with musicals.”

“Annie” features music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin and a book by Thomas Meehan. The musical premiered at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1976 before a pre-Broadway engagement at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The show officially opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) on April 21, 1977. It was nominated for 11 Tonys and won seven, including best musical, original score, book and actress for Dorothy Loudon as the cruel orphanage matron Miss Hannigan.

“Half a century after a fearless redheaded orphan first walked onto a Broadway stage and sang that the sun would come out tomorrow, that promise continues to inspire audiences around the world, and will do so again,” said producers Michael Alden and Hal Luftig, Cathy Dantchik, and Kevin Connor for Halcyon Theatricals.

In a statement, the family of Charnin, the original creator, lyricist, and director of “Annie,” described the show as a “timeless message of hope, joy and optimism.”

“Fifty years ago, our father, Martin Charnin, had an idea: that a little redheaded girl who refused to give up might have something to say to the world,” Charnin’s family said. “Today, we believe the true measure of a legacy is carrying it forward – so the work continues to inspire new generations. ‘Annie’ was never about yesterday. It was always about tomorrow.”

Although “Annie” hasn’t been on Broadway in decades, the family of Meehan noted that the musical is “performed somewhere in the world virtually every moment of every day — from elementary-school auditoriums to regional theaters and major international stages.”

“But Broadway will always be home,” said the family of Meehan. “‘Annie is, at its core, a New York story: spirited, tough, funny and full of possibility. This isn’t a revival; it’s a homecoming.”

Adds the family of Strouse, “We take enormous pride in the place ‘Annie’s’ music has earned in the hearts of generations. These songs have become so familiar that it is easy to forget how much power they still hold—and how much joy they still inspire. We cannot wait to hear this extraordinary score ringing out on Broadway once again.”