Australian actor Anthony Warlow will play Daddy Warbucks in the upcoming Broadway revival of Annie. Directed by James Lapine, the musical begins previews at the Palace Theatre on October 3, with opening night set for November 8. The production also stars Katie Finneran and Lilla Crawford as Miss Hannigan and Annie, respectively.
Inspired by the famous comic strip Little Orphan Annie, Annie first opened on Broadway on April 21, 1977. The musical played 2,377 performances before closing on January 2, 1983. The show, which follows a young Depression era orphan who goes to temporarily live with the rich and famous Daddy Warbucks, won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The show features music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin and a book by Thomas Meehan.
Warlow is currently playing Daddy Warbucks in an Australian production of Annie at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre. Warlow’s musical theater career began in 1985 with the London National Theatre’s production of Guys and Dolls. He created the role of Enjolras in the Australian production of Les Miserables. His other credits include The Phantom of the Opera, The Secret Garden, Man of La Mancha, My Fair Lady, Grease the Arena Spectacular and A Little Night Music.
In addition to Warlow, the cast will feature Emily Rosenfeld as Molly, Tyrah Skye Odoms as Kate, Junah Jang as Tessie, Georgi James as Pepper, Madi Rae DiPietro as July and Taylor Richardson as Duffy. Jaidyn Young will serve as the standby for Annie, Pepper, Duffy and July.