McArdle definitely has the voice! She truly is one of Broadway's most underutilized talents. She does lack the comedy that Ms.Hannigan usually possesses, but seeing her played a different way is refreshing.
I remember that feeling of seeing a legend graduate from the heroine to her adversary long a while before I first heard those words. It was Carol Burnett in Once Upon A Mattress
I guess you could say Andrea's come full circle by first playing Annie, then the Star-to-Be in the 1999 TV movie, and now Miss Hannigan in this production.
I was 17 that year and I chose to see Next to Normal in LA around the holiday season. But now that I’m older, I regret missing out on this. Seeing the OG Annie as Miss Hannigan is like when Carol Burnett went from Winifred to the Queen in Once Upon A Mattress
I ran into her at the annual Flea Market in NYC after she had done this - her take was priceless…”I never realized how much I hated working with kids and dogs…” Can’t wait for the live broadcast tonight! Thanks for posting this Spiderwoman!
Those who are critiquing her acting and/or characterization as being incorrect...remember she saw Dorothy Loudon (the original) as Miss Hannigan...I think she is fabulous. I think too many people expect everyone to be Carol Burnett...the stage version is written different than the movie. Hannigan is written to be funnier in the film. They should have McArdle play Hannigan in the next Broadway revival.
@@MatthewLSyou're seeing a couple moments out of an entire show with multiple performances. There were parts in the production where she showed humor. Also, Little Girls doesn't have to be funny (though I think parts of this were subtly funny)--this isn't the Carol Burnett version. Yes, some people make her funny (which is fine) but she isn't necessarily written to be...she's written to be an angry person.
Missed McArdle, saw Shelly Bruce as Annie for my very first Broadway show. Alice Ghostly played Hannigan and Sarah Jessica Parker was still an orphan. I’m old. I wonder if watching Loudon in the wings all those years ago informed McArdle’s performance
I think Andrea McArdle is an extraordinary talent, but that this role is not a good fit on her, even though she sings and acts the hell out of it. And there's an obvious, fun, "rite-of-passage" nostalgia that comes into play. I do love listening to her; she has a voice that's somehow both iconic and yet inimitable. (I've never heard a single impression done of her, yet alone a "good" one. She's not just a belter, she has such a beautiful, instantly recognizable tone & vibrato that literally no one else has.) I just think Hannigan is more of a grotesque/clown of a character, and McArdle is (was) simply too lovely to pull it off. And Dorothy Loudon's shoes are way big to begin with. But OMG I love her, and am so happy to see this!
As much as I enjoy hammy/comedic/over-the-top Miss Hannigan I still really enjoy what Andrea did here. The lyrics are still funny here of course the irritation she's feeling here is well conveyed (and I do think she's funny too). Too bad we can't see more of Easy Street (since people act like this is the whole performance) but I still enjoyed this Little Girls.
Who better to know every part than Andrea and what a chance to improve on a part you watched for so many performances and figured i wonder how it would look this way?
I'd rather watch her as Miss Hannigan than many I've seen - at least she's not chewing the scenery up trying desperately to be funny. Definitely never sung better.
True. I watched a tape of the original production from late in the run at the Lincoln Center Library with June Havoc (the real Baby June) and it just made me angry. Shameless vaudeville shtick, expertly done but never once believable as a real person. The character and the show deserve better.
Made it where? On Broadway? She DEFINITELY made it she was starring on Broadway shows all up through 2000 and then toured in shows in lead roles. Shows have changed now and the parts just aren’t there for women her age now. Hopefully she will be back on the boards soon.
The Industry can be kind of perverted in its eagerness to dispose of child stars, writing them off as somehow not having earned their club card when they’re adults.
This might sound incredibly mean, so let me say one thing: I think Andrea McCardle is a stunningly talented singer. Her voice is phenomenally gorgeous and I love it. One of the best belters we have, for sure. Okay? Okay. But her talent is kind of a problem - she's so good that she almost seems like a robot. Her physical performance never matches the exalted emotional heights that her singing evokes. So in a weird way, she always seems kind of lifeless - she doesn't seem to really interpret her roles, she just sings the notes. Impeccably and gorgeously - but without any real personality. I never really believe that she feels anything, or that she's embodying a character other than herself. Maybe I'm full of shit and being unreasonable - she did work with the original Miss Hannigan after all ! And it is incredible that her voice sounds pretty much the same here as it did in the seventies - how is that possible? But I think I prioritise enthusiasm over technical proficiency. I saw a video of Jane Lynch performing Little Girls, and she is not really a singer, but she really camped it up and was hammy and silly and clearly having the time of her life. She was in the moment. I wish McArdle's performance had been a little bit more like that.I love listening to Andrea McArdle's singing - her version of Wherever He Aint is one of my favourite songs of all time - but watching her perform always leaves me a bit - underwhelmed.
Thanks for the essay? I don't think she's perfect in every single thing ever (like what I've seen of Rainbow) but people are bizarrely critical of her, especially here (she looks so annoyed and desperate here--which is what the character is supposed to be). I don't think she'd keep getting Broadway roles into adulthood (Belle for instance) if she was devoid of acting talent.
She has an incredible voice and I think she works very well as a cabaret singer. If anything she should do a touring cabaret of her life story. But she just doesn’t have the acting chops attached to it. She’s portraying Miss Hannagan in a way that reads Annie as a viewer.
What are you talking about??? First of all care to phrase that last part in a way that makes sense to anybody but you? Second of all, she's the original Annie--as in the first Broadway Annie ever--and if you look at her career she's acted in some many things where's she's the frigging lead--I guess she's been the lead so many times because she "doesn't have the acting chops." Third of all this is a very good interpretation building upon what I have seen as most Miss Hannigans. It's very accurate to the character as written for the stage with her own choices thrown in. Not sure what you think the "right" way to act this part is anyway...
I see someone PCed the nuthouse line out of the song, whatever. So I thought Andrea would get more comic mileage from having worked with Dorothy Loudon every night - but she doesn't seem to know how to angle a word for laughs.
With Henson they obviously needed a name to lure in the viewers. But putting family first especially during a difficult time in the world does have the sense of fairness to it.
They should’ve casted her as Grace instead, she just doesn’t fit the Hannigan role at all, she’s taking it way too seriously instead of the humorous and drunken role we all know.
This is the problem with film adaptation of stage shows, they become the defacto version for those who aren’t familiar with the source material. And unlike the theatre where a new actor is expected to make the part their own, film watchers tend to consider a film performance to be the definitive version.
She completely gets the character. Carol Burnett's version is a whole other rodeo--which by the way is not the original way this character is written, nor is it how it typically is played in most stage versions. Adding more comedy to the character is fine but not a necessity.
Stop- she played annie, then star-to-be, then mrs. hannigan? Iconic.
As a fan of the 1999 version, I regret missing out on this.
McArdle definitely has the voice! She truly is one of Broadway's most underutilized talents. She does lack the comedy that Ms.Hannigan usually possesses, but seeing her played a different way is refreshing.
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
I remember that feeling of seeing a legend graduate from the heroine to her adversary long a while before I first heard those words. It was Carol Burnett in Once Upon A Mattress
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain
The villains are a lot more fun to play. If they boo you, you know you've done your job right
@@TheOriginalMaudlin I’ve never booed for the villain at the end of a show before. Plus my mom would think of it as rude
@@manuelorozco7760 No, never at the end of the show. During the show. I've been to and in a number of shows where that's occurred
@@TheOriginalMaudlin Oh
I guess you could say Andrea's come full circle by first playing Annie, then the Star-to-Be in the 1999 TV movie, and now Miss Hannigan in this production.
God. Andrea McArdle is so good. Unparalleled.
It is weird to see Annie as Miss Hannigan,but she was really good in both characters
Well , from Annie to Miss Hannigan . Looks like Andrea McArdle has come full circle!👍
I was 17 that year and I chose to see Next to Normal in LA around the holiday season. But now that I’m older, I regret missing out on this. Seeing the OG Annie as Miss Hannigan is like when Carol Burnett went from Winifred to the Queen in Once Upon A Mattress
I ran into her at the annual Flea Market in NYC after she had done this - her take was priceless…”I never realized how much I hated working with kids and dogs…”
Can’t wait for the live broadcast tonight!
Thanks for posting this Spiderwoman!
The OG Annie
Wow! Surprisingly good and entertaining! SO many women overact when they play this role and miss the mark on the vocals...this was great!
She's brilliant in this...as in everything.
Her voice is so powerful
I remember seeing Andrea McArdle as Annie on Broadway in the 70s...good to see her performing this role👍🏿😊
Those who are critiquing her acting and/or characterization as being incorrect...remember she saw Dorothy Loudon (the original) as Miss Hannigan...I think she is fabulous. I think too many people expect everyone to be Carol Burnett...the stage version is written different than the movie. Hannigan is written to be funnier in the film. They should have McArdle play Hannigan in the next Broadway revival.
So anyone who saw Dorothy Loudon can do a good Hannigan? Aha
@@bigred8432 Don't be an idiot. I'm saying she learned from the best.
@@flipspicksphilip4677 An Idiot? Is name calling what you do in real life or just behind a cartoon avatar?
There’s not an ounce of humor in her performance. It’s just loud.
@@MatthewLSyou're seeing a couple moments out of an entire show with multiple performances. There were parts in the production where she showed humor. Also, Little Girls doesn't have to be funny (though I think parts of this were subtly funny)--this isn't the Carol Burnett version. Yes, some people make her funny (which is fine) but she isn't necessarily written to be...she's written to be an angry person.
The Woman has a Voice 🙂🙂
The laughs and noise included singing all awsome
wonderful
Love it!
Wow! Andrea was great!
She is, as ever, the consummate thespian! #AnnieFanForever!
I saw this opening night!!!
Mrs hannigan is really a good character even more when she before she sings the song of little girls
Missed McArdle, saw Shelly Bruce as Annie for my very first Broadway show. Alice Ghostly played Hannigan and Sarah Jessica Parker was still an orphan. I’m old. I wonder if watching Loudon in the wings all those years ago informed McArdle’s performance
If you're old, I am too. Don't say that, everything is relative.
@@kennethwayne6857 my relatives are old too :D
ANDREA ❤
I think Andrea McArdle is an extraordinary talent, but that this role is not a good fit on her, even though she sings and acts the hell out of it. And there's an obvious, fun, "rite-of-passage" nostalgia that comes into play. I do love listening to her; she has a voice that's somehow both iconic and yet inimitable. (I've never heard a single impression done of her, yet alone a "good" one. She's not just a belter, she has such a beautiful, instantly recognizable tone & vibrato that literally no one else has.) I just think Hannigan is more of a grotesque/clown of a character, and McArdle is (was) simply too lovely to pull it off. And Dorothy Loudon's shoes are way big to begin with. But OMG I love her, and am so happy to see this!
This I like 👍
I can’t take her seriously…she’s too good 😂
As much as I enjoy hammy/comedic/over-the-top Miss Hannigan I still really enjoy what Andrea did here. The lyrics are still funny here of course the irritation she's feeling here is well conveyed (and I do think she's funny too). Too bad we can't see more of Easy Street (since people act like this is the whole performance) but I still enjoyed this Little Girls.
Who better to know every part than Andrea and what a chance to improve on a part you watched for so many performances and figured i wonder how it would look this way?
fitting! any more annie 20th?!?! please!!!!
Who would love to see how Dorothy loudon would have played Annie as a 13 year old?
She would have been wonderful, of course.
@@auroraspiderwoman5886 I bet she woulda tore it up!!
She's great! The most feminine Hannigan I've ever seen. What a voice. I don't know about that wig, though.
When did this happen and where?
Long Beach, 2010
I'd rather watch her as Miss Hannigan than many I've seen - at least she's not chewing the scenery up trying desperately to be funny. Definitely never sung better.
True. I watched a tape of the original production from late in the run at the Lincoln Center Library with June Havoc (the real Baby June) and it just made me angry. Shameless vaudeville shtick, expertly done but never once believable as a real person. The character and the show deserve better.
Annie being harassed by the orphans😂
What does bloomer mean?
It was old fashioned underwear.
@@charliestreeter5799 oh thank you ☺️like knickers I guess 😝
@@glindaupland7032 Yes but down to the knee.
Annie something was missing xx
Hi, I just found your fragment of 'CHESS London '88' with Anthony Head. Is there any way I could find the entire performance?
Why with her great voice has she not really made it?
What?
Made it where? On Broadway? She DEFINITELY made it she was starring on Broadway shows all up through 2000 and then toured in shows in lead roles. Shows have changed now and the parts just aren’t there for women her age now. Hopefully she will be back on the boards soon.
IT'S CALLED LIFE.. WHY ARE YOU NOT A MILLIONAIRE ?
I adore her, but I honestly don't feel like this role was right for her, her voice sounds too youthful and pretty for Hannigan.
Why didn’t she play Grace? That would make so much more sense.
@@sweeney60 And we have yet to see a former Annie play her surrogate mother figure
Wow. She wasn’t bad at all. Love all the theater critics here.
Yeah, lots of "theatre" people who I doubt have ever done anything professionally and probably can't really act well themselves here.
The Industry can be kind of perverted in its eagerness to dispose of child stars, writing them off as somehow not having earned their club card when they’re adults.
A bit dark, but unfortunately true. My goal in life is to see her live before I die....just to add to the darkness.
Someone should tell Andrea that she's in a cartoon, not Hedda Gabbler! There's nothing funny about her meanness. Way too serious.
funny she ain't
This might sound incredibly mean, so let me say one thing: I think Andrea McCardle is a stunningly talented singer. Her voice is phenomenally gorgeous and I love it. One of the best belters we have, for sure. Okay? Okay. But her talent is kind of a problem - she's so good that she almost seems like a robot. Her physical performance never matches the exalted emotional heights that her singing evokes. So in a weird way, she always seems kind of lifeless - she doesn't seem to really interpret her roles, she just sings the notes. Impeccably and gorgeously - but without any real personality. I never really believe that she feels anything, or that she's embodying a character other than herself. Maybe I'm full of shit and being unreasonable - she did work with the original Miss Hannigan after all ! And it is incredible that her voice sounds pretty much the same here as it did in the seventies - how is that possible? But I think I prioritise enthusiasm over technical proficiency. I saw a video of Jane Lynch performing Little Girls, and she is not really a singer, but she really camped it up and was hammy and silly and clearly having the time of her life. She was in the moment. I wish McArdle's performance had been a little bit more like that.I love listening to Andrea McArdle's singing - her version of Wherever He Aint is one of my favourite songs of all time - but watching her perform always leaves me a bit - underwhelmed.
Agree. She was absolutely perfect and brilliant as Annie and then nothing ever quite worked for her after that
Thanks for the essay? I don't think she's perfect in every single thing ever (like what I've seen of Rainbow) but people are bizarrely critical of her, especially here (she looks so annoyed and desperate here--which is what the character is supposed to be). I don't think she'd keep getting Broadway roles into adulthood (Belle for instance) if she was devoid of acting talent.
She has an incredible voice and I think she works very well as a cabaret singer. If anything she should do a touring cabaret of her life story. But she just doesn’t have the acting chops attached to it. She’s portraying Miss Hannagan in a way that reads Annie as a viewer.
Andrea McArdle is Brilliant nt as Mrs. Hannagin
What are you talking about??? First of all care to phrase that last part in a way that makes sense to anybody but you? Second of all, she's the original Annie--as in the first Broadway Annie ever--and if you look at her career she's acted in some many things where's she's the frigging lead--I guess she's been the lead so many times because she "doesn't have the acting chops." Third of all this is a very good interpretation building upon what I have seen as most Miss Hannigans. It's very accurate to the character as written for the stage with her own choices thrown in. Not sure what you think the "right" way to act this part is anyway...
I see someone PCed the nuthouse line out of the song, whatever. So I thought Andrea would get more comic mileage from having worked with Dorothy Loudon every night - but she doesn't seem to know how to angle a word for laughs.
She’s definitely doing the Dorothy Loudon impression, but it’s not working. Dorothy Loudon was a Broadway legend
Yeh she didn’t quite find the comedy in the moments but I blame that on the director not helping her with it. But the vocals are on point!
The “nuthouse line” is at 3:05
Ms. Hannigan= Carol Burnett
Not so much!
I'm sure she wouldn't have dropped out of Annie live if she was playing Miss Hannigan.
She dropped out because her father was hospitalized.
She would’ve, family comes first.
With Henson they obviously needed a name to lure in the viewers. But putting family first especially during a difficult time in the world does have the sense of fairness to it.
God she was awful in this
You are wrong
@@rugby8-Philadelphia are you typing as if you’re talking to McArdle about this performance? Glad you agree 😌
@@fountainchain126
Not a chance
You are Absofreakinglutely wrong
Agreed. Absolutely no sense of comedy. She is clearly still talented and that voice is golden..but this role is a completely wrong fit.
They should’ve casted her as Grace instead, she just doesn’t fit the Hannigan role at all, she’s taking it way too seriously instead of the humorous and drunken role we all know.
Great voice but doesn't understand this character at all. Miscast 4 sure
Its because she's not imitating Carol Burnett. This is far closer to Dorothy Loudon's rendition....which is supposed to be funny and not nasty.
@@ARReith Kathy Bates was even nastier
This is the problem with film adaptation of stage shows, they become the defacto version for those who aren’t familiar with the source material. And unlike the theatre where a new actor is expected to make the part their own, film watchers tend to consider a film performance to be the definitive version.
She completely gets the character. Carol Burnett's version is a whole other rodeo--which by the way is not the original way this character is written, nor is it how it typically is played in most stage versions. Adding more comedy to the character is fine but not a necessity.
It is just GREAT to see and hear Andrea portraying the antagonist for a change!