Annie: Katie Finneran to play Miss Hannigan

Two-time Tony Award winner Katie Finneran will star as 'Miss Hannigan,' the mean-tempered spinster orphanage supervisor, in the upcoming Broadway revival of the 1977 Tony Award-winning musical Annie, opening at the Palace Theatre on 8 Nov 2012, following previews from 3 Oct 2012.

Finneran said, "Miss Hannigan is one of the great musical comedy roles and I cannot wait to play her, in all of her deliciously evil glory. I played Hannigan in my parents' living room when I was eight years old and the chance to play her in this new Broadway production is a dream come true."

Finneran's Broadway credits include 'Promises, Promises' (Tony Award), 'Mauritius,' 'Noises Off' (Tony Award), 'The Iceman Cometh,' 'Cabaret,' 'Proposals,' 'The Heiress' and 'My Favorite Year.' TV credits include: "I Hate My Teenage Daughter," "Wonderfalls," "Damages" and "Bram and Alice."

The musical will also feature the previously announced. Eleven-year-old Lilla Crawford (Billy Elliot) will star as 'Annie,' with Emily Rosenfeld as 'Molly,' the littlest orphan; Tyrah Skye Odoms as 'Kate,' the next-to-littlest orphan; Junah Jang as 'Tessie,' the cry-baby orphan; Georgi James as 'Pepper,' the toughest orphan; Madi Rae DiPietro as 'July,' the quietest orphan and Taylor Richardson as 'Duffy,' the biggest orphan. Jaidyn Young will be the standby for the roles of 'Annie,' 'Pepper,' 'Duffy' and 'July.' Richardson will understudy the role of 'Annie.'

Additional casting will be announced in the coming weeks.

The production will be directed by three-time Tony Award winner James Lapine ('The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,' 'Passion,' 'Falsettos') and choreographed by Tony Award winner Andy Blankenbuehler (In the Heights).

Annie features music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin and book by Thomas Meehan, based on the newspaper character "Little Orphan Annie" by Harold Gray.

The musical tells the story of Orphan Annie, a girl whose optimism knows no bounds. Annie lives in an orphanage looked after by the cruel Miss Hannigan, but her life changes when she is selected to spend time in the house of wealthy industrialist Oliver Warbucks.

The score for Annie includes "Maybe," "It's the Hard Knock Life," "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile," "Easy Street," "I Don't Need Anything But You" and the eternal anthem of optimism, "Tomorrow".

The team includes scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Donald Holder and sound design by Brian Ronan.

The musical will be produced on Broadway by Arielle Tepper Madover, Roger Horchow, Sally Horchow, Roger Berlind, Roy Furman, Debbie Bisno, Stacey Mindich, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Daryl Roth/Jane Bergère and Eva Price/Christina Papagjika.