Meehan researched, by rereading prints of the comic strip, but he was unable to find any satisfactory material for a musical, other than the characters of Annie, Oliver Warbucks, and Sandy, so, he decided to write his own story.

Warbucks pledges to find her parents, no matter what it takes, calling J. Edgar Hoover to get the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the job ("You Won't Be An Orphan For Long").

Mr. and Mrs. "Mudge" show up to take Annie along with the money, but are quickly revealed to be none other than Rooster and Lily; the Secret Service arrests them along with Miss Hannigan, for child abuse, and all three villains are sent to a psychiatric hospital for their crimes.

"[12] The original Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on April 21, 1977, and starred Andrea McArdle as Annie, Reid Shelton as Warbucks, Dorothy Loudon as Miss Hannigan, and Sandy Faison as Grace Farrell, with Danielle Brisebois as Molly, the youngest and smallest orphan.

[citation needed] The second national touring company (sometimes referred to as the West Coast or Los Angeles production) opened in San Francisco on June 22, 1978, with Patricia Ann Patts starring as Annie, Jennifer Cihi as Pepper and the then-unknown Molly Ringwald as one of the orphans.

The original actress cast in the role, Joanna Pacitti, was fired and replaced by Brittny Kissinger[18] (who had been playing orphan July) just two weeks before her Broadway debut, while battling bronchitis in Boston.

"[19] Later reports stated that "Nell Carter of Broadway's 'Annie' denied Thursday that she called her show's producers racist because they chose to air commercials featuring a previous Miss Hannigan—who is white—instead of her.

Members of the original cast included Kate Winney and Jemma Carlisle as Annie, Louise English (Grace), Vicki Michelle (Miss Hannigan) and Simon Masterton-Smith (Warbucks).

The show proved to be a success, and so for the first two tours and the Malaysian Genting Highlands Production, the role of Annie was then shared by Faye Spittlehouse and a young Lucy May Barker.

The last tour of this production ended in 2011 with the role of Miss Hannigan still being played by Pollard, David McAlister as Warbucks, Victoria Sian Lewis as Annie, and Simone Craddock as Grace Farrell.

[29] In December 2006, the tour briefly returned to New York City to play The Theater at Madison Square Garden for Christmas where it broke box office records during the five week stay.

In the 2009-10 tour, Kerth returned as Annie along with most of the previous year's cast, adding Jordan Boezem (from Spotlight Kids in Sarasota, Florida) in the role of July.

For the first year of the tour, Issie Swickle played the title character Annie with Faith Perez as her alternate, alongside Gilgamesh Taggett and Lynn Andrews as Warbucks and Miss Hannigan, respectively.

[citation needed] Another tour directed by Jenn Thompson, who played Pepper in the original Broadway production, began October 4, 2022, and ended June 11, 2023, with Ellie Rose Pulsifer as the title role.

[citation needed] A new UK and Ireland tour opened at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle in July 2015 starring Craig Revel Horwood as Miss Hannigan, directed by Nikolai Foster and produced by Michael Harrison and David Ian, with new orchestrations by George Dyer.

The production extended its limited run, with Meera Syal as Miss Hannigan from November 27,[47] through to the show's conclusion on February 18, 2018, when it closed to make way for the musical adaptation of Strictly Ballroom.

[48] The production began another UK and Ireland tour in February 2019 at the Manchester Opera House starring Anita Dobson as Miss Hannigan, alternating venues with Craig Revel Horwood and Jodie Prenger.

[citation needed] Another UK and Ireland tour began at the Curve in Leicester in February 2023 starring Zoe Akinyosade, Harlie Barthram, and Sharangi Gnanavarathan sharing the title role, with Craig Revel Horwood, Paul O'Grady, Jodie Prenger and Elaine C. Smith alternating venues as Miss Hannigan, after previously performing the role in previous tours and West End runs.

[citation needed] For its annual fully staged musical event, the Hollywood Bowl produced a limited run of Annie from July 27–29, 2018, directed by Michael Arden.

[49] The cast included Kaylin Hedges as the title role, Roger Bart as Rooster, Ana Gasteyer as Miss Hannigan, David Alan Grier as Warbucks, Megan Hilty as Lily St. Regis, Lea Salonga as Grace, Ali Stroker as "Star to Be", and Steven Weber as Franklin D.

[50] Annie has been produced professionally in Canada (1978, Quebec (French adaptation): 2022), Argentina (1982[a]), Australia (1978,[a] 2000, 2011,[a] 2012, 2025), Denmark (1982), Germany (1999), Hungary (1998), Ireland (2003, 2016[b]), Israel (2001,[a] 2010), Italy (1982, 2006), Japan (1979, 1986–present),[c] United Kingdom (1978,[a] 1983, 1998, tours from 2000 to 2010), Mexico (1979,[a] 1991, 2010, 2015), Netherlands (1997–1999,[a] 2005–2007,[a] 2012–2013[a]), Norway (1991,[a] 2004,[a] 2013), Philippines (1980, 1984, 1987, 1998, 2016), Portugal (1982,[a] 2010, 2023, 2024), Spain (1982,[a] 2000,[a] 2010,[a] 2019[a]), Sweden (1979 (Stockholm), 1999 (Stockholm), 2005–2006 (Malmö)[a]), Peru (1986, 1997, 2002), Zimbabwe (2003), Russia (2002–2009), Colombia (2006), South Korea (1984, 1996, 2006–2007, 2010–2011, 2018–2019, 2024), Hong Kong (2012), Belgium (1992, 2008–2009, 2012), Poland (1989), United Arab Emirates (2009), Denmark (2011), Puerto Rico (2012), Singapore (2012), Greece (1981–1982, 2005–2007, 2013–2015, 2018–2019 (Athens), 2007–2008, 2014–2015 (Thessaloniki)) and Brazil (2018–2019).

[citation needed] The first attempt at a sequel, Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge, opened at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in December 1989 to universally disastrous reviews.

The 1995 London studio cast recording, featuring the National Symphony Orchestra, stars Sarah French as Annie, Kim Criswell as Miss Hannigan and Ron Raines as Warbucks.

Unlike the high camp portrayal of Miss Hannigan in most productions of the musical, the novelization – in the tradition of Dickens' Oliver Twist – emphatically depicts her as a truly sinister and malevolent villainess – "a skinny hatchet faced woman with short jet-black hair (who) reminded the orphans of a particularly unpleasant looking – and all too real – Halloween witch".

She then spends several months living in Hooverville with Sophie and the Apple Seller (who is named as G. Randall "Randy" Whitworth Jr, a former stockbroker left destitute by the Depression) who, in the novelization, are adult characters and a couple.

[60] The film was released in 1982 directed by John Huston, starring Albert Finney as Warbucks, Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan, Ann Reinking as Grace Farrell, Tim Curry as Rooster, Bernadette Peters as Lily, and newcomer Aileen Quinn as Annie.

[62] Directed by Will Gluck and released in 2014,[63][64] this version of Annie also stars Jamie Foxx as Will Stacks (an update of Warbucks),[65] Rose Byrne as Grace Farrell, and Cameron Diaz as Miss Hannigan.

A documentary film, Life After Tomorrow, was directed and produced by one of the original Broadway and national tour orphans, Julie Stevens and partner, Gil Cates Jr.

Evil (Mike Myers) and Mini-Me (Verne Troyer) perform Jay-Z's version of the song "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)"; and in the 1994 John Waters dark comedy Serial Mom, where Mrs. Jenson (Patsy Grady Abrams) is bludgeoned to death with a leg of mutton by the titular serial killer Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) while watching the 1982 film version and singing along.

References in television series include: The song "Tomorrow" is sung in many media references, including in Roseanne, by Darlene Conner (Sara Gilbert) and Becky Conner (Lecy Goranson); by Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) in Friends, by Elizabeth Masterson (Reese Witherspoon) in Just Like Heaven; by Donkey (Eddie Murphy) in the CGI movies Shrek II and Shrek Forever After; and in a commercial for Lowe's Hardware promoting their next-day delivery.