Annie Live!
Annie Live! is a musical television special that aired on NBC on December 2, 2021. It was a performance of the 1977 musical "Annie", which is based on the comic strip "Little Orphan Annie" by Harold Gray. The special starred newcomer Celina Smith as the titular role, Harry Connick Jr. as Daddy Warbucks, Taraji P. Henson as Miss Hannigan, Nicole Scherzinger as Grace Farrell, Tituss Burgess as Rooster Hannigan, and Megan Hilty as Lily St. Regis. The special was directed by Lear deBessonet and Alex Rudzinski. Plot. Eleven-year-old orphan, Annie, is adopted by billionaire Oliver "Daddy  Warbucks, much to the dismay of the cruel and overprotective orphanage owner Miss Hannigan who gets involved in a scheme with her criminal brother Rooster Hannigan and his girlfriend Lily St. Regis. Oliver Warbucks goes on a radio commercial to offer a $50,000 () reward to Annie's parents to come forward. Rooster and Lily devise a plan to pose as Annie's parents. However, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and his staff determine that Annie's parents are dead. Miss Hanningan comes in and exposes Rooster and Lily and they are arrested. Production. Development. The project was announced by 	Annie Live!
6768163	NBC on May 12, 2021 with Alex Rudzinski as the live television director and Lear deBessonet as the program director. It was also announced that Sergio Trujillo would choreograph the production. Other members of the production team included Emilio Sosa as costume designer, Jason Sherwood as scenic designer and Stephen Oremus providing new orchestrations. The special was executive produced by Rudzinski, Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron. Rehearsals began in October in New York. On June 8, 2021, it was announced that Taraji P. Henson had been cast as Miss Hannigan in the production. Later, more casting was announced including Harry 	Annie Live!
6768164	Connick Jr. as Daddy Warbucks, Nicole Scherzinger as Grace Farrell, Tituss Burgess as Rooster Hannigan, and Jane Krakowski as Lily St. Regis. In June 2021, NBC also announced that they would be holding a nationwide audition for the titular role, similarly to the casting of Shanice Williams as Dorothy Gale in The Wiz Live!" and Maddie Baillio as Tracy Turnblad in "Hairspray Live!" Celina Smith was ultimately cast as Annie. In November 2021, Krakowski stepped down from her role due to a breakthrough case of COVID-19 and would be replaced by Megan Hilty. Also, it was announced that Andrea McArdle , who originated the role of Annie on Broadway, had been cast as Eleanor Roosevelt. McArdle, however, stepped away from the production in late November due to the hospitalization of her father. The part was subsequently written out, however McArdle still appears on the cast recording. Filming. The broadcast was filmed at Gold Coast Studios in Bethpage, New York. Release. The special premiered on NBC on December 2, 2021. Reception. The special, which was broadcast on December 2, 2021 by NBC, received 5.34 million viewers during its airing. After a week, the number of viewers rose to 6.29 million. Past screen  productions. The production was the fourth on-screen version of the musical following the 1982 theatrical film starring Carol Burnett and the late Albert Finney (in which the songs "Sign" and "We Got Annie" were taken from), the 1999 television film starring Kathy Bates and Victor Garber and the 2014 theatrical film starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx.