Annie, the Broadway musical, was written by Thomas Meehan and was originally directed by Martin Charnin with music written by Charles Strouse. 

It was first performed in 1977 at the Alvin Theater, now known as the Neil Simon Theater in New York City, New York. 

The musical ran originally for almost six years and has led to many shows in different countries and across the nation.

Annie has had a long history with many different media telling the story of the little orphan. 

The story of Annie was first told in a poem titled “Little Orphan Annie” written by James Whitcomb Riley and published in 1885. 

The poem was originally titled “Little Orphan Allie,” but a printing mistake changed the name to Annie where the name stuck. 

The poem would then become a comic strip series with the same title and would be a daily comic in the New York Daily News. 

The comic was written by Harold Gray and debuted in 1924. 

The most popular songs from the musical are “Tomorrow” and “It’s a Hard Knock Life” with “Tomorrow” being written by Charles Strouse and “It’s a Hard Knock Life” written by Martin Charnin. 

The musical has won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical. It had two broadway revivals in 1997 and 2012 and also premiered in England’s West End in 1998 and 2017. 

Five movie adaptations have been made of the Annie story with the most recent one being released in 2014. 

The 2014 version received two Golden Globes nominations for Best Actress in a Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical for Annie actress Quvenzhané Wallis and Best Original Song. 

The Annie legacy now continues here at Notre Dame Academy with Annie premiering on January 25, directed by English teacher Andrea Gilson and starring Frannie Wied as Annie.