By Kenneth Jones
30 Jun 2006

Marissa O'Donnell as Annie.
photo by Chris Bennion

The national tour of the musical hit, Annie, will play The Theater at Madison Square Garden Dec. 6-30, delivering a dose of optimism for the holidays.

This is the first Manhattan appearance by the Little Orphan, Daddy Warbucks and mean Miss Hannigan in 10 years. A 1997 revival starring Nell Carter as orphanage matron Miss Hannigan was not a hit. The MSG run is presented by MSG Entertainment and produced by Ken Gentry and NETworks.

The Theater at Madison Square Garden is known for family theatre: A Christmas Carol the musical and Cathy Rigby starring in Peter Pan have played the cavernous space.

The 30th anniversary tour (yes, Annie opened on Broadway in 1977) stars Conrad John Schuck as billionaire Daddy Warbucks) and native New Yorker Marissa O'Donnell.

Lyricist and original director Martin Charnin directs the new staging. The libretto is by Thomas Meehan, based on the old comic strip characters, and has a score by Charles Strouse.

Prices range $35-$75 with $99 VIP seating available. Tickets will be available online at www.thegarden.com or at the Madison Square Garden box office (Seventh Avenue at 32nd Street). Box office hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM. Tickets may also be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (212) 307-7171 or at any Ticketmaster outlets. Ticket prices include a $4.50 facility charge.

For group sales, call (212) 465-6741.