The sun’ll come out in York next year – as musical favourite Annie is heading to the big city.
And starring as Miss Hannigan will be Coronation Street andBrookside star Claire Sweeney.
Annie is at Grand Opera House York fromTuesday 12 and Saturday 16 January 2027.
Claire Sweeney is an actress, singer and TV presenter. She can currently be seen as series regular Cassie Plummer in Coronation Street and is well known for her role as Lindsay Corkhill in Brookside.
Her many West End credits include playing Roxie Hart in Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre, and Miss Adelaide inGuys and Dolls, playing opposite Patrick Swayze, at The Piccadilly Theatre. Claire’s other stage credits include starring roles in national tours of* 9 to 5 the Musical, Crazy For You, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Legally Blonde, Hairsprayand September in the Rain*.
Claire will star alongside Alex Bourne as Oliver Warbucks, Tanisha-Mae Brown as Grace Farrell, Christian Cooper as Rooster, and Amber Kennedy as Lily St. Regis.
Also joining the company are Jack Buchanan, Harrison Burley, Zoë Canham, Sophie Elmes, Belle Kizzy Green, Issy Khogali, Yujin Park, Elliot David Parkes, Carl Sanderson, Michaela Stern, Matthew Sweet and Jessica Wright.
Victoria Alsina, Sophia Saravanan and June Young will share the role of Annie.
The orphans are Chloe Angiama, Freya Beer, Rachelle Bonfield-Bell, Olivia Brooks, Coco Chapman, Maddy Collings, Sienna Culm, Anna Deikalo, Dolly Ismail, Amber Koduah-Hutchison, Thandie Lalji, Jemima Lown, Kennedy-May McLeary, Mollie Moran, Myla Park, Blossom Rolston-Williams, Khit Thakhin and Marnie Rae Warren-Baker.
Set in 1930s New York during The Great Depression, brave young Annie is forced to live a life of misery and torment at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. Her luck soon changes when she’s chosen to spend a fairytale Christmas with famous billionaire Oliver Warbucks. Meanwhile, spiteful Miss Hannigan has other ideas and hatches a plan to spoil Annie’s search for her true family…
With its Tony Award-winning book and score, it includes the iconic songs ‘It’s the Hard Knock Life’, ‘Easy Street’, ‘I Don’t Need Anything But You’ and ‘Tomorrow’.
Annie has music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin and a book by Thomas Meehan.
It is directed by Curve’s Artistic Director Nikolai Foster with set and costume design by Colin Richmond, choreography by Nick Winston, lighting by Ben Cracknell and sound design by Richard Brooker.