As a child, my favorite movie was Annie. Apparently, I watched the video tape every day when I was two and a half. I'm going to spare myself the more embarrassing details of this story, but suffice to say that you could hear the gritty details by attending one of my dad's sermons.
Years later, I still love this movie. There are chipper songs, snazzy dance moves, and orphans. What's not to love?
It's been awhile since I watched the movie, but I did get to see the stage version this weekend. My school put on the musical, and I volunteered to sell tickets on Saturday night for free admission. It was a hoot to see my students up on stage. My absolute favorite was one of my freshmen who played Pepper, a sassy and scowling orphan. This student is a dear in the class and always quite sweet. On stage, she was a yelling, brawling, hot mess.
Since then, I've been bitten by the Annie bug. I made my lunch while humming "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile," and "Tomorrow" was my mental refrain today during a particularly rough class period (though "It's the Hard Knock Life" might be better for that period full of rude students).
I still have work to do tonight, including test writing, but I'm indulging in a little movie therapy. Thank goodness for favorite movies.
Two fun facts:
Annie came out the year I was born (1982)!
Aileen Quinn played Annie in the films. She was apparently under contract to play Annie in other movies, but it never happened. She wasn't in many movies but did pursue some stage work. She also worked as a translator for a bit after college. She is currently a theatre teacher.