(A sequel some years later, variously titled Annie Warbucks and Annie II, proved to be a legendary fiasco story of Broadway bombdom.)Īs for The Producers, Brooks had declined to turn his affectionate, if dark, satire of Broadway business into a Broadway musical – until Meehan, who’d been his collaborator on Spaceballs(1987) made it seem possible. It began as a workshop production at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT – and might have died there if Mike Nichols hadn’t decided to produce it on Broadway, where it became one of the biggest hits of all time. Meehan took home Tony Awards for Annie, The Producers and Hairspray.Īnnie, based on the Harold Gray comic strip, had a score by Charles Strouse (music) and Martin Charnin (lyrics). James Theatre, Meehan was sought after and wrote or co-wrote the books for more major shows, including Hairspray (2002) and Young Frankenstein (2007). After The Producers, which starred Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick and set box office records at the St. But it was the books for Annie (1977) and The Producers (2001) that set Meehan in the top ranks of Broadway’s most misunderstood creatives: the writers of the books for musicals. Meehan’s credits as one of the top craftsmen of books for Broadway musicals include I Remember Mama (1979), Ain’t Broadway Grand (1993), Bombay Dreams (2004), Cry Baby (2008), Elf (2010), Chaplin (2012) and Rocky (2014). Sasha Charnin Morrison, the daughter of Meehan’s Annie collaborator Martin Charnin, announced the news on Instagram. The man who made Mel Brooks laugh was 88 and lived in Greenwich Village.

So she runs away to find her parents - and along the way she rescues a friendly dog, meets millionaire Oliver Warbucks, and has a many scary and exciting adventures.David Byrne-Fatboy Slim Broadway Musical Reaches Union Agreement Over Pre-Recorded Track FlapĮARLIER: Thomas Meehan, a low-key, literary writer for The New Yorker magazine who found fortune, if not fame, as author of the books for such blockbuster musicals as Annie and The Producers, has died. But mean Miss Hannigan the headmistress is making Annie's life a misery.

It's 1933 and for as long as she can remember, 11 year old Annie has believed that her mother and father would come back to her New York City orphanage to get her.

An audio extract from the brand new unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Annie, read by Annie Potts

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