"Annie" has been on Broadway for almost five years, it has played at four different theatres and several times it has changed its principal performers. However, the show retains its freshness and remains one of the most appealing family entertainers in New York.
          The secret lies at least partly in the nature of the characters: Necessarily there is constant turnover at the New York Municipal Orphanage, as little girls outgrow their roles. The current complement is lively and unmannered -- and they are smaller than one remembers. Allison Smith, the fourth Broadway Annie, is a sprig of a girl, both pretty and petite, and her singing of "Tomorrow" belies her size. The other girls include twin 8-year-olds, the Dundish sisters from Yardley, Pa.
          The only problem with the endearing set of moppets is that their speaking voices are sometimes hard to hear. Perhaps one can attribute that partly to the acoustics in the cavernous Uris Theatre. When the girls crouch close to stage microphones, pound the floor with scrub brushes and belt out "It's the Hard Knock Life," the sound is so loud that undoubtedly they can be heard at the rear of the distant balcony.
          There is no question about hearing Harve Presnell, a handsome young man who shaved his head to meet the chief requirement of Oliver Warbucks. As you remember, only once is he called "Daddy" Warbucks, just as only once does Annie exclaim "Leaping lizards!", signs of Thomas Meehan's clever parsimony with Annie's trademarks in his book for the show. Mr. Presnell's natural stiffness suits his role well. We can feel the tall actor unbend to meet the tiny Annie at her level of ebullience. Lauren Mitchell is an attractive match as his adoring secretary and Richard Sabellico is sprightly as Rooster Hannigan. The major loss is of Dorothy Loudon as the terrible-tempered Miss Hannigan. Marcia Lewis takes a cartoon approach, and gives a broad performance, but an effective one.
          "Annie" is in good hands -- and in good paws. Ageless Sandy remains a scene-stealer. He never overextends a tail-wag or overplays a hangdog expression. Along with Raymond Thorne, who plays FDR, he has been in the show since it opened. This makes Sandy the longest-running dog on Broadway.