Long John Silver's Reference Website

Forum Archives - Notes

The following are some notes from our Forum regulars. The lyrics contained on this page may not be completely accurate.

HE DOESN'T KNOW I'M ALIVE
AND IF HE KNEW, WOULD IT MATTER AT ALL?
AND IF IT MATTERED AT ALL, WOULD IT MATTER ENOUGH?
AND IF IT MATTERED ENOUGH, WOULD HE THEN LOOK AT ME
AND SEE MORE THAN HE SEES, NORMALLY SEES?

I'M ALWAYS THERE, ON THE JOB.
SO IS THE MOON, AND THE FOURTH OF JULY.
BUT ONCE AND IN A WHILE SOMEONE SAYS,
WHAT A WONDERFUL MOON.
EVEN THE MOON NEEDS TO KNOW THAT YOU NOTICE ITS GLOW
AND CONSIDER IT MORE, MORE THAN JUST CHEESE.

HOW TO STAY RICH HE KNOWS, WHICH ONE IS WHICH HE KNOWS,
HOW TO WEAR CLOTHES HE KNOWS, CLOTHES...HE..KNOWS.
HOW TO SELL SHORT HE KNOWS, WHO TO SUPPORT HE KNOWS,
WHO TO IMPOSE HE KNOWS, THOSE HE KNOWS

BUT HE DOESN'T KNOW I'M ALIVE,
DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND TO THE WOMAN I AM.
HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT A TREAT HE IS MISSING IN ME.
HE DOESN'T SEE THE COMPLETE LIFE TOGETHER I SEE.
HE DOESN'T KNOW JUST HOW PATIENT A WOMAN CAN BE.

HE DOESN'T KNOW, HE DOESN'T KNOW, HE ... DOESN'T ... KNOW!

Cole Porter needs praise in order to write more;
Lugosi needs teeth the better to bite more.
And Charlie Chan to get his man, he needs a clue,
I don't need anything but you!

A steamer needs coal to get up her steam with;
Knute Rockne needs rage to charge up his team with.
And Tommy Manville needs to pitch a little woo;
I don't need anything but you!

Hamlet needed his mother, Woolworth neede his shop.
Orville needed his brother, or else he'd go "kerplop!"

I used to need work to fill every hour!
I needed to feel that feeling of power.
Now every other need has disappeared from view!
I don't need anything, anything, anything.
I don't need anything but you!

If you think, little brat, that you’ve had it tough before, Just wait
If you think, freckled face, that you had to scrub the floor, Just wait

If you think that you’ve been hungry or frozen from your folly-loving hair Down to your feet
You'll find that when i'm through Compared to you cinderella lived on easy street

........what i think of whats in store, Just wait
It’ll take, little brat, years to settle up the score, Just wait

Oh i really should be grateful, you’re so hatefull That you put me in the post....state
It’s a game little brat, you’re the ball i’m the bat, Just wait!

I used to buy my cufflinks at Cardea
I owned a marble mansion and was to ?
I've ? 1000 acres near Narien
Apples, Apples, two for ten

I was the brightest broker at merrill-lynch
I'd make a drop bundle and never flinch
Knew Benjamin Cardosa, I called him Ben
Apples, Apples, two for ten

We all had butlers
We all had cooks
We all had tailors
We all had looks

Hey, weren't you the ? Manhattan banks
You're in my spot buddy, move it, thanks

Once we were proud as peacocks
And smart was whips?
Now we're a seedy army of broken men
Apples, Apples two for ten

We sailed to Europe
We rode, we shot
We had 3 chickens
In every pot

Hey, weren't you the owner of that Triple Crown ?
Before you toss that butt, gimme a drag

They're highering kitchen helpers
At Swedish grill
It ain't ideal employment
It pays the bills

Its anything around pal
To stay alive
Apples, Apples, Apples, Apples
Two for five!

We got Annie! We got Annie? Yeah!
She's like a shine on your shoes, or hearing a blues that's great
Makes you relax like a big tax rebate!
We got Annie!
And Benny Gooding’s got swing, Bing is a king by far
Mutt has got Jeff And Eleanor FDR
We got Annie!

(The door opens and GRACE FARRELL comes in.)

GRACE: Good afternoon, Miss Hannigan.

MISS HANNIGAN (Switching off the radio): Oh, yeah, Farrell. You’re early. Only one week. Whatsa matter, Warbucks fed up with Annie already?

GRACE: Oh, no, on the contrary, Mr. Warbucks is delighted with Annie. And Annie is having the time of her life.

MISS HANNIGAN: How nice.
                    ANNIE IN THE HIGH LIFE,
                    SWEET AS APPLE PIE LIFE,
                    HONEY, THAT IS REALLY
                    DELIGHTFUL FOR ME.

GRACE: And she just loves her new coat. She never takes it off. Oh, and guess what?

MISS HANNIGAN:
                    I DON'T NEED THREE GUESSES,
                    CLOSETS FULL OF DRESSES,

GRACE:     MATCHING ALL HER BLOUSES,
                    JUMPERS AND SHOES.

MISS HANNIGAN:
                    UGH, EV'RYTHING WITH HER IS HUNKY-DOREY.

GRACE:     DON'T YOU LOVE A RAGS-TO-RICHES STORY?

MISS HANNIGAN:
                    YOU MAKE ME HAPPY,
                    SO VERY HAPPY,
                    I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
                    DARLING, HOW YOUR HAPPY WORDS
                    MAKE MY WEARY HEART REJOICE.

                    DO YOU SEE MY FUNNY SMILE?
                    HEAR THE MUSIC IN MY VOICE?
                    I WANT YOUR HAPPY,
                    THE KIND YOU BRING ME,
                    I NEVER KNEW BEFORE.

                    PAINT ANOTHER PICTURE SO THAT I CAN SEE
                    ANNIE LIVING IN THE LAP OF LUXURY.

                    YOU MAKE ME HAPPY, NEVER MORE.

GRACE: Actually I was saving the best for last.

MISS HANNIGAN: Oh.

GRACE: This has to be signed and sent back to Mr. Donatelli at the board of orphans by no later than ten o'clock tomorrow morning.

MISS HANNIGAN: What for?

GRACE: Because Mr. Warbucks is so taken with Annie that, guess what?

MISS HANNIGAN: What?

GRACE: He wants to adopt her.

MISS HANNIGAN: How nice. How wonderful. Now let me get this wonderful news straight. Annie is going to be Warbucks' kid? The daughter of a millionaire?

GRACE: Oh, no, no, no. The daughter of a billionaire.

MISS HANNIGAN: A billiionaire? Would you excuse me for a moment, please?

(MISS HANNIGAN goes out into the hallway, closing the door behind her, lets out a long, loud scream of fury and frustration, then returns to the office.)

                    THOUGHT I KNEW HER THEN,
                    BUT NO! I DIDN'T!
                    NOT TILL YOU WALKED
                    THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR.

                    COULD YOU DO A ROOTA
                    SO THAT I CAN SHOUT?
                    THEN YOU'LL KNOW WHAT
                    THIS IS ALL ABOUT.

                    YOU MAKE ME HAPPY,
                    SO FLOPSTA HAPPY,
                    LIKE I HAVE NEVER
                    EVER BEEN BEFORE.

Get out!
Get out!

MOLLY: You'll stay up till this dorm shines like the top of the Chrysler Building! Kill! Kill!
ORPHANS: YANK THE WHISKERS FROM HER CHIN!
MOLLY: Little pig droppings!
ORPHANS: JAB HER WITH A SAFETY PIN!
MOLLY: Rotten orphans!
ORPHANS: MAKE HER DRINK A MICKEY FINN!
MOLLY: Nobody loves you!
ORPHANS: I LOVE YOU, MISS HANNIGAN!

(instrumental)
MOLLY: Get to work! Strip them beds! Scrub that floor! Polish my shoes! And I mean, start now!

ORPHANS: IT'S THE HARD-KNOCK LIFE FOR US,
MOLLY: Mud in your eye!
ORPHANS: IT'S THE HARD-KNOCK LIFE FOR US,
MOLLY: Egg in your beer!
ORPHANS: NO ONE CARES FOR YOU A SMIDGE
MOLLY: Hair on your chest!
ORPHANS: WHEN YOU'RE IN AN ORPHANAGE!
                    IT'S THE HARD-KNOCK LIFE, IT'S THE HARD-KNOCK LIFE,
                    IT'S THE HARD-KNOCK LIFE!

Miss Agatha Hannigan is forty-six years old, and has never been married. Nor is she ever likely to be, considering her status in life. She started working for the city at a very young age, and has been running the orphanage for twenty-three years. She has a decent job, with free room and board and a small wage besides. Since she has been working for the city for so long, she has good job security, and she is given a minimum of supervision. Sounds like an ideal job, right?

In truth, Miss Hannigan hates her job, but she has few other skills that would help her get another job, especially in the midst of the Great Depression, when the nation's unemployment rate is 26 percent, and the rate in New York City is close to 50 percent. In other words, she is stuck with her job, unless she wants to live in one of the Hoovervilles around town. What she hates most about her job, of course, is that she has to care for eighteen noisy, obnoxious and demanding children twenty-four hours a day, every day. No holidays. No help. If you had eighteen children of your own, how long do you think you could handle it?

Having a job like this makes her resentful of the children, which is why she is so mean to them. In fact, she enjoys being mean to them, which is why her character works so well in the show. Miss Hannigan's inability to cope with the rigors of child care makes her edgy, and a little crazy at times. To drown her sorrows, she drinks heavily, and is always slightly drunk. She uses the wages she earns to buy bathtub gin at a local speakeasy. She has little else to spend her money on, since everything else is provided for her by the city.

The key to the role of Miss Hannigan is her enjoyment at being mean to the children. The two biggest mistakes I have seen regarding the interpretation of this role is too much emphasis on the drinking and drunkenness and too much emphasis on her loneliness and desire for romance. While these are both a part of Miss Hannigan's role, putting too much emphasis on these two traits takes away from the natural humor of the part, in my humble opinion. - Long John Silver

I'm not sure I can give you the exact order of the bows during the finale, but the normal order of bows in a typical show is in reverse order of the extent of the cast's parts. In other words, the ensemble would bow first, since they do not have regular parts throughout the show, and Annie would bow last, since she is on stage for over 80 percent of the performance in the same role, more than any other actor. Here is the order in which I would bring out the cast for bows, were I directing a production of Annie:

8. The female members of the ensemble not listed below;

7. The male members of the ensemble not listed below;

6. FDR in the wheelchair, pushed by Morganthau (FDR stands and bows; Morganthau does not bow);

5. Rooster and Lily together;

4. Miss Hannigan bows, then blows her whistle, which calls

3. The Orphans together (hopefully they will have had enough time to change clothes by this time);

2. Warbucks and Grace together; then Grace retreats while Warbucks waits upstage center as

1. Annie comes down the stairs as she did when first wearing her Pilgrim dress, with Sandy at her side. She bows to the audience, then hands the dog off to another cast member. Warbucks and Annie bow to each other, then to the audience together.

Then everyone on stage sings "Tomorrow" (optional) and stretches out in one long line across the stage and bows one more time. If your stage isn't wide enough to accomodate everyone in one line, you may split the cast into two lines, with the thirteen members of the primary cast (Annie, Warbucks, Grace, Miss Hannigan, Rooster, Lily, FDR, and the Orphans) in the front line and the other cast members in the back line.

If you wish to perform one more curtain call before the exit, limit the single and dual bows to seven members of the primary cast (the list above without the Orphans), then let the entire cast sing "Tomorrow" (optional) and bow as before if desired.

Please understand that this is the way I would do it. It may or may not be the way the National Tour does it. - Long John Silver