Kristin Chenoweth auditioned for the title role in the original film version of "Annie". She got to the final stages of the audition process, but was turned down because her Southern accent was too thick.
Andrea McArdle, who plays the "Star-to-Be" in the "NYC" Broadway musical number, played Annie in the original Broadway stage production of "Annie". That production opened at the Alvin Theatre in April 1977, played for 2,377 performances, and won the 1977 Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical.
Among the changes from prior versions to this version are:
- Four songs, including the original title song, "Annie", which was not in the Broadway score, but was written for the prior movie version;
- A subplot involving Sandy's going missing in the original musical;
- The White House "Tomorrow" reprise, which was replaced by a scene involving Grace Farrell and Annie; and
During a 2016 interview with Terry Gross on the National Public Radio program "Fresh Air," Anna Kendrick said that as a child she auditioned for a role in this TV movie.
Annie was inspired by a Broadway show; which was inspired by a comic; which was inspired by a very old poem by the famous poet James Whitcomb Riley which went like this:
Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay, An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away, An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep, An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep; An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done, We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about, An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you Ef you Don't Watch Out.
Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay, An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away, An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep, An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep; An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done, We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about, An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you Ef you Don't Watch Out.