If any musical could be described as an enduring classic, it's Annie.
The show has lingered since the seventies with some of the best known show tunes and a timeless plot about optimism in the face of adversity.
And this week it returns to Milton Keynes Theatre with a new version starring Strictly judge Craig Revel-Horwood as tyrannical Miss Hannigan, writes Chris Gregg.
The story follows 11 year old Annie as she escapes Miss Hannigan's orphanage to search for her real parents and meets a dog who she has a brief friendship with before moving on and being taken in by self-made billionaire Oliver Warbucks.
Warbucks sends his assistant to pick out an orphan for him so he can give it a nice Christmas. Initially, he is disappointed because he was hoping for a little boy but Annie wins him over with her cheeky confidence.
The tables are turned, though, when he decides to adopt her but she decides to search for her real parents.
Anyone going to see this show will be braced for an onslaught of precocious dancing orphans singing about their hard knock life, but even the most cynical will find this production has an infectious happiness which is hard to resist.
By the end, most of the audience were joining in with a final verse of "The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow".
The producers have reimagined the staging to celebrate the art deco design of New York during the Great Depression with the architecture of the city represented in giant proportions in the set to give a child's perspective mixed with jigsaw pieces, apparently to symbolise how Annie tries to piece together her life.
The dancing also harks back to the thirties with some acrobatic jumping around, tap dancing and leg kicks in the style of Fred Astaire.
Three very talented teams of kids share the roles of Annie and her orphan pals - Ava Smith, Freya Yates and Taziva-Faye Katsande, with Freya giving a gutsy and confident performance on press night, belting out the songs with irrepressible cheeriness.
Craig Revel-Horwood steals the show as Miss Hannigan, strutting around the stage and flashing his legs. There is also a great performance from Alex Bourne as Warbucks with a fantastic deep voice and stage presence.
Amber from Animals Galore is underused as Annie's dog Sandy, running across the front of the stage during several scene changes but disappointingly absent from the plot for most of the show.
This is a show which is great for the family to enjoy together with plenty of kids in the audience enjoying the performance.
The songs are timeless and the plot has a clear narrative direction with themes that are still relevant today, and although some might question the motives of Oliver Warbucks there is a charming innocence to this musical which shines through.
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