Novelist Amy Shearn authored today’s post.

On March 15 at the Wilmette Theatre, North Shore residents and beyond will have an opportunity that would make seven-year-old me shriek with joy.  No, it’s not a pet unicorn or a canopy bed: it’s a performance by the talented show business veteran Andrea McArdle, who created the role of Annie in the Broadway musical Annie in 1977.

Andrea McArdle

Andrea was kind enough to chat with me recently about her upcoming performance, her illustrious career in show business, and a certain
spunky orphan named Annie.

AS: Okay, I’m sorry, you’re probably tired of talking about “Annie”…

AM: (laughing) I’ve made my peace with it.  During the whole thing I was not that fun to deal with.  It’s just so
different when you’re in it.

AS: I was obsessed with “Annie” as a kid.

AM: I always meet gay guys who are like, “The red album! The red album!” [The original Broadway cast recording]

"The Red Album"

AS: Exactly.  I read that you were pulled from the chorus of orphans to play Annie on Broadway.

AM: I was the toughest orphan.  The only reason they never considered me for Annie was that I wasn’t a redhead. I was on the soap opera “Search for Tomorrow” and I was contracted with long brown hair.  Then they realized not to
look for what’s outside — you could dye hair or wear a wig, not that my
mother would have let me dye my hair — but to look for the soul of the
character, and I got the role.

AS: What was it like to be cast as Annie?

Reid Shelton, Andrea McArdle and Sandy

AM: The show wasn’t a hit then. To me, I treated it the same way I treated the school play — I didn’t really see the difference between
that and Broadway.  I had no idea what a Tony award was. When I was
nominated for one I was like, “Oh, cool.”  It was just another gig.

I have great parents.  I was always the daughter before  a commodity.   I was a gymnast before theatre and it was just like that —
being part of a team.  Afterwards, it became a hit.  When it hit we
knew we were the toast of the town.  It could have been terrible, but
like I said, I had great parents.

AS: What was it like being a child star?

AM: I’m lucky that it wasn’t television, which uses you up and spits you out.  You know, sometimes I’m still waiting for my
“Norma Rae” role and think it just hasn’t happened yet.  (laughs.)  
After “Annie,” I had offers to go on sitcoms but they were all terrible
and luckily we knew better.  It would have had a horrible outcome, just
trashed my reputation.  They didn’t know what do with kids when I was
hot.

Today they have the Disney channel, I would have had my own show, a whole franchise.  But then, American Broadway was dying — it was the
beginning of the British Invasion and all major producers were on their
last legs.  There were really no projects around, so we just didn’t get
to ride the momentum.  That’s why it’s nice to also be a singer.  It
was hard to cast me — I looked like an eight-year-old boy until I was
eighteen and then suddenly grew up one summer — so no one knew what to
do with me.

AS: You appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and performed with Liberace. What was that like?

Liberace (photo from liberace.org)

AM: It was amazing. I wasn’t phased. I did the Carson show three times. I played Judy Garland in the movie Rainbow on NBC and Liberace
saw it. I was in school writing a paper on JFK and got a call to go to
Las Vegas. Liberace gave me my sweet 16 party, which was wrong on so many levels, but great.

AS: What do you think of contemporary child stars?

AM: Ugh, so many of them are puppets for sick parents.  It’s so different from getting into business because a child
has talent. I feel horrible for them; I would never want to grouped
into the child star group.

AS: Do you ever get tired of being Annie?

AM: Well, sometimes I think the Annie thing has held me back.  If I had arrived on scene at 18 or 19 it would been
better — you can’t be an adolescent girl in mary janes and a red dress
forever.  But I wouldn’t change a thing.

AS: What were some of your favorite roles?

AM:I got to play Belle in “Beauty and the Beast.”  I was 37, and I was surprised they were calling me.  I thought they
were calling me for Mrs. Potts and I was like, Mmm, I don’t know if I’m
ready to play a teapot.  But I loved playing Belle.  My daughter was
12, and it was great to be in something she was so in to.  I think
that’s the best Disney story, too.  It’s not just for kids.  It has
universal appeal.

I loved played Sally Bowles — it’s really fun to play a bad girl.

AS: Many Ageless North Shore readers are redefining or reevaluating their lives and careers at midlife.  How have you
managed to maintain such an active career in a field notoriously
interested in youth?

Andrea at New York's Metropolitan Room. (photo by Richard Termine )

AM: Well, you know, I’m in a period of crossroads.  I’ve been mature enough to play mothers for almost a quarter of a
century.  This business owes us nothing.  Who wants to wait two years
to sing two great songs in a show?  That’s why cabaret is so
incredibly appealing. No one wants to see, you know, a “seasoned”
17-year-old sing cabaret.  It took me years to feel comfortable  with
cabaret; it’s easier to sing for 6000 people than for 60.  You have to
deal with the people and their energy…but once you face it, it’s
liberating.

Now I have so many great stories and I can chat with the audience.  It’s a live version of what a book would be, but it’s all off the top
my head.  I’ve had a lot of funny experiences! Who else performs for
the queen at 13? I mean, Catherine Zeta Jones was my Molly in London. 
No one could pronounce her name — we called her Zeetie.  It’s just
interesting to see where everybody ends up.

My story is a success story — theater is what I love. I was lucky.  Now you have to go and do tv just to get the roles you want.  Since
Broadway went corporate it’s just such a machine.  It changed
everything.  It’s all marketing.  I mean, when you see reality tv show
stars getting roles…it’s tough.  But in theater,you do it for the love
of it.  And I love what I do.

For tickets to an “Evening of Song, ANDREA McARDLE with Doug Peck on the piano”, Monday March 15 at 7:30 click here.

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Amy Shearn is the author of  How Far Is the Ocean from Here. Her work has appeared in Jane, West Branch, Salt Hill, and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn with a husband, a baby and a dog. Visit her online at amyshearn.com.