Tomorrow
One of the characters from “Hooverville” in this musical of Annie says,
“Now that’s something I haven’t heard since 1928.”
“What’s that?” another questions.
“Optimism!” says the first man.
In an age of unrelenting bad news exploited and perpetuated by the media, it is, frankly, very difficult to be optimistic. And, yet, one could argue, that our failure to be optimistic is part of the very cause our failure to succeed. Positive thoughts breed positive results. The reverse is also true.
Created by Harold Gray (1894-1968), the cartoon strip of “Little Orphan Annie” made its newspaper debut on August 5, 1924. And it’s central character became the subject for this popular Broadway musical in 1977 along with many movie and radio program spin-offs beginning in the 1930’s through to present day.
The cartoon ran continuously in newspapers for over 85 years with the final printing of the comic strip on June 13, 2010, marking this as one of the longest running comic strips in the world.
So what is it that resonated about the character of Annie for so many years? She’s not a super hero, after all. But she is tough; she’s willing to work; and she, first and foremost, has an incredibly cheery disposition. She always sees the sunny side of life.
It’s that sense of optimism that we must emulate as we leave the theatre after seeing this delightful musical. In an age not so far removed from the one in which Annie finds herself, we, too, must look to the positive parts of life in order to improve ourselves and start anew.
The sun will come out tomorrow. That’s not an unrealistic statement. You can choose that approach to life. It sure beats choosing the negative, which is no more predictable. So, believe that the sun will be there tomorrow and it shall be; let the sun shine in; keep on the sunny side of life; and believe in tomorrow.
In the end, we’ll all be better off believing together and making it happen! Like Annie, we can lift the spirits of others and make the sun shine.
Richard Rose – Director, Annie