SIDE 1

 

(MISS HANNIGAN comes in.)

MISS HANNIGAN

Good morning, children.

ALL ORPHANS

Good morning, Miss Hannigan.

MISS HANNIGAN

Well?

ALL ORPHANS

I love you, Miss Hannigan.
(BUNDLES, the laundry man enters.)

ALL ORPHANS

Mornin’, Bundles.

BUNDLES

Mornin’, kids. Clean sheets once a month, whether you need  em or not.
(As BUNDLES is talking, ANNIE sneaks into the laundry bag.)

MISS HANNIGAN

Hurry up, Bundles. Get out of here with that laundry!
(BUNDLES grabs the laundry with ANNIE in it and exits.)

BUNDLES

So long, kids. Merry Christmas.

(MISS HANNIGAN inspects the floor.)

MISS HANNIGAN

You call this clean, Annie? Annie? Annie?

DUFFY

Annie ain’t here.

TESSIE

She just went. With Mr. Bundles.

MISS HANNIGAN

Bundles?!? Police! Police!

 

SIDE 2

 

MOLLY

Mama! Mama! Mommy!

PEPPER

Be quiet!

DUFFY

Can’t anybody get any sleep around here?

MOLLY

Mama. Mommy.

PEPPER

I said shut your trap, Molly.
(shoves Molly)

JULY

Ahh, stop shovin’ the poor kid. She ain’t doin’ nuthin’ to you.

PEPPER

She’s keepin’ me awake, ain’t she?

JULY

How’  bout I make a pancake outta you?
(PEPPER and JULY fight.)

TESSIE

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, they’re fightin’ and I won’t get no sleep all night. Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.
(ANNIE, age 11, runs in.)

ANNIE

Pipe down, all of ya. Go back to sleep.
(to MOLLY)
It’s all right, Molly. Annie’s here.

MOLLY

It was my Mama, Annie.

ANNIE

It was only a dream, honey. Now you gotta go back to sleep.

MOLLY

Annie... read me your note.

ANNIE

Again?

MOLLY

Please?
(ANNIE takes a crumpled note from her pocket and reads it to MOLLY.)

ANNIE

“Please take good care of our little darling. Her name is Annie.”

KATE

(mockingly, they have heard this note read a thousand times before)
“She was born on October 28th. We will be back to get her soon.”

PEPPER

(mockingly)
“We have left half of a silver locket around her neck and kept the other half...”

PEPPER, DUFFY, KATE

“...so that when we come back for her you will know that she’s our baby.”
(PEPPER, DUFFY, KATE and the ORPHANS start to laugh.)

TESSIE

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, now they’re laughing.

ANNIE

(to the others)
All right. Do you want to sleep with your teeth insida your mouth or out!

MOLLY

Gee, I dream about havin’ a mother and father again. But you’re lucky. You really got ‘em.

 

SIDE 3

 

(A faraway church bell chimes four A.M. ANNIE starts putting things into a small basket.)

KATE

Annie, whatta ya doin?

ANNIE

Runnin’ away.

TESSIE

Oh my goodness.

ANNIE

My folks are never coming for me. I gotta go find them.

JULY

Annie, you’re crazy. Miss Hannigan’ll catch you.

ANNIE

I don’t care. I’m getting’ outta here. Wish me luck.

ALL EXCEPT PEPPER

Good luck, Annie.

PEPPER

So long, dumbbell. And good luck.
(ANNIE sneaks across the stage. As she reaches to open the door, MISS HANNIGAN, flings open the door.)

MISS HANNIGAN

Aha! Caught you!
(ANNIE falls backward.)
Get up. Get up!

ANNIE

(standing up)
Yes, Miss Hannigan.

MISS HANNIGAN

Rotten orphan.

ANNIE

I’m not an orphan. My mother and father left a note saying they loved me and they were coming back for me.

MISS HANNIGAN

That was 1922; this is 1933.
(blows her whistle)
Get up! All of you. Now, for this one’ s shenanigans, you’ll all get down on your knobby little knees and clean this dump until it shines like the top of the Chrysler Building.
(The ORPHANS all get out of bed.)

TESSIE

But it’ s four o’ clock in the morning.

MISS HANNIGAN

Get to work!!

ANNIE, ORPHANS

Yes, Miss Hannigan.

MISS HANNIGAN

Why any kid would want to be an orphan, I’ll never know.