Annie in Sydney comprises an OG Wiggle, a Broadway star and a legacy- Sydney Travel Guide

Annie is currently playing at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre, with performances running from March 25th to June 2025.
The cast includes original Wiggle Greg Page as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Anthony Warlow as Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, who performed the role on Broadway.
Mackenzie Dunne plays Lily St. Regis- her grandparents were Australia’s original Miss Hannigan and Rooster Hannigan in 1978.
READ MORE: Andrea Bocelli will perform with a 70-piece orchestra in Sydney

Annie is back in Sydney at the Capitol Theatre in Haymarket. Directed by Karen Johnson Mortime, the story of the orphan and the billionaire features a talented cast, including Broadway star Anthony Warlow, original Wiggle Greg Page (who will be making his musical theatre debut) and up-and-coming star Mackenzie Dunne, whose grandparents were Australia’s original Miss Hannigan and Rooster Hannigan in 1978.

The cast of annie in sydney — The Cast of Annie Onstage

“You can’t take the wiggles out the man”

Original member of The Wiggles, Sydney-born actor Greg Page steps into his first musical theatre role as President D. Franklin Roosevelt. The Wiggles was founded in 1991, and Page was the beloved Yellow Wiggle whose schtick was magic tricks. The Wiggles are known globally and have sold millions of albums, books and DVDs.

Page has the signature Wiggles charm, as well as an air of friendliness about him. When asked about transitioning into musical theatre, Page said:

“It’s been something new to me—very different to what I’m used to… It’s one thing to take the man out of The Wiggles but you can’t take the wiggles out of the man, so I’m trying to tone things down”.

Some of his “Wiggleness” will come in handy, though. Page said, “I’m a very optimistic person and this show is all about optimism and what tomorrow can bring, and so, I just think the storyline is so great.”

He credited Anthony Warlow for helping him approach the role, calling him “the most warm and generous person with his advice.”

*Original Wiggle Greg Page discusses his role as President Franklin D. Roosevelt alongside Deborah Krizak, who plays Mrs. Hannigan*

Anthony Warlow is back for the fourth time

Anthony Warlow is back as billionaire Oliver Warbucks for his fourth time. He made his Broadway debut playing the iconic role in 2013 in the 35th anniversary production of Annie.

Warlow is obviously a lot like his character Warbucks—he looks tough, but he’s a sweetheart. His wife, Amanda Lavergne, is also in the production, playing the role of Grace Farrell, his love interest. Warlow said that this time round, he found the role “more soft and less cheesy”.

He said that he and Amanda as Warbucks and Grace can bring “the heart of the show”. Their authentic relationship is helping to bring a softer side to his role.

He stated, “You have the comedy with the Hannigans and the heart with the Warbucks household”.

annie and warbucks — *“The Warbucks Household”, including Warbucks (Anthony Warlow), Annie (Stephanie McNamara) and Grace (Amanda Lavergne)*

Mackenzie Dunne follows in her grandparents’ footsteps

Mackenzie Dunne will be playing Lily St. Regis, Rooster Hannigan’s girlfriend. She is dedicating her performance to her grandparents, Australia’s original Hannigans, Jill Perryman and Kevan Johnston.

When asked how it felt to be following in her family’s footsteps, Dunne said it was “surreal”.

“I remember being a kid going to my grandparents’ house and they’d have this big red photo album and i would flick through photos of them in old shows. I actually have an original photo of the two of them and Nancy Hayes doing ‘Easy Street’ back at home in black and white, so it’s really special.”

hannigans and lily st regis — Dunne, Krizak and Gonzalez as Lily St. Regis, Mrs Hannigan and Rooster Hannigan peforming “Easy Street”

From Rizzo and Kenickie to Lily and Rooster

It’s not just a family connection that Dunne has to the show. She will be playing Lily alongside Keanu Gonzalez, her co-star in the Capitol’s production of Grease in 2024. The two previously played Rizzo and Kenickie together and have developed a strong friendship.

Dressed in character with a huge feathered hat sitting on her short peroxide blonde wig, Dunne spoke about her chemistry with Gonzalez:

“We’re very lucky, we have a great friendship, a great bond and a great connection, so we can build these characters with that connection already there from Grease.”

Gonzalez added: “Whenever you play a relationship pair in the show, there’s a barrier you have to pass where you’re comfortable with each other, being so close and intimate, but we did all that in Grease, so coming into Annie, that was the least of our worries, and we could focus more on the actual characters and their relationship as opposed to having to build one between us.”

Madeleine Dunne and Keanu Gonzalez — *Mackenzie Dunne and Keanu Gonzalez, who have co-starred together before*

The young cast

Annie is played by four different actors, all ages 10-11. We saw Stephanie McNamara perform classic hit “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” alongside the talented young ensemble, energetically kart-wheeling and kicking as they sang the beloved song. From the glimpse we had of her performance, she easily embodies the optimistic orphan’s spirit.