A Hard Knock Evolution

At the ripe old age of 2, Bella was introduced to the movie Annie. It was the second musical I showed her, right behind Mary Poppins of course. You see, I love me some Annie ya'll. When I was little, I'd rewind our VCR over and over again until I knew every word of every song. Just imagine how long that took--it was a VCR!  I noticed every spin, every tumble and every detail of the movie's big song Hard Knock Life. The way the girls twirled from the rafters and the way the bucket spilled perfectly down the stairs spreading the soapy suds just right. I noticed EVERYTHING. Which is why it came as no surprise to see Bella love it the way I loved it. I remember my days in California when it was just Bella and I driving around and she'd be screaming the song Tomorrow from the back seat of our sedan, making me so happy. Hold up. OMG. There was a time when I drove a sedan! With only 1 carseat! Can you believe it?

Back then Mary Poppins and Annie was the soundtrack to our lives. The love affair even traveled across country because when we moved to Chicago it made our Halloween hit list for two years in a row.

I mean really, isn't this adorable!!!

Of course she dressed up for the show. And in return the VP of Disney Theatre rewarded Bella with a Mary Poppins umbrella when he spotted her in the lobby. Talk about awesome!

Why yes, that's a locket. For real, I don't mess around on Halloween :)

Good ol' Sandy


I even dusted off the ol' flip digital camera to share this video from the archives...

But as the years went on our love affair with Annie was put on the back burner behind Wicked's Defying Gravity YouTube clips (which they're going to see live in October--can't wait!), Disney's Tangled and The Fresh Beat Band.

Until last week, that is. A college friend of mine Leena who blogs at Leena Eats, recommended that we watch the PBS documentary, "It's The Hard Knock Life, From Script to Stage" which chronicles the journey from auditions to opening night of Broadway's revival, Annie. We set our DVR and sure enough, loved every minute of it. If you're interested in watching it, just go here.

We all snuggled around the couch and watched as the documentary, much like the musical, captured our hearts and imagination once again. The kids were totally engrossed-- just like I was 30 years ago. And when the girls asked to watch it a second time, I knew my DNA was in there somewhere. See people, I'M NOT THE NANNY!

But I digress.

Earlier this afternoon, as I was nursing Indy, I heard some startling sounds from the monitor. At first, I thought all hell was breaking loose in their room. But the more I listened, the more I realized they were actually acting like they were upset, angry little orphans. So I hoisted Indy into the bjorn and grabbed my phone. Here ya go...

Funny, huh? The second clip which I'll spare you from, was even more intense since they discovered that the only way to really portray bitter little orphans was to bang on every pot in their play kitchen while they screeched out the song, making the video clip (and my ears) totally distorted.

Method actors, humpf.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got way too much to drink and way too many kids that I need to boss around. I mean, how else is this place gonna shine like the top of the Chrysler building?!