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My love for musical theater was born with the LA debut of Annie the Musical nearly 30 years ago. The story of this vibrant, tenacious little girl determined to find her parents set to upbeat, memorable lyrics fascinated and inspired me. Fast forward to 2015 and my daughter reminds me a lot of myself, microphone in hand, singing “The Sun Will Come Out…Tomorrow.”
Sony recently released a new film inspired by the original musical and it has been on auto-repeat here in our home, as my daughter can’t get enough of Annie’s fiercely optimistic and adventurous personality. Much like the original story, Annie lives in a foster home with several other girls under the callous, manipulative watch of Colleen Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). Hopeful that her parents will one day return for her, she spends every Friday night waiting at the restaurant where she believes they will reunite. As the story progresses, Annie meets mayoral candidate Will Stacks, who’s popularity is waning and at risk of losing the election. Their chance encounter occurs as she is nearly run down by a truck. Instinctively, Stacks rescues Annie which is caught on video and goes viral via social media. Seeing an opportunity to boost his poll numbers, Stacks’ campaign manager urges him to invite Annie to live with him. As you might imagine, Stacks develops an affection towards Annie, but his political life and those with malicious intent threaten their burgeoning father-daughter relationship.
In honor of the Blu-ray & DVD release of Annie, I made a batch of Sunshine Cookies inspired by the song “Tomorrow.” I used Martha Stewart’s Sugar Cookie Cutouts Recipe, cut the cookies out with a Sun Cookie Cutter, and frosted them using Alton Brown’s Royal Icing Recipe. To decorate the cookies, you’ll need yellow and red food coloring and either black writing gel or candy decorating pens to create the sun’s “smile.” I also like to use Wilton’s Disposable Decorating Bags with a #3 or #5 Tip to frost the cookies for a more precise technique.
Method:
- Once you’ve made and tinted a batch of Royal Icing, outline the center of the sun in orange.
- Thin a small batch of Orange Royal Icing with a couple of drops of water and fill in the center of the sun.
- Tint an additional batch of Royal Icing with yellow to create the sun’s rays.
- Use the black gel pen to create the “smile.”
- Allow cookies to dry in-between each color to avoid blending.
Once our Sunshine Cookies were complete, I put together an Annie Easter Basket filled with grass made from recycled paper, an Annie Blu-ray and DVD gift set which includes a Sandy plush dog, the original motion picture Annie Soundtrack, a microphone, and Annie: A True Family paperback book.
Additionally, we downloaded Annie printables to color and sing along with the lyrics to our favorite songs.
Annie is now available on Blu-ray and DVD as an exclusive gift set at Walmart for $24.96.
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