Sarah Jessica Parker has joined all the performers who have played Annie as they celebrated the musical's 40th anniversary in a special episode of Inside Edition, which will air on Wednesday. The 51-year-old actress, who played the red-headed orphan in 1979, shared the stage with fellow Annie stars Taylor Richardson and Andrea McArdle, who was the original Annie from the 1977 Broadway production.
During the special episode, Sex and the City's Sarah revealed she never thought she would get the chance to play the lead role. "[I] watched Andrea and assumed I would never be in Annie," she confessed. "I would certainly never play Annie, and I wouldn’t be part of this sort of magical phenomenon that washed over Broadway." The mother-of-three joined the actresses for the celebrations where they sang some of the musical's iconic songs, including, It's A Hard Knock Life and Tomorrow.
What does 'little orphan Annie' look like now?
Based on a comic strip by Harold Gray, called Little Orphan Annie, Annie has become a worldwide sensation. The musical, which has gone on to win seven Tony Awards, tells the story of a young schoolgirl in an orphanage and her determination to find out if her parents really died. Although Annie was a huge success on Broadway, Aileen Quinn's portrayal of the loveable freckled-faced orphan in the 1982 smash-hit musical is perhaps one of the most memorable performances of all time.
In 2015, the American actress was reunited with legendary actor and Annie co-star Tim Curry at a Tony Awards viewing party after 33 years. Speaking to People about their emotional reunion, Aileen revealed Tim - who played Rooster Hannigan in Annie - was the only cast member she hadn't met since the film. "Tim was the one [co-star] I hadn't seen in 30 years," she confessed. "It was very emotional because what people don't realise about him is how kind he is in real life. When I came up to him I was like, 'Tim, do you remember this face?' And he said, 'Of course I do!' and he had kind of this wry smile. He has that twinkle in his eye as always. Even though it's not quite the same as 30 years ago because he's older now, we had a very nice moment."