November 2010 Events

Little Orphan Annie, the strip cartoon character started out as Little Orphan Otto; but Harold Gray, the cartoonist was persuaded to change the boy into a girl and the first strip cartoon of Little Orphan Annie was published in the New York Daily News on 5 August 1924. Gray created a fiercely independent 11-year old with a mind of her own and the ingenuity to get her through the many scrapes which she experienced in the 44 years that the strip cartoon ran. Her dog Sandy accompanied her on all her adventures. During the Great Depression Harold Gray used Annie to reflect his ultra conservative beliefs.

We follow Annie from the orphanage to the mansion of millionaire Oliver Warbucks. On the way she finds herself in a Hooverville, a shanty town built by the victims of the Great Depression. These Hoovervilles were named after President Hoover the man the down-and-outs blamed for their condition; although it is difficult to see how he could have prevented the Great Depression. Throughout the musical we are impressed by Annie’s constant optimism and her unremitting efforts to find her parents. Despite the plots of Miss Hannigan, the mean orphanage director, we follow Annie to a happy ending at a Christmas party where everybody, including President Roosevelt, looks forward to a rosy future.

Music by Charles Strouse; Lyrics by Martin Charnin; Book by Thomas Meehan

York Scout and Guide Gang Show is a biennial show directed, produced and performed by members of the Scout and Girlguiding movements from the York and Selby area. Each show features an entertaining selection of songs, dances and sketches and preparations are already underway for the next show at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre in November 2010.

Gang Show is based on the original idea of Ralph Reader CBE, a producer of Broadway shows and West End revues who staged the first ever Gang Show in London in 1932. During his lifetime Ralph wrote over three hundred sketches and four hundred songs. On his retirement he generously donated this vast collection of material for use by the Scouts of the world. Ralph died in 1982 but his songs and sketches continue to form a major part of Gang Shows today, bringing music, song, spectacle and happiness to millions the world over.

York Scout and Guide Gang Show has consistently achieved a high standard over the last 50 years and in 1991 was awarded National Recognition by the Scout Association. It is the aim of York Scout and Guide Gang Show to produce the best possible Show using the talents of members of the Scout and Girlguiding movements in the area. We also believe that the opportunity to benefit from taking part in the Show should be available to all so individuals do not have to pass an audition to become a member of the Gang. As long as they are 8 years old or above on 1 September of the show year, any member of the Brownies, Beavers, Cubs, Guides, Scouts, Explorer Scouts, Network or leaders from the Scout Association or Girlguiding are welcome to take part.