We Got Annie!

“Annie” is back! And we’ve never seen it done like this before!

“Annie” is considered to be on the biggest Broadway musicals of the 70’s, playing 2,377 performances over its six - year Broadway run. It has won numerous awards, including seven Tony Awards and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. “Annie” originally opened at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway in 1977. It went on to be filmed in 1982 and was remade in 1999. 

Now, Will Smith and Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) have teamed up to produce a more contemporary version of the classic orphan’s tale. Will Gluck has signed on as director of Annie.  He is known for his films “Easy A” and “Friends With Benefits”.

The remake seems to stick to the original storyline, but there have been a few tweaks here and there. For starters, some of the names have been changed. For example, the character we all know as Annie, has taken on the name Isabella. Also, a few of the original songs have been cut to make room for additions written and produced by Jay-Z. Previously, Jay-Z reworked “It’s TheHard Knock Life” for his third album, and it is rumored that a portion of his version will be used for the movie. But don’t worry, they’ve kept some of the Annie favorites such as, “Tomorrow”, “Maybe” and “I Don’t Need Anything But You”.

New York Post

Academy Award nominee, Quvenzhane Wallis, is playing the role of Isabella, a variation of little orphan Annie. Isabella is an 11-year-old foster child, who dreams of a better life. Jamie Foxx is co-staring with Wallis as Benjamin Stacks, a spin on Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks. Other signed on actors include Cameron Diaz, Rose Byrne and David Zayas.

Production began in August of this year in New York City, and has an anticipated release during the winter holiday season of 2014.  I’m very excited for the remake. The more I learn about the movie, the more it reminds me of The Wiz, the 1970’s remake of The Wizard Of OZ. Honestly, I would love to see more contemporary remakes like this being done. With the right creative team, remakes can sometimes be as great as the classics!

Idina Menzel Returns To Broadway!

        

Broadway.com

    Tony Award winning actress, Idina Menzel, is returning to Broadway to star in the new musical If/Then.  Menzel is best known for premiering the role of Elphaba in the hit musical Wicked.  With over 17 years in the business, Idina is celebrated for her roles of Shelby Corcoran (Glee), Maureen Johnson (Rent), Kate (Wild Party), and Fanny Brice (Funny Girl). Now she’s originated the role of Elizabeth in If/Then

             If/Then tells a story of a 40-year old woman named Elizabeth who has moved to New York City for a fresh start. After carefully planning her new life, a very small and random occurrence impacts her in a way she never dreamt possible. This contemporary musical is a romantic, emotional and smart story about taking chances and starting over. 

            If that description doesn’t excite you, this star-studded cast will.  LaChanze, best know for her role as Cellie in The Color Purple, is playing the role of Kate.  Anthony Rapp plays the role of Lucas.  Rapp is best known for originated the character Mark Cohen in the musical Rent. 

The creative team also has a great lineup of well-known industry names.  The director, Michael Greif, has directed the Broadway musicals Next To Normal, Grey Gardens, and Rent.  Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt teamed up for a second time to write the music. They first worked together in the Broadway show Next to Normal, a rock musical about a mother struggling with bipolar disorder and the effect the illness has on her family.  Next to Normal won 4 of their 11 Tony Award nominations in 2009.

            There hasn’t been much music released from the musical, but that hasn’t stopped the building excitement around the show.  The Pre-Broadway premiere is taking place in Washington, DC from November 5^th – December 8^th of this year.  The Broadway premiere is scheduled to begin March 4, 2014 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. With such an electric cast and team signed on, this musical has everything it needs to be a successful show.  Maybe this role will land Menzel another deserved Tony Award.  

Expert Advice

Maureen Burke and Andrea Cockerton are two women who know a lot about developing a professional business plan.  As I come to the end of my Business Plan Development course, I have decided to do further research on these two women and try to discover any other helpful advice that I can apply to the plan.

Maureen Burke believes that the executive summary is the most important portion of the business plan, and I agree.  The executive summary is the section that briefly describes the who, what, when, where, and why of a company.  This section is also the first element that a potential investor will read.  This sets the tone for the rest of your business plan.  After researching Maureen, I realized that my executive summary needed a lot of work, especially the market analysis. I developed the market analysis portion about six months ago.  It is time to conduct a new analysis and update this information. 

In November of 2012, Andrea Cockerton participated as a speaker at the Swiss Mobicamp event.  This event is dedicated to helping the attendees understand, navigate and prosper in the entrepreneurial world.  Cockerton’s workshop was entitled “Life’s A Pitch”.  During this presentation she discussed how important it is to understand what investors want and how to deliver that in your pitch.  Many pitches are badly planned, the message is buried, or the thinking is flawed.  She goes on to explain that tone should not describe, it should persuade. 

Even though Andrea is speaking about pitching and not so much the business plan, her advice is important for business plan development as well.  I believe the tone of a business play should be persuasive.  As I am putting the final touches on my business plan, I will incorporate this persuasive tone.

I am very excited to be close to having the entire plan complete, however, I still have a long way to go.  My research on Burke and Cockerton has definitely left me with a few helpful tips that I must incorporate into my business plan to make it better.  

Expert's Spotlight

Maureen Burke has over 30 years of finance and entrepreneurship experience. 

Her career began on Wall Street as an underwriter and trader.  Several years later, she began working on her MBA in finance from Yale.  Since graduating, she has been advising entrepreneurs with technology-based companies.  Maureen is currently a lecturer at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.  She also is an advisor to the Yale Entrepreneurship Society’s Y50K business plan competition. 

In her 2008 lecture, How to Write a Business Plan, she discusses how essential a business plan is and the elements that make it great.  She says that 75% of business plans are “bad”.  They are either badly written or missing vital information.  She goes on to discuss the essential elements of a business plan and how to structure them. 

The most enlightening part of this lecture, for me, was her discussion on the Executive Summary portion of the business plan.  Burke believes this is one of the most important elements.  The executive summary is an investors first impression of a company.  If this portion is not up to par, investors may not read any further. This summary should discuss your company, what you do, the experience of management, marketing opportunity, and your strengths and weaknesses.  It is important that you convey what makes your business unique in the executive summary as well.  This will spark the interest of potential investors.  

Burke ends her lecture briefly discussing how important it is to do your research.  She advises entrepreneurs to only include information that is credible and can be proved.  

The NewWomen Magazine

Andrea Cockerton is the founder of the company Mudhut Consulting, located in United Kingdom.  Much like Maureen, Andrea works as a consultant, assisting and guiding entrepreneurs as they develop their business plan and lauch successful companies.  In an article with The NextWomen magazine, Cockerton discussed funding and pitching a new business.  This article was very informative, especially her discussion on the most important elements of a pitch.  Cockerton explains that all pitches should mention that the business is “targeting a growing market with a need for your product or service, that the team is talented and able to execute the business plan, and that your product, service or idea is groundbreaking”. 

As I continue to develop my business plan, I am excited to research more of their lectures and articles.  Andrea gives a lot of great tips for women wanting to successfully launch a company, while Maureen works with college students on a daily basis.  I am both a woman and a student, so I think these would be two experts that I could learn a lot from.