`Annie' still the best cure for depression.

Byline: Alan Beck For The Register-Guard

The race is on! Whose abundance of gumption, verve and optimism will best serve to save the country from depression: Barack Obama as president in 2009 or Abigail Howell as Cottage Theatre's "Annie" in 1933?

Well, the proven winner is "Annie." Barack's playing catch-up.

"Annie" (book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin) is a big, sprawling musical adventure with a huge cast, serious themes, heavy talent demands and immense heart.

For talented director Marcee Long, this is an ambitious project. And Cottage Theatre probably has bitten off more than it can comfortably chew. There are too many unfilled moments and some awkward staging.

But unbridled enthusiasm and nonstop energy carry the day and cover most of the rough patches. Plus, there's a very high quotient of adorable cuteness among the well-directed chorus of young orphans and enough standout performances from Cottage Theatre vets to hold it all together.

Literally front and center, exuding energy and talent, is young Howell as Annie. She's feisty, fun, clever and wonderfully vulnerable. And she sings a ton!

Howell is particularly effective working with the tall, bald Paul Von Rotz's surprisingly genuine, heartfelt Daddy Warbucks. The two have a winning chemistry. Von Rotz - who benefits from having the majority of great one-liners - is a treat, moving from gruff and ruthless billionaire to putty in the hands of his newfound orphan and life mentor.

As the comic villainess of the piece, veteran Nikki Pagniano is a perfectly delightful, drunken Miss Hannigan. Channeling a bit of Carol Burnett (and I mean that in the nicest way), Pagniano rules over her orphan brood with a delicious mixture of manic meanness and gullibility.

Pagniano is a true triple threat. Whether singing, dancing or hamming it up, there isn't a moment she doesn't milk for maximum effect. When she's introduced to President Franklin Roosevelt, her curtsey-bow-salaaming bit is a show-stopping gem!

Also stopping the show on Friday night was Laura Hiszczynskyj as Warbucks' personal secretary, Grace. If you think ballet movement can't be hysterically funny, catch her over-the-top transfer of a $50,000 check - a string of plis worth the price of admission.

It's not all musical froth and fluff in this "Annie." Director Long also adds some bite with a focus on the harsh realities of life in the Hoovervilles, among the apple sellers and in the hard knock struggle of day-to-day survival.

During the overture, Long gives us a great sepia collage of Depression-era pictures, many of which are local. And in the first moments of Act I, 3-month-old Annie is left at the orphanage doorstep - not the usually employed lifelike doll in a basket, but the most adorable, scene-stealing real 3-month-old child you can imagine (Molly Dorr, in what must surely be her first stage appearance).

In a show with dancing skyscrapers, Radio City Rockettes, six dogs and 10 orphans, there's always that consistent underlying hint of desperation in hard times. It's a well thought out world of contrasts that will finally put a lump in your throat when Warbucks turns to Annie to say simply, "I love you Annie Bennett."

You'll also marvel at the orchestra. Music director Gene Slayter has jammed the small pit with 11 musicians playing 17 instruments in all. The result is a big, well-balanced sound.

Kudos, too, to costumer Rhonda Turnquist, who manages always to make Annie that burst of color in an otherwise black-and-white world. And there's that perfect red-headed wig of curls.

Secret reason to go: In the middle of Act I, Miss Hannigan's off-stage scream of anguish and jealousy. It's one of those pure Pagniano comic moments.

Alan Beck, a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, reviews theater for The Register-Guard.

PLAY REVIEW Annie When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays, through April 26 Where: Cottage Theatre, 700 Village Drive, Cottage Grove Tickets: $19; $17 seniors and students (942-8001)