By SHARON EBERSON
For 50 years, into every musical theater generation, there must be an Annie. One must see it, mount it or perform in it. It’s an unwritten role.
The show that launched countless renditions of Tomorrow was not on Connor McCanlus‘ dance card as a performer. Until now.
Oh sure, he had seen it, on stage and screen, and like most of us, revered Carol Burnett’s portrayal of the comically cruel Miss Hannigan.
Then came the audition notice for Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s professional production of Annie, set for the Byham Theater February 19-March 1, 2026, and directed by McCanlus’ friend, Quinn Patrick Shannon, Conservatory Director of the PMT Conservatory.
In a laughter-filled conversation with Shannon and McCanlus, they discussed why it’s the right time for a show about a determined and endlessly hopeful little girl and her dog, Sandy, set during the Great Depression. The character that started life as LIttle Orphan Annie, a newspaper comic strip – two things that would appear to be headed toward obsolescence — that ran in print from 1924 to 2010.
Among the musical’s seven Tony Award wins in 10 nominations, Annie was named Best Musical of 1977, and won for the book by Thomas Meehan and songs by Martin Charnin and Charles Strouse.
onStage Pittsburgh: Why is now the right time for Annie?
Quinn Patrick Shannon: We need Annie now because I think audiences need to laugh. It’s one of my favorite shows. … It takes place during the Great Depression, the height of it, so I think without getting too political or up on my soapbox, I think, that to see Americans getting through something really hard is inspiring. And I also think seeing children having fun is inspiring, which is why I’ve done this for the last four years.
oSP: Connor, was the role of Miss Hannigan on your bucket list?
Connor McCanlus: I didn’t actually think this was going to happen. I saw the dates …
QPS: I knew it was going to happen.
CM: You’re very kind. Yeah, so, before I signed up for an audition, I texted Quinn and asked what the rehearsal calendar was going to look like, and asked, ‘If I can swing this, can I come in and show you what my Miss Hannigan would look like?’ To me, an audition is like, I’ve booked a little show, and so, if anything, I was like, I’m going to get to play Miss Hannigan for 2 1/2 minutes, and make Quinn Shannon laugh, which is my favorite thing. I’ve been doing that since 2013. But I thought that was going to be the end of the road. I thought he was going to be like, ‘Thank you so much for coming in. Now we are going to traditionally cast this.’ So when I found out I got the role, that’s when I realized, ‘Oh, this is a bucket list role, because I am a comedian.’ To even step foot into something that Carol Burnett touched is a Herculean task, but now, now, it is a bucket list.
oSP: So Quinn, you said you knew …?
QPS: Well, yeah. Connor texted me, and I hadn’t even thought about it. And to be fair, talking to [Colleen Doyno, PMT executive director], I thought, ‘This is the one role I’m going to have to call 40 people back for.’ I just didn’t know what I wanted, but I knew I wanted someone funny. And when he texted, I was like, ‘Hmm, that could be great.’ And then it was like, ‘Well, of course.’ … Connor came in, and he left the room, and I was like, ‘I can’t see anyone else in the role.’
CM: We spoke about that, that you would be lousy with choices, because one thing Pittsburgh has is funny women galore.
QPS: I had just met [an actress who auditioned] for the first time, too, who had just moved here. I thought, ‘You’re great people that I can’t wait to work with.’ But yeah, it’s just one of those things where I kind of knew.
oSP: You said you’ve been making each other laugh since 2013. How did you first meet her?
CM: We met in [the Pittsburgh CLO debut] production of Judge Jackie Justice – Kooman and Dimond — their magnum opus. What’s it called now?
[We riff on the name changes. It is Judge Jackie Justice: Disorder in the Court.]
CM: We met on a musical comedy, and I think right away we learned that we have similar styles of humor.
QPS: We both like sharp, clean, broad comedy, classic comedy. We are kind of old school in what we think is funny. I think we have the same sensibility musically, too. There’s a difference between musical theater, comedy and what Jerry Seinfeld does. And we lean into musical theater comedy. Yeah, 100%. And in rehearsal, I’ll think of a bit, and he’ll be a step ahead of me and I’ll be like, ‘Yeah, you got it.’
CM: It is just like that. … I’ve come with a lot of my ideas, but I really trust this man. I really trust that he knows what is funny, and he’s going to make sure that I do my best work, and do what’s best for the production. And he has given me hilarious, wonderful ideas, and been receptive to my ideas. It’s been a joy.
oSP: You’re both educators [McCanlus as Academy Director at Arcade Comedy Theater], and in this case, you’re also some of the adults in the room. So what’s that been like?
QPS: A lot of the shows I direct are teenage kids, and some of the best actors I’ve worked with are teenage kids. They’re just really smart. … But I think the difference is, I don’t have to be as nitpicky with the adults, which is good. It’s not admonishing the kids in any way, but it’s a different way of working, not good or bad.
CM: This is my first PMT show … well, my first professional show, I took classes here when I was young, But this is my first time returning as an adult, and the kids in this production are a reflection of the training that they get here. They are pros. We are not spending time giving them the same note twice, telling them to be quiet, telling them to pay attention. They are here to work, and they are watching the adults, they’re learning from us. And so I think on the first day, Gemma [Mitchell] and Colleen reminded all the adults that this is an educational opportunity for some people, and we are here to set a precedent for the work. So I think everyone is on their best behavior.
QPS: Obviously, there are all the little ones, the orphans, but we have some teenage kids in there who are really well-trained and know what to expect just from these quick rehearsal processes.
oSP: Back to Miss Hannigan. I’ve seen you in heels before, in Off the Record. Will you be wearing your hot pink heels?
CM: No. All of my heels were far too contemporary, so I was like, I need to make an investment in a quality, 1933 character shoe.
oSP: But that’s great to have in your wardrobe, right?
CM: Oh, yes. This is not my first time in a pair of heels, and it won’t be my last, and I’ve been wearing them since Day One of rehearsal, because I need to be literally, in her shoes.
oSP: So do you have your Sandy yet?
QPS: Mochi is the dog’s name. An 8-year-old Labradoodle. Just adorable.They’re making their debut, if you will, but they’ve been great. Really well-trained, really just cute as can be. And the Annies [Aubrey Liscotti and Eliza Baker, both 11] have been really good with the dog, and there are certain cast members I can say to, in this scene you watch this dog, he seems to really like you, kind of a thing.
CM: Wasn’t there some famous quote, some guy said, don’t work with kids and dogs?
oSP: W.C. Fields. [“Never work with children or animals.”]
CM: We’re doing both in this production,
QPS: As a director, you can get so worked up and you’re putting all the pieces together and then at the end of the day it’s like, well, there’s going to be a dog on stage, so even if something doesn’t work, people are going to love the dog.
oSP: Quinn, you had an exciting year as a performer in 2025, in back-to-back shows [Waitress for PMT and The Shark is Broken for barebones productions]. Is there anything coming up in 2026?
QPS: Not yet. I like this director hat I’m wearing, and I like what I’m doing with the kids, but I’ll go in for something if it’s really interesting. I mean, that’s why [the Richard Dreyfuss role in The Shark is Broken], I was like, I kind of have to read for this. This looks great. And I read the play, I was like, wow.
oSP: And then doing the shows back to back, that must have been, it was so crazy.
QPS: It was so crazy, doing that, with a full-time job. So it was like juggling 10 different things, and then I went right into directing Roger and Hammerstein’s Carousel. So it was insane.
oSP: And what’s next for you, Connor?
CM: There’s something that hasn’t been announced yet, and then I will be directing for Vigilance Theater Company over the summer. We just cast that, and I will be working with some of my castmates from Annie. I’m very excited. … And then I am the Academy Director at Arcade, and so we continue to offer our comedy classes, and then I’ve started teaching improv classes at Pitt in the Osher [Life Long Learning] program. I was doing that this morning, and I’m working with a group of 12 senior citizens doing improv comedy on Wednesday mornings, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I’m having a blast. They are hilarious. They’re amazing.
oSP: So you go from working with the kids to seniors to kids …?
CM: Yes, you know, I was having a lovely catch up with Caroline [Nicolian, fellow Point Park alum and Shannon’s wife], because we now do somewhat similar jobs. Caroline is [Sponsorship Manager & PMT Conservatory Administrator]. Were talking shop in a way that I went, ‘I can’t believe we do these jobs now!’ … It’s fun that all of the people that I came up with, we all have ‘big boy, big girl’ jobs in the arts.
QPS: Yeah, I’m going to probably get pretty emotional on opening night because it’s like, not to be self-serving, but it’s like I’ve known [McCanlus] for 10+ years. Danny Krell [playing FDR], I’ve known for 10+ years. Allan Snyder I’ve known for almost 10 years and Caroline … All these people, I’ve known for so long, and Brecken Newton Farrell, who I actually directed here twice when he was a student, and Alex Noble, who I’ve known forever. It’s kind of like this fun, just, looking around the room. I can’t believe we get to do this, after all the things we’ve done together.
CM: We’re not new anymore. Istill think of myself as young and up and coming and realizing, ‘Oh, that’s not how I’m seen anymore.’
QPS: Sorry, we’re just kind of spitballing here.
oSP: No, this is fun. Keep going.
QPS: I look at Allie Burns and Marissa Buckheit and Isaac Miller, and these younger actors, Anthony Marino, and I’m like, well, they’re the new kids on the block. They’re the people coming up. … They’re the people that are going to be where we were when we were in our mid-20s.
oSP: One of the joys of what I’ve been doing over the past some odd years is watching Pittsburgh talent, starting from a very young age, and develop to professionals on stage and screen.
QPS: The young man who’s playing Rooster, Isaac Miller, he’s a great representation of the arts training that you get in Pittsburgh because he was a Lincoln Park kid, and then went to CMU, and now is a professional actor … He was in Enron [for Quantum Theatre] this year. He’s really talented.
CM: I just cast him in the Vigilance project.
QPS: And he’s a reflection of the arts training in this town,
oSP: Before we go, is there anything more I should say about Annie?
QPS: It’s not your grandma’s Annie. [We laugh.] I think people do hear Annie, and they hear the names of other shows, and they kind of like, ‘Ok, Annie again.’ But the message is so hopeful and cherished that it’s become timeless. It’s like at this point, it’s up there with some Rogers and Hammerstein pieces, and stuff that’s never going to go away. So I think if people want to laugh and see all the best actors in the city of Pittsburgh, frankly, including best kids in the city of Pittsburgh on one stage, then they should buy a ticket.
CM: I teared up the first time I heard our Annie sing “Tomorrow.” That song, everyone has heard a thousand times, but in the context of the show, you go, ‘Oh, I feel for this kid. I’m rooting for this kid. I want this kid to get everything she needs.’ And it is really well-structured musical theater. And it’s funny, I think people remember how funny, maybe Carol Burnett was in the movie, but the kids are hilarious. Most of the adults are hilarious. Everyone gets good jokes. It is a musical comedy.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s production of Annie is at the Byham Theater, February 19-March 1, 2026. Tickets: https://pittsburghmusicals.com/annie/ or call 412-539-0900.
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