We Got Annie: A Loveletter to Broadway at the National Theater in D.C.

When I was in 5th grade, a friend of my dad's came to visit. She was a close friend from his life before my mom and us, but that past life didn't end on bad terms. She had red hair, took the bus, and brought us gifts in heavyweight plastic bags with snap-close handles advertising all kinds of interesting stores. She took us to see La Cage Aux Folles at Broadway at the National Theater in D.C.. She also infested our suburban Maryland house with Big Apple roaches, but I will always be grateful she introduced me to Broadway theater.

Christmas, Senior year of high school, I received one of those big boomboxes with detachable speakers. It was Sony, and I thought it was so effing cool. It was my first CD player. The first CD I got? Cats. The second? Les Miserables. I had seen both at the National Theater in D.C. on field trips.

And now I'm an adult with a job that lets me and my daughter see almost any Broadway show we want at that very same theater.

I have a partnership with Broadway at the National Theater in Washington D.C. It is one of the best perks of this job as I get good tickets to almost every Broadway show that comes to the National Theater in exchange for sharing details about the show and my experience on Instagram.

My mom, my sister, my daughter, and I were all born in January, so we usually do one special day to celebrate all of us together. With such a range in ages, we've often celebrated by going to the theater. My daughter loved the theater since she was young, and it is so wonderful that I can offer her that which I would have dreamed of when I was her age. I do not take this job or this partnership for granted.

At the National Theater, she and I have seen Hairspray, and Aladdin; Jagged Little Pill and Hadestown; TINA and Beetlejuice. Sometimes, I have been able to get enough tickets to take my mom, my sister, or friends. Everyone I ask is thrilled to be able to see a show at Broadway at the National Theater. And even when it's not the best show (sorry, but Pretty Woman should not have been turned into a musical), everyone always has a great time.

And this month, my daughter and I got to see Annie. Annie! I was born in 1975, and Annie came out in 1982. Frozen mania had NOTHING on Annie in the early 80's. And I was only a couple of years younger than Aileen Quinn, the actress who played the famous orphan in the film.

Our mom sewed my sister and me matching “Annie” dresses. We had Annie dolls, and we even had Annie broken lockets that came from Toys R Us. We had the Annie soundtrack, and played it over and over on our Fisher Price record player. We acted out the movie, and when we got a VCR, my parents got the movie on Beta.

From when she was a baby until Lockdown, my daughter would spend at least one night a week at my mom's house. My mom would pick Emerson up in the afternoon (and later on, after school). They'd have dinner together (often Stouffers French bread pizza and broccoli) and watch a movie on the TV. My mom had an extensive collection of videos (upgrades from Beta to VHS and DVD), including the original 1982 Annie.

My daughter knew the lyrics to every song in Annie well before the remake with Jamie Foxx. It was one of her favorite movies to watch at my mom's and I know my mom loved it too. My mom would have so enjoyed seeing Annie with all her girls. It was so wonderful to be able to experience it with my daughter.

The Broadway musical Annie inspired the 1982 movie, and the musical was inspired by the comic strip, Little Orphan Annie. Some parts are spot on to the film, and some are drastically different. However, the general story is the same. Some songs you will know by heart, some may be new if you have never seen the musical.

It was fantastic. It was charming, and it was fun. We sang along and caught each other's eye at certain parts. A child in the row behind us was adorably precocious, and we gave him the “Sandy” keychain we received as a gift from Broadway at the National; he told me my gold hoops looked like “portals to the land of money,” and the cast got a standing ovation and everyone left the theater smiling.

As we head back to the suburbs, we drive up Independence Avenue, the Capitol in front of us. We drive through the same tunnel in D.C. we've driven through for decades, the same route my parents took with me and my sister in the back seat. That I took with my mom in the passenger seat, and later in the back seat.

Information about Broadway at the National Theater in D.C.

The National Theater gets most of the Broadway tours when they come through. The second oldest continuously running theater in the United States, it is beautiful with the red walls, cream trim, and glistening chandeliers. It looks quite similar to how I remembered it as a child.

The National Theater is on Pennsylvania Avenue, not far from the White House, The Mall, museums, and monuments. There are several nice restaurants and hotels within a few blocks, making it a great activity for a date night or an evening on a vacation to our Nation's Capital.

The Metro Center station for the Metro is two blocks away from the National Theater. You can occasionally find street parking but don't rely on it. The parking garage around the corner on 13th Street offers theater parking for $20. The elevator comes up to the lobby of the office building next door. The office lobby is always open after performances, and it's just a short walk from its doors to the front of the National Theatre.

There are no steps from the garage to the theater. The National Theater has one small elevator; make a right upon entering and find it at the end of the lobby. The second level/Mezzanine has a second concessions stand with seating and cocktail tables, but there are steps to reach it. Here is more information on the National Theater's accessibility.

The upcoming shows at Broadway at the National are pretty fantastic. The Book of Mormon, Peter Pan, and MJ the Musical. Tell them Alison sent you. I wasn't paid or asked to write this, but I love and support theater and live performances and enjoy every time I visit the National Theater. And I want more people to experience the joy of popular Broadway shows here in the DMV!