Before the red curls, before the Tony Awards, and long before 'Tomorrow' became a Broadway anthem, there was a dream, and a risky one at that. The Annie Phenomenon is the compelling behind-the-scenes story of how a scrappy comic strip orphan made an unlikely leap from the Sunday funnies to the Great White Way, becoming a staple of theatre communities, high schools, a successful film and a global phenomenon in the process.

As the musical celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2027, this book details the creation of one of Broadway’s most beloved musicals. From composer Charles Strouse, whose previous triumphs included Bye Bye Birdie and Applause, to lyricist and visionary Martin Charnin, who saw a musical in Harold Gray’s Little Orphan Annie where no one else did, to book writer Thomas Meehan, a first-time librettist with a flair for humor and heart, this is the story of three men chasing a Broadway long shot.

With tryouts that nearly derailed the show, producers who took a leap of faith, and a search for just the right little girl in red, Annie’s road to Broadway was anything but smooth. Yet against the odds, it became a theatrical phenomenon. Filled with insight, humor, and rarely and never-before-told anecdotes, this book is a love letter to the art of making musicals—and a tribute to the tenacity it takes to make a little girl’s song about “Tomorrow” echo for generations.