There’s something to be said about typecasting. What’s wrong with an actor zeroing in on a type and playing brilliant variations on that theme? Nobody accuses a violin virtuoso of not playing the piano well.
Jane Lynch isn’t a chameleon: She’s focused. For the past couple of decades she’s offered inventive takes on a specific kind of imperious, scary-funny woman — most famously, the dementedly nasty cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester on “Glee.”
So casting her as Miss Hannigan, the arch-villain in the musical “Annie,” for a limited time (until July 14), was a no-brainer.
And Lynch, for the most part, delivers. She may not have the stage chops of her Tony-winning predecessor, Katie Finneran, but she has sharp comic timing and a sure handle on how to play a drunken tormentor of orphans — finding new, entertaining ways to rage at her charges, especially the indomitably optimistic Annie. The girl’s l’il Bernadette Peters red curls probably drive Hannigan crazy, too.
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Director James Lapine makes savvy good use of Lynch’s statuesque physique, having her 6-foot-2-in-heels self tower over her diminutive charges. And as those who saw her host “Saturday Night Live” know, Lynch can sing. She may not have expert technique or a pure tone, but she knows how to milk a song for all it’s worth.
Railing against the loathed “Little Girls,’’ she brays the phrase “Everywhere I turn” before switching to a whispered “I can see them.”
As for the rest of the Tony-nominated musical, it’s nice to report that, eight months into its run, it’s in fine shape.
Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin’s score is packed with smart, well-crafted songs. This production gives them an elegant setting in which scenic design, lighting and costumes combine to evoke a stylized version of Depression-era New York — the staging of “Tomorrow” is particularly beautiful.
And while the show hits all the “awww” notes, it also has the right amount of tartness thanks to the excellent cast — notably Anthony Warlow as a gruffly endearing Daddy Warbucks, the gazillionaire who rescues Annie from Hannigan’s clutches.
At a recent performance, that scrappy foundling was played by understudy Taylor Richardson, who acted well but isn’t quite the evocative singer the show’s 12-year-old star, Lilla Crawford, is. Another replacement, Mikey, looked comfortable as Annie’s mutt, Sandy, confidently crossing the stage as if it were just another doggie playground.
At a time when Broadway is packed with shows vying for the family dollar, you could do a lot worse than adopt this “Annie.”