Twitter praises 'Annie Live!' after being surprised by the amazing performances

NBC debuted their highly-anticipated musical Annie Live! Thursday night starring newcomer Celina Smith as the title character as well as Harry Connick Jr., Taraji P. Henson, Nicole Sherzinger, Tituss Burgess, and Megan Hilty.

While the Broadway musical has been loved by viewers since it debuted in 1977, later being adapted into its first film in 1982, the live NBC special Thursday had Twitter singing their praises.

Fans loved hearing the hits like "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard-Knock Life," but it was the latter that had some pleasantly surprised by the choreography, particularly because of its stepping sequence.

As for the acting performances, while it's no surprise fans loved Henson as Miss Hannigan, Burgess as Rooster and Hilty as Lily St. Regis, they especially were surprised and moved by 13-year-old Celina Smith, who beat out numerous hopefuls in a nationwide search.

In fact, Annie Live! was so good that viewers were surprised they watched the entire three hour special.

Overall, it was a fun, light-hearted night, which is exactly what viewers were looking for. And with Broadway recently reopening after being shut down for a year and a half due to COVID-19, you can bet your bottom dollar many people will be thinking about heading to the theater as soon as possible for more.

Video Transcript

- It's the hard knock life for us. It's the hard knock life for us.

CELINA SMITH: Stead of treated--

- We get tricked.

CELINA SMITH: Stead of kisses--

- We get kicked. It's the hard knock life!

KYLIE MAR: "Annie Live!" premiered on NBC Thursday night starring newcomer Celina Smith as the title character, as well as Harry Connick Jr., Taraji P. Henson, Nicole Scherzinger, Titus Burgess, and Megan Hilty. And while the Broadway musical has been loved by viewers since it debuted in 1977, later being adapted into its first film in 1982, the live NBC special Thursday had Twitter singing their praises.

TARAJI P. HENSON: Some women are dripping with diamonds. Some women are dripping with pearls. Lucky me, lucky me, look at what I'm dripping with, little girls.

KYLIE MAR: Viewers loved hearing the classics like "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard Knock Life", but it was the latter that had some pleasantly surprised with the choreography, particularly because of the stepping sequence. As for the acting performances, while it's no surprise fans loved Taraji as Miss Hannigan, Titus as Rooster, and Megan Hilty as Lily St. Regis, they especially were surprised and moved by 13-year-old Celina Smith. One person tweeted, "I'm already crying. She sings like an angel."

CELINA SMITH: Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya' tomorrow. You're always a day away.

KYLIE MAR: In fact, "Annie Live!" was so good that viewers were surprised they watched the entire three-hour special. And with Broadway recently reopening after being shut down for a year and a half due to COVID-19, you can bet your bottom dollar they'll be heading to the theater as soon as possible.

HARRY CONNICK JR.: I don't need anything.

CELINA SMITH: Anything!

- Anything! I don't need anything but you.