1. It doesn’t follow the typical 3 act structure (Act 1: establish characters, Act 2: main character undergoes challenge, Act 3: main character overcomes challenge to emerge stronger than before, having saved the community). Rather, here Annie has a problem (wanting to find her parents/be adopted) and Daddy Warbucks basically wants to adopt her within the first act. The antagonist plot is not really introduced until the middle of the second act, whose plan does not even take place until the third act. A properly plotted musical would have to introduce the bad guys and the main challenge early on, and it doesn’t properly do it.

2. The most famous songs, It’s the Hard Knock Life and Tomorrow, are both front ended - they’re basically the first two songs of the musical, and nothing after that has the strength of those songs. This is a poor choice.

3. The political angle featuring FDR is very strange, turning him into a significant supporting character who Annie interacts with and has a positive effect on, changing history, kind of like a proto-Forrest Gump.

The themes of the musical involve the importance of family versus chasing wealth, maintaining a positive attitude despite challenges, and the can-do spirit of the American people; it exemplifies the outgoing, cheerful, positive American attitude, which doesn’t quite resonate with my own outlook. The character of Daddy Warbucks is a great character, I appreciate how Annie’s resilience and innocence breaks through adult cynicism, and it certainly sells a fantasy to the viewer (if you’re lucky you too may become rich like little orphan Annie!)

Overall it was a fairly weak musical despite the two famous songs, mostly because of the weak plot structure and the mediocre other musical numbers.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5778510&forum_id=2).#49290182)