Tituss Burgess has come on board NBC’s upcoming live musical event, Annie Live! Six-time Emmy nominee Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) signed on to play “Rooster” in the musical production directed by Lear deBessonet and Alex Rudzinski.
Rooster is Miss Hannigan’s underhanded brother, and Burgess says he’s always wanted to play a villain.
Burgess is the latest to sign on to the cast, including Taraji P. Henson as Miss Hannigan, Harry Connick Jr. as Daddy Warbucks, and Nicole Scherzinger as Grace.
NBC’s set a Thursday, December 2, 2021, premiere date for Annie Live! The musical will air live at 8 pm ET and will be tape-delayed for its 8 pm PT broadcast.
Annie Live!‘s behind-the-scenes team includes executive producers Robert Greenblatt, Neil Meron, and Alex Rudzinski. Sergio Trujillo is the choreographer, Jason Sherwood is the production designer, and Emilio Sosa is the costume designer. Stephen Oremus is the music director.
The musical premiered on Broadway back in 1977 and is based on the classic comic strip Little Orphan Annie, created by Harold Gray. Annie earned seven Tony Awards over the course of its Broadway run.
Tituss Burgess recently starred as Titus Andromedon for four scenes on the critically acclaimed comedy, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Burgess earned five Emmy nominations for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and picked up an additional Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance category for Central Park. In addition, Burgess earned three Critics Choice Awards nominations and a Screen Actors Guild nomination.
Burgess will next be seen playing Reverend Dr. James Cleveland in the Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, and Audra McDonald.