For Robert Gallagher, stepping into the role of Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks in “Annie” at The Argyle Theatre is more than another credit. It is a return to the part that first sparked his passion for theater nearly four decades ago — and one that now carries new personal meaning.
“This was the role that kind of ignited my love for theater,” Gallagher said. “Doing this show as a sophomore in high school in 1986, it really feels like a full-circle moment, coming back to this. There are a lot of nostalgic memories coming back for me, but it’s also a completely brand-new experience at the same time.”
Gallagher, a Broadway veteran and longtime voice teacher on Long Island, portrays the billionaire industrialist who unexpectedly finds family and purpose through his bond with the orphan Annie. While the character is iconic — tall, bald, wealthy and powerful — Gallagher said he resisted modeling his performance on any single past portrayal.
“I didn’t study any one particular performance,” he said. “I just approached it as if it was brand new, like I’d never seen it before. I knew there was this larger-than-life character, one of the richest men in the world, but I wanted to start from scratch.”
To ground the role, Gallagher immersed himself in the era that shaped Warbucks, researching the Great Depression and the titans of industry who defined it.
“I did a lot of research on the billionaires of the time — the Rockefellers, the Carnegies, the Fords — to see if any of those figures could inform who this guy is,” he said. “The challenging part is, who can really relate to that kind of life? You really have to let your imagination run wild.”
That imagination is balanced by something far more familiar: fatherhood. Gallagher’s own daughter appears in the production as a featured ensemble member, making the show especially meaningful.
“The relationship with Annie — the father-daughter thing — actually came much more naturally as a result of having raised a daughter myself,” he said. “That’s been very special for me.”
Gallagher sees Warbucks’ emotional arc as rooted in shared loss. The character, he noted, is himself an orphan, a detail that informs his delayed ability to connect on a human level.
“Oliver Warbucks is an orphan himself,” Gallagher said. “That sparked this determination for him to become a rich man. I use that as a reason for why it’s taken him this long to connect to other people, rather than always being driven to make more money.”
When Annie arrives at the mansion, Gallagher believes the connection is immediate, even if unanticipated.
“He never expected to fall in love,” he said. “But there’s this instant connection because of his experience as an orphan that I don’t think he was anticipating.”
As one of the oldest cast members, Gallagher also brings a sense of responsibility to the rehearsal room, particularly with many young performers in the company.
“Mentor is a strong word, but setting a good example — yeah, I feel that responsibility,” he said. “I want to conduct myself in a way that’s professional and warm and kind, so I’m accessible, but also take the work seriously and set a certain professional standard.”
He credits the show’s leadership for fostering that environment, pointing to director Valerie Wright, choreographer Debbie Roshe and musical director Jonathan Brenner.
“They set a really good tone,” Gallagher said. “Finding the truth in it, finding the humanity and the heart in the piece — that brought us together as an ensemble.”
Gallagher’s path back to the stage was not a direct one. Though he once aspired to Broadway full time, life gradually shifted him toward teaching. Now an adjunct voice professor and private instructor, he had not performed in a musical in more than a decade before “Annie.”
“This was an unintentional but necessary transition from being a full-time performer to a teacher,” he said. “Then the Argyle approached me about this part.”
When the opportunity came, he accepted without hesitation.
“When a door opens, you walk through it,” Gallagher said. “Here I am, and I’m loving every second of it.”
Perhaps most surprising, he said, was how natural the return felt.
“I thought it would feel different than it does,” he said. “But it just felt like, ‘Oh, I’m just doing what I always did,’ even though there were 10 years when I didn’t do it at all.”
For Gallagher, playing Daddy Warbucks is not about revisiting the past, but about embracing the present — with experience, perspective and heart.
“It really has been quite a journey,” he said.
This show will run through Jan. 4. Showtimes are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m., on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Matinee performances are on Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and on Sundays at 2 p.m. Argyle Theatre is located at 34 West Main St. in Babylon. Visit www.argyletheatre.com for tickets and to learn more.
