Taraji P. Henson Shares Photos Of Her Character Ahead Of 'Annie Live!'

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Taraji P. Henson is getting ready to take the stage as Miss Hannigan in NBC’s holiday musical, Annie Live! and she’s just shared the first look of herself all dressed up and in character ahead of the live event.

Taking to Instagram, the actress posted an adorable Reel of herself snapping her fingers and transforming into her character while getting her followers excited about tonight. “That’s better 😉💅🏾 See you TONIGHT at 8/7c for #AnnieLive on @nbc!!” she captioned the quick video. 

She also shared a side-by-side shot as she paid tribute to the Miss Hannigan Taraji grew up on, Carol Burnett. Here, the entertainer donned a nude slip dress and a green and orange printed robe that featured Fushia feathers on the sleeves. Check it out below.

And as the countdown for the live musical continued, Taraji shared a few more BTS videos of herself on stage while getting in full character for her big performance.

“It’s almost showtime,” she captioned one video.

And asked fans, “who’s watching?” in another video.

Annie Live! is a live TV production of the classic Tony-winning show, which first premiered on Broadway in 1977.  The musical tells the story of an orphan named Annie (played by 12-year-old newcomer, Celina Smith in this adaptation) who wins over grumpy billionaire Oliver Warbucks while staying at his mansion for Christmas.

The Empire actress will play Miss Hannigan, the head of Annie’s orphanage who loves her job but hates children, especially Annie. When discussing the role, Henson told USA Today, “This is a role I certainly didn’t think I would ever play. I haven’t seen a Black woman portray Miss Hannigan yet … and that’s the beautiful thing about these plays that have been around for a long time: just getting different people to play the same characters with their interpretation.” 

Although we’re used to seeing the actress kill it on the big and small scenes, theatre comes naturally for her as it’s where she got her start. While attending Howard University, Henson studied musical theater as a drama student, and aside from singing on “Saturday Night Live” and Three 6 Mafia’s Oscar-winning “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” many fans haven’t gotten a chance to see Henson’s full range of talent. “I don’t think a lot of my fans know this about me,” she explained. “This is really a chance for people to see me perform in this light.”

Fans can catch Taraji P. Henson take the stage as Miss Hannigan on Annie Live!, airing tonight on NBC at 8 pm.

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