Annie Set Ideas for Hooverville and New York CIty
Get Annie set ideas for Hooverville and the New York City scenes. This guide shares one director's approach as well as ideas for desigining your production of Annie with a small, medium, or higher budget.
Katie Zakkak
10/13/202610 min read
The New York scenes in Annie can look very different depending on your stage, your budget, and the version of the show you are directing. You might suggest the city with a skyline and a few carefully chosen props, or create a more developed streetscape with building fronts, signs, and shelter details.
When I directed the full-length musical at the high school level, I wanted these settings to feel complete without making every short scene into a huge construction project. We used reversible scenery, borrowed items, student-painted signs, and weathered finishes to help establish the locations.
I am very comfortable with a more minimal approach to set design. For me, the key is choosing specific details that make the space feel intentional. A simple set can still feel full and worthwhile when the colors, props, lighting, and performances work together.
This guide shares our approach to Annie's New York streets, Hooverville, and the later NYC number, with budget options and prop ideas you can adapt for your own school or youth production.
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Affiliate disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Some links will point to supplies similar to those we used, while others offer options you might consider for your own design. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Start with your stock, then look into borrowing and thrifting. I know how tight educational theater budgets can be! The links are there to help fill gaps, not to suggest you need to purchase everything listed.
Safety note: Have qualified theater or construction professionals evaluate scenic construction, stability, moving pieces, overhead scenery, and electrical effects. Real metal needs particular attention to edges, attachment, and handling. Paints and finishes must be suitable for their surfaces and used according to their instructions, with appropriate ventilation and drying time. Follow your venue's requirements before students use the scenery.
Hooverville Props and Set Dressing
Treat this as a starting list rather than a universal prop plot. Choose the pieces your script, blocking, and design actually use. Links are included to help you look at some options for these items. However, if you have them in your stock or can borrow, I always recommend starting there.
Newspapers
Useful for reading, carrying, or suggesting belongings within the scene. Choose period-appropriate visible pages.
This website https://www.proppapers.com/ focuses solely on newspapers for theatre and film!
Metal Trash Cans or Similar Containers
Establish a street or settlement environment. Borrow if possible and check weight, edges, and lids.
Cart
Can suggest transported belongings or support a specific character action. Use a manageable, professionally checked piece.
Large Pot
Helps establish the communal food preparation in the full-length setting. We had one in stock.
Ladle or Spoon
Useful if a performer has a serving action. Coordinate with the pot.
Bowls, Cups, or Dishes
Add only what your performers need. Lightweight, nonbreakable pieces are practical.
Blankets or Muslin Drop Cloths
Can suggest belongings and make the shelter area feel inhabited.
Wooden Crates
Add visual texture or storage. Decorative crates are not automatically suitable for sitting or standing.
Basket and Fake Apples
For Apple Seller
Dog catcher equipment and prop dog
For dog catchers
Rope Leash and Dog Collar
For Sandy, so you can have a real leash and collar, but it looks and fits with the world of the show
Our maintenance crew's containers were particularly helpful because we could borrow them instead of buying large objects for one scene. Ask around your school before assuming you need to order this kind of set dressing.
The scene can suggest cooking without an actual fire, hot surface, or hot liquid. Plan any visual effect with your technical team rather than introducing a practical heat source.
Choosing Newspapers That Belong in the World of the Show
Newspaper props are a relatively small detail, but a large modern photograph or headline can stand out. You can use suitable reproductions, create a period-style outer page, or print material from a source that permits your intended use.
If you use current newspapers as the bulk of the prop, cover the visible outside pages appropriately. Consider photographs, advertisements, typography, dates, and the main headline. A period-style cover wrapped around lightweight filler pages may give you the appearance you need without reproducing an entire newspaper.
Sandy: A Rope Look with Real Dog Equipment
Our full-length production used a real dog for Sandy: my own dog!
For us, a real leash and collar helped us handle her backstage. I liked equipment with a rope-like appearance because it supported the visual idea of a stray dog while still being actual dog equipment, rather than an improvised rope tied around her neck.
If you are using a live dog, choose equipment appropriate to that individual dog with advice from the dog's veterinarian or qualified handler. A rope appearance alone does not tell you whether a product fits well or is suitable. Plan a designated adult handler, backstage space, rehearsal exposure, and the dog's welfare with your venue and production team.
For Annie Jr., MTI describes Sandy as a role played by a human performer. Check your materials when planning that role. Do not use dog equipment to restrain a student actor; use a costume approach appropriate for the performer instead.
This is also why the Sandy items should be their own part of your planning list. Your approach to the role determines what you need, and my full-length production's solution will not apply to every show.
Painting and Weathering the Hooverville Scenery
We used brown paint and wood-finish effects to create a weathered look. We also had actual metal incorporated into the roof detail, which helped vary the texture.
The important idea is the combination of surfaces. A flat brown finish can look uniform, while subtle changes in color and texture can suggest boards, wear, and weather exposure.
For painted scenery, start with a base color, then test lighter and darker layers on a sample. Sponges can add mottled texture; brushes can suggest lines, edges, and uneven boards. Look at the samples under stage lighting before deciding how much detail you need.
I also used wood finish as part of our aging work. The right product and application depend on the surface. Do not assume a wood stain will work on painted material, foam, or metal. Choose compatible products with your technical team and follow their application and drying instructions.
Painting and Weathering Supplies
Brown Base Paint
Establishes the main scenic color.
Lighter and Darker Detail Paints
Add variation, highlights, and shadows.
Painting Sponges
Create mottled texture and uneven weathering.
Assorted Brushes
Useful for edges, boards, and smaller details.
Small Rollers
Cover manageable scenic areas.
Wood Finish, If Appropriate
Provides a tested finish for compatible surfaces. We used this on the metal roof too to give it a weathered/stained look.
My favorite set and prop creation supplies:
Annie Jr. and the Full-Length Show: Which City Setting Do You Need?
In Annie Jr., Annie meets Sandy on a New York street lined with tenements. The story then returns to the orphanage without the separate Hooverville sequence found in the full-length show. That means a simple street setting may be all you need for this early city scene.
Tenement buildings and a Hooverville are different scenic ideas. Tenements suggest urban apartment buildings; Hooverville is the makeshift settlement shown in the full-length musical. They can share a city backdrop or scenic palette, but you do not need to build a Hooverville camp just to establish the Jr. street scene.
Both versions also have the later NYC number, where Annie experiences the city with Warbucks and Grace. Consider whether your skyline or building shapes can support that scene too, with changes to signs, lighting, or foreground pieces.
Check your licensed script before making your scene and prop list. My firsthand examples below come from directing the full-length version.
Edition reference: MTI's Annie Jr. info.
How We Moved from the Orphanage to the City
We began designing with the scenery we already needed for the orphanage. Instead of finding storage for another full set of large flats, we gave two orphanage flats a second job: we turned their reverse sides into Hooverville.
After the orphanage, we used our center traveler to divide the stage into two working areas. Annie's first moments with Sandy and Tomorrow happened in front, while the crew changed the setting behind it. Opening the curtain then revealed the settlement.
For Hooverville, our construction team created roof details, including wooden and metal elements. The school maintenance crew also lent us large metal containers, and a large pot from our stock helped complete the scene.
The result was fairly simple, but the combination of shelter shapes, containers, finishes, and performers gave the location a clear identity. We did not need to build an entire town.
If you don't have a traveler, a shared city setting with smaller foreground pieces may work better. Consider what can stay in place and what needs to change.
A Skyline Can Connect Several Scenes
We considered using New York skyline flats as a continuing background element, but ultimately didn't have space for them. In another theater, that could be a useful way to connect the different city scenes.
A skyline might work behind Annie's street scene, behind Hooverville, and later during NYC. Depending on the overall design, it could even help frame the orphanage as part of the same city.
You could suggest buildings through painted silhouettes, a backdrop, or a few architectural flats. Windows, doors, and a hint of a fire escape can establish the tenement street without filling the entire stage.
Laundry is another possible detail. A few clothes hanging within an approved scenic arrangement can suggest everyday life around the buildings. It should belong to the location and stay clear of entrances, equipment, and performers. Any suspended line or scenery needs an approved installation.
Links to potential prop ideas:
Sheets - use coffee to add a "stain" effect
Annie Jr. and the Full-Length Show: Which City Setting Do You Need?
In Annie Jr., Annie meets Sandy on a New York street lined with tenements. The story then returns to the orphanage without the separate Hooverville sequence found in the full-length show. That means a simple street setting may be all you need for this early city scene.
Tenement buildings and a Hooverville are different scenic ideas. Tenements suggest urban apartment buildings; Hooverville is the makeshift settlement shown in the full-length musical. They can share a city backdrop or scenic palette, but you do not need to build a Hooverville camp just to establish the Jr. street scene.
Both versions also have the later NYC number, where Annie experiences the city with Warbucks and Grace. Consider whether your skyline or building shapes can support that scene too, with changes to signs, lighting, or foreground pieces.
Check your licensed script before making your scene and prop list. My firsthand examples below come from directing the full-length version.
Edition reference: MTI's Annie Jr. info.
How We Moved from the Orphanage to the City
We began designing with the scenery we already needed for the orphanage. Instead of finding storage for another full set of large flats, we gave two orphanage flats a second job: we turned their reverse sides into Hooverville.
After the orphanage, we used our center traveler to divide the stage into two working areas. Annie's first moments with Sandy and Tomorrow happened in front, while the crew changed the setting behind it. Opening the curtain then revealed the settlement.
For Hooverville, our construction team created roof details, including wooden and metal elements. The school maintenance crew also lent us large metal containers, and a large pot from our stock helped complete the scene.
The result was fairly simple, but the combination of shelter shapes, containers, finishes, and performers gave the location a clear identity. We did not need to build an entire town.
If you don't have a traveler, a shared city setting with smaller foreground pieces may work better. Consider what can stay in place and what needs to change.
Carrying the City Design into NYC
Later in the show, the city takes on a different energy when Annie explores it with Warbucks and Grace. A shared skyline or building background can stay useful, while brighter signs and lighting help establish the new experience.
Our technical theater students designed and painted large signs, including a Roxy sign. We made the signs from foam board and added LED lights. They were visually simple, but painting each one still took substantial student work time.
Our production used a manually operated catwalk system to lower and raise the signs. That describes our setup, not a method to copy without qualified rigging design and trained operators. If overhead scenery does not suit your space, consider approved ground-supported signs or signs that enter from the sides.
Keep room for the number itself. In this scene, the cast's movement and excitement do much of the work, and you don't want a crowded streetscape to take away their playing space.
Plan the Changes Alongside the Design
Before committing to a cart, container, or scenic structure, work out where it starts and where it goes afterward. The full-length Hooverville sequence is short enough that an elaborate design can create more transition work than you expect.
Identify which city pieces can remain for more than one scene.
Give every movable object a storage position and clear route.
Rehearse carts and containers with their actual contents and lids.
Keep Sandy's route and waiting area clear if you are using a live dog.
Check that decorative laundry, signs, and roof details stay clear of entrances.
Include prop collection in the change, not just the large scenery.
For our production, reversible flats and borrowed objects worked well. Your best solution might be a unit set, a few street props, or a more detailed environment. Start with what the scene needs and what your space can support.
Make the City Feel Intentional
You don't need to build every building in New York to tell this part of Annie's story. A clear background, a few useful props, weathered finishes, and thoughtful staging can create a strong environment.
For Annie Jr., focus on the tenement-lined street and the later NYC setting your script uses. For the full-length show, add the Hooverville details that help establish the settlement and its residents. In either case, let your resources serve the story and the performers.
Need help organizing your production? Download my free production planner. You can also explore my rehearsal and audition tools bundle for casting and rehearsal.
Continue planning with my other Annie guides: