“Annie the Musical” requires a large cast of child actors, but most youngsters and their parents have busy schedules during the holidays. Rather than ask anyone to choose between family and performing, Director Robin Dawn Ryan decided to field two different casts for the musical.
“I know that there’s activities that the kids do at school and that the moms have to go Christmas shopping or they have holiday parties to attend. So I thought by having two casts, this would free up their time during the month of December, when it is a family time,” said Ryan.
Not surprisingly, the two shows are a bit different.
“Each cast brings its own personality and feeling about the show and their performance,” Ryan said. “One day I’m in love with the Hooverville cast and one day I’m like, oh, the New York City cast is great…. Had I had to pick just one cast, I don’t know if I could have done it because I had that much talent show up.”
The New York City cast is a reflection of Brenna Perry, who plays the title role.
“She’s wonderful, has a lot of natural instincts on stage and does a great job, and has a beautiful voice,” said Ryan.
Sophia Tamm is Annie in the Hooverville cast.
“She has only been in three shows, and never a lead,” Ryan noted. “So this is brand new for her and she is learning, but her voice, oh my God, is absolutely beautiful and she’s got the sweetest little personality.”
Audiences can’t go wrong with either cast. They’re both terrific.
They’re also living proof that, no matter the circumstances, if you’re optimistic, tomorrow is always a day away.
“Annie the Musical” plays at Fort Myers Theatre through Dec. 29.
MORE INFORMATION:
“Annie the Musical” is based on the popular 1924 comic strip “Little Orpha Annie” by Harold Gray.
The musical is about an 11-year-old girl who escapes from her orphanage to find her parents and eventually finds a new family with Oliver Warbucks.
In the end, Annie learns that family is not always made up of the people we expect.
A worldwide phenomenon, “Annie” won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre). It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours.
The book and score by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin features some of the greatest musical theater hits ever written, including “Tomorrow.”
The story takes place in 1930s New York City during the Great Depression.
Meehan, Charnin, and Charles Strouse were all from New York. When they wrote the book, score and lyrics in 1972, the mood of the nation was downbeat under the prevailing Nixon Administration and Vietnam War. So Meehan set his story in New York during the similarly downbeat Great Depression.
Meehan saw the character of Annie as a 20th-century American female version of the titular orphan characters created by Charles Dickens in works such as “Oliver Twist” and “David Copperfield,” with the mystery of Annie's abandonment and unknown parenthood being consistent with a strand of mysteries in Dickens' tales.
Remaining performances are Friday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
