Annie, Jr.

 

by Pa Rock

Proud Grandpa

Last night I was back at the Culture House in Olathe, Kansas, again watching my 10-year-old granddaughter, Olive Noel Macy, perform in a musical stage play.  I had been there in April when she was in the cast of "High School Musical," and last night I watched as Olive took part in a production of "Annie, Jr," an hour-and-fifteen-minute abbreviated version of the play and movie "Annie."  

Last night's musical was the culmination of a two-week theatre camp in which Olive and forty or so other kids between the ages of ten and thirteen were all participants.   The camp was built around the play, with students learning the material, trying-out, being cast, and then rehearsing with the initial performance on the evening of day ten of the camp.  Every student enrolled in the camp had a part in the production.  It was a hurried and intense process with the kids and their adult supervisors and director all putting in seven-hour days until the play was ready for the big opening night - which was last night.

And "Annie, Jr." was an amazing production that captivated and energized the audience!  The crowd literally exploded in cheers and applause after every musical number!

Each of the young performers belted out their songs like stage professionals, leaving one to imagine they were watching stage singers like Ethel Merman, Bernadette Peters and Kristin Chenoweth at that age, and the choreography had all of the young people dancing and interacting flawlessly across the entire stage area.  

It was truly a wonderful performance, one that would have been noteworthy even if the performers had been high school or college students.

I was literally blown away by how good "Annie, Jr." was - the acting, the singing, the dancing, the stagecraft - all brought together in just ten days with such a young cast!   The production was an absolute treat!

The play will be presented two more times today, a matinee and an evening performance, as well as a matinee tomorrow.  It is well worth the drive to Olathe even if you don't have a grandchild in the cast!

Great work, guys!