Annie opens April 4 at Amelia Community Theatre

Amelia Community Theatre
Press Release
Submitted by
Linda McClane
Executive Director
April 1, 2019 2:00 p.m.

The family musical Annie opens April 4 on Amelia Community Theatre’s main stage, sponsored by Wells Fargo Advisors.

Cast members in the Amelia Community Theatre production of Annie prepare for a grand performance.  Photo courtesy of David Burghardt, Island Photography

Based on the popular comic strip “Little Orphan Annie” by Harold Gray, Annie is set in 1933, with the United States struggling with the Great Depression.
The show is directed by Marylee Long, and features a cast of 35, plus eight musicians and a lovable dog. Diane Demeranville and Lynn Arizzi are musical directors, with Jennifer McCarthy as choreographer.

Title character Annie, played by Bianca Pontello, lives at the orphanage in New York City where her parents left her as a baby. She and her fellow orphans sing about their “Hard Knock Life” as they struggle to please the harsh Miss Hannigan (Denise Oravec) who runs the orphanage.

Annie is determined to find her parents, and her spirit touches billionaire Oliver Warbucks (Tom Cornwell) and even President Franklin Roosevelt (Dan Cahill). The president is so impressed by Annie’s optimism as she sings “Tomorrow” that he comes up with a New Deal, to solve the country’s economic woes.

Annie’s fellow orphans are played by Gracelyn Cornwell, Sammy Dean, Evangeline de la O, Charlee Lawrence, Brooke Mayberry , Paisley Reavis, and Jessica Tita. The cast also includes Lindsey de la O as Grace, Jimmy Kalista as Rooster, Elisha Cauthen as Lily, and Sebastian Alexander as Bert Healy. Supporting the production throughout the show is a large ensemble of actors featured in songs such as “Hooverville,” “Fully Dressed,” and “N.Y.C.”

Annie originally opened on Broadway in 1977, with Andrea McArdle as Annie. The show won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and ran for six years. The score includes many familiar songs such as “Easy Street” and “Little Girls.”

Performances at ACT are at 8 p.m. on April 4-6, 11-13, 18-20 and 2 p.m. matinees on April 7 and 14 at 207 Cedar Street in downtown Fernandina Beach. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students, available at www.AmeliaCommunityTheatre.org and by calling 261-6749.