Saline Junior Theatre Celebrates 20 Years with Annie Jr

The heartwarming show runs March 14-16

Photo: L-R: Stella Geragosian as Lily, Maddy Cummins as Rooster, Noelle Harnish as Miss Hannigan singing Easy Street. Photo by Steve Sheldon

Saline Junior Theatre, a program through the Saline Community Education Department, celebrates its 20^th year of providing kids with an opportunity to sing and act in Broadway musicals.

For its 20^th anniversary production, forty-three kids, 2^nd through 8^th grade, will stage Annie Jr, the popular musical featuring the music of Charles Strouse, book by Thomas Meehan and lyrics written by Martin Charnin. There will be three performances Friday – Sunday, 3/14 – 3/16. Showtimes are 7 p.m. on Friday & Saturday and 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. All performances are in the auditorium at Liberty School on Ann Arbor Road.

Annie Jr features all of the most popular songs of the Broadway play. Raegan Ryan, a fourth grader, is cast in the lead role of Annie. She sings the most memorable songs of the show, including the heart-breaking Maybe, as well as the iconic Tomorrow. And Raegan does a remarkable job.

It is amazing that a young fourth grader can stand alone, in the spotlight, on the stage, and put in all the emotion that singing Tomorrow requires. Tomorrow is the one song that everyone knows. And Raegan delivers. She even managed to keep her composure and keep singing, as Sandy, Annie’s adopted dog, decided there were other places he would rather be and tried to walk away. Well, that’s live theatre.

Other cast members included Alice Cummings as Molly, Diana Mora playing Kate, Morgan Benyard and Quincy Garner playing Pepper and Tessie, along with Winnie Guttenberg as July and Sully Stetson as Duffy.

Noelle Harnish brings out all the nastiness of Miss Hannigan as the caretaker of all the orphans. She combines with Maddy Cummings (Rooster) and Stella Geragosian (Lily) in the delightful number “Easy Street.”  Watching the inept trio scheme how to convince Oliver Warbucks (Scarlett Stetson) and Grace (Audrey Lavasseur) that Rooster and Lily are Annie’s real parents is fun. And watching the trio sing and dance Easy Street is a highlight of the show.

Rehearsals for Annie Jr began in early January, twice per week for 2-3 hours. Artistic Director Rebecca Groeb shared one of the delights when working with very young, inexperienced actors. “A young cast member told me she had learned all her lines. Unfortunately, she didn’t pay attention to her cue lines, so she didn’t know when she was supposed to say her lines.” Another amusing stage direction offered the young case was “find your window.”  A reminder that if you were in the second or third line, find the spot where you weren’t blocked by the person in front of you—find the window. Annie Jr runs for around an hour. All tickets are $6 and can be purchased at the door. If you are looking for something that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a tune in your heart, you can’t go wrong with the Saline Junior Theatre’s 20^th anniversary production of Annie Jr.