Annie the Musical opens at LCHS
Performances start Thursday, May 11th, run through Sunday May 14th

 

[May 10, 2023]    On May Thursday, May 11 through Sunday, May 14, the theater department at Lincoln Community High School will present the musical Annie. On Tuesday, cast members, the set crew, and the pit orchestra were hard at work preparing for these performances.

Annie is the heartwarming story of an orphan girl who ends up in the lap of luxury with Depression Era billionaire Olivia Warbucks.



The initial scenes are set in the orphanage run by the mean Miss Hannigan. It is here Annie lives a hard knock life with several other orphans.

Soon Annie runs away from the orphanage to look for the parents she believes are still alive and will one day return for her. On her journey, Annie finds a stray dog she names Sandy and comes upon in the shantytown Hooverville.

Once the policeman breaks up the town and returns Annie to the orphanage, she finds herself in trouble with Miss Hannigan. When Ms. Warbuck’s secretary comes to the orphanage to find an orphan to stay with Warbucks for the Christmas season, Annie is chosen to go, much to Miss Hannigan’s chagrin.

Though Annie’s initial meeting with the reserved and businesslike Ms. Warbucks appears to be awkward, Annie soon wins Warbuck’s heart, changing both their lives for the better.

When Warbucks offers to adopt Annie, she asks the powerful woman to help her find her real parents. The $50,000 reward attracts con artists who plot to kidnap Annie and get the reward. Fortunately, the musical ends on a happy note for Annie and Ms. Warbucks.

The show’s lead role will be performed by Sophomore Presley Coale, who is no stranger to the stage. Coale says, “The thing I love best about my role is that I get to have a lot of fun with it and also get to be on stage for the majority of the show. For example, at one point I get to jump into a laundry bin and get wheeled off stage, and at another I get to do a duet with Mrs. Warbucks.”

Coale says, “Overall, working with so many amazing people during this production has made it really fun.” Over the years, Coale says she has been in around nine productions including last year’s LCHS production of “The Sound of Music.”

For Emma Adams, who plays Olivia Warbucks, “the best part is being able to work with a bunch of talented people and getting to bring entertainment to the community.” Adams said, “I have been in eight shows previously!”

Though the role of Warbucks has general been played by a male, more females than males auditioned for the play. Director Kim Peterson Quinn said they were able to change Daddy Oliver Warbucks to Olivia Warbucks just through minor changes in wording.

The wicked Miss Hannigan will be played by Charlie McFadden, another veteran of the stage having played a nun in last year’s musical “The Sound of Music” and performed in some Lincoln Community Theatre productions.

Rounding out the cast are several individuals who play Annie’s fellow orphans, Warbuck’s staff, Annie’s dog Sandy, a dog catcher, a cop and citizens of Hooverville.

This show is the 29th production Peterson-Quinn has been involved with in one aspect or another. Before directing, she worked with vocals and choreography.

“Annie” is the seventh production Peterson-Quinn has directed at LCHS. Previous productions include “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Charlie Brown,” “The Music Man,” “Seussical the Musical,” “Peter Pan,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The Sound of Music.”

Peterson-Quinn is also a veteran of the stage having played Doo Wop in “Little Shop of Horrors,” Abigail Adams in “1776,” a housewife in “Working,” Captain Hook in “Peter Pan” and the queen in “Once Upon A Mattress.” This summer, she will perform in the LCT production “Nunsense.”

Assisting Peterson Quinn are Choreographer Cari Wilmert, Vocal Director Tim Searby, Accompanist Julie Kasa and Pit Orchestra Director Nigel Range, all of whom have many years of experience in these areas.

Come out and see these talented individuals in one of the performances Thursday, Friday, or Saturday at 7:00 p.m. or Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $8 for children, students and senior citizens and $10 for adults.

Cast

• McKayla Gaskins
  as Molly

• Maelee Cunningham
  as Pepper, Hooverville-ite/servant/
  New Yorker, Perkins

• Emery Kitterman
  as Duffy/Hooverville-ite/servant/
  New Yorker, Morgenthau

• Sloan Green
  as July/Hooverville-ite/servant/
  New Yorker, Ickes

• Gray Tolliver
  as Tessie/Hooverville-ite/servant/
  New Yorker, Hull

• Elayna Chapman
  as Kate/Hooverville-ite/servant/
  New Yorker, Howe

• Presley Coale
  as Annie

• Charlie McFadden
  as Miss Hannigan

• Norah Judd
  as Sandy/orphan

• Lacy Buss
  as Grace

• AJ Stone
  as Drake

• Emma Rodgers
  as Mrs. Pugh/Mrs. Greer/
  Hooverville-ite/New Yorker

• Emma Adams
  as Olivia Warbucks

• Logan Pumfrey
  as Rooster/Hooverville-ite/servant/
  New Yorker

• Sylvia Gizzarelli
  as Lily/Hooverville-ite/servant/
  New Yorker

• Kaylea Ingram
  as Bonnie Boylan/Annette/
  Hooverville-ite/New Yorker

• Emma Rodgers
  as Connie Boylan

• Katelynn Justiniano
  as Ronnie Boylan/Hooverville-ite/servant/New Yorker/ Star-To-Be

• Kristy Morrow
  as Bertha Healey/Judge Brandeis/
  Hooverville-ite/servant/
  New Yorker

• Wyatt Ulvestad
  as FDR/Bundles/Lt. Ward/
  Dog Catcher/Fred McCracken/Sound Effects person/Jimmy Johnson/
  Hooverville-ite/servant/New Yorker

• Chloe McFadden
  as Sophie/Cecile/apple seller

• Little orphans:
  Jaklyn Michelle Knapp, Karoline Finley, Makayla Giles, Lily Lohrenz, Nora Judd, Braylie Ostrander, Sophie Norris, Olivia Wrage
   

[Angela Reiners]