There’s Always Tomorrow-Vandalia Youth Theatre presents Annie Jr.
Vandalia Youth Theatre has a longstanding reputation for its excellent theatre program, which is geared toward students in grades 4 through 12. Their schedule typically consists of three summer productions, plus one in the fall. This year’s cool weather offering is “Annie Jr.,” a scaled-down licensed version of the Broadway favorite, specially edited to be performed by children. Several musical numbers were cut or shortened from the original production, while many others were transposed down a few keys to make them easier for amateur child actors to sing.
One of the things that makes VYT’s program unique is their casting policy—anyone who auditions will be rewarded with a stage appearance. It may not be the lead or a featured role, but everyone who tries out gets to participate. This created a unique dilemma with Annie Jr. There were so many requests for audition slots that it necessitated two casts, split among the performances. Since there were two complete casts (denoted Hard Knock and Easy Street), it required two directors. The ones chosen to coordinate the separate casts are Tara Bodey and Justin Hoke.
The Gazette recently spoke with Justin Hoke, director of the Hard Knock company. Justin’s day job is teaching at Tecumseh High School, and he brings many years of experience in high school, college, and community theatre to the production.
“This is not my first time directing, but it’s my first show for Vandalia Youth Theatre,” he said. “I kind of got pulled in at the last minute this year. The kids in the cast are great. Everyone seems to be very supportive of each other, balancing the older kids with the younger kids. We schedule our rehearsals so the kids only have to be there for short periods of time. Those are things we need to focus on with younger cast members. They have to be quiet and pay attention in school, then they have to come here and be quiet part of the time. I know that’s a challenge.”
Although some musical numbers were cut or shortened from the original version (which premiered in 1977), many familiar melodies remain. Audiences will still hear “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile,” “Easy Street,” “You Won’t Be an Orphan for Long,” “Maybe,” “Little Girls,” and the ever-popular “Tomorrow.”
The number of musical pieces in the production necessitated the need for skilled choreography assistance. VYT was fortunate to get one of Dayton’s most well-known dance artists, Sheri “Sparkle” Williams. The award-winning Dayton Contemporary Dance Company veteran came aboard in an earlier production when she offered to fill in for a choreographer who had to leave on short notice.
“This is my first time working with Sparkle and she’s incredible,” Hoke said. “She knew a kid that was in a previous show, then something happened with the choreographer, and they had to drop out, so she said Yeah, I’ll step in to finish it. She pushes the cast a lot, but she’s very supportive. The way Sparkle handles the kids is really great. They don’t feel embarrassed if they make a mistake and have to do it over and over again until they get it right. She’s very patient with the kids, and we’re lucky to have her.”
Rehearsing two different casts in the same practice facility could have posed a problem, but the company worked around it by scheduling rehearsals on alternate nights. The stress of an abbreviated practice schedule has apparently been kept to a minimum, and Hoke feels that most of the credit for this should go to the cast members themselves.
“I’d like the kids to get recognition for the hard work they’re putting into the show,” he said. “We only have ten rehearsals with the split casts, and they don’t get a full continuous week of rehearsal. The kids are doing this on top of their school time, and some have after school jobs and things to do at home, too. I know how hard it is for kids to get motivated by anything, and I’m grateful for the attention and energy they’re willing to put into this. They’re putting a lot of work into learning their parts, and it’s just great to work with young people who are so interested. I teach high school, and I see a lot of kids not being interested in things, so it’s great to see this group of kids being enthused about a project.”
The timing for the show couldn’t be better, considering the upbeat theme and Christmas setting. Hoke and company hope that audiences leave with a brighter outlook of the world in general
“The theme is the importance of motivation and that family matters,” he said. “Annie grows up hoping her dad will come back for her. She always has hope, whereas the other orphans have given up. We show how happy they get for Annie because she gets to go live in this nice house with a rich man and caring people. It gives all of them a sense of hope and love. Part of that is seeing the excitement build with the other kids. It’s a Christmas miracle kind of show.”
Annie Jr. will be performed at the Troy Arbogast Performing Arts Center, 500 S. Dorset Rd., Troy, on November 21, November 22, and November 23. For tickets, showtimes and more details, visit info@vandaliayouththeatre.net.
