It may be a hard knock life, but the River City Community Players are having a good time with it.
The RCCP production of “Annie” will open Friday, starring 11-year-old Larkin Reilly in the title role.
In the play, Reilly stars as an orphan who, 11 years after she was left on a doorstep, is still looking for her parents. After several failed escape attempts from the orphanage of the evil Miss Hannigan (Carla Wiegers), Annie is adopted for the Christmas holiday by New York City business tycoon Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, played by Brandon Johannes. Annie’s personality has a lasting effect on the people she meets, from Warbuck’s personal assistant Grace Farrell (Suzie Stephensen) and the staff at his mansion to the President of the United States in 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Along the way, she has to thwart a plot by Hannigan and her relatives but ends up with something she might never have expected — a family.
She said she remembers playing the young orphan Molly when she was 7 years old in an earlier production of the musical and admiring the lead character.
“I just always wanted to be Annie,” she said.
Joshua Shockey, the director of the show, said it’s not his first time working with the red-headed orphan, either — he’s been involved in five past productions of “Annie.”
He said he likes the story and the music, but there’s one aspect in particular that keeps him coming back.
“For me, it’s the kids,” he said. “I don’t think there’s enough going on for kids in the arts portion of social life.”
This time around, the set is much bigger, and he said the cast, especially the lead roles, came ready to work.
Reilly said she was excited about the opportunity.
“My favorite part is singing all the songs and getting into character and actually playing the role,” she said.
It took about two weeks to learn her lines, Reilly said, but it has been a lot of work since then to put the show together with the rest of her castmates.
“It was more learning where to move around,” she said.
Shockey said having those movements down pat will be important, as the show is fairly fast-paced — the set is designed to so that there are no black outs between scenes.
Shockey said he’s been involved in the RCCP since 1993. In the past, he has directed some of the company’s musical reviews and youth productions. He said he likes those productions and youthful casts like that for “Annie” not only because it gives young people an opportunity to get involved, but also because it might get their parents interested too.
“Then the parents get on stage and then you have a new group of people,” he said.
Stephensen, who has been involved with the RCCP for several years, said she wanted to do the show as soon as she found out that Shockey was at the helm. Johannes, who said he has one turn as Warbucks under his belt, had a similar reason.
“To work with him means you’re going to have a great show,” he said.
Shockey said he’s also happy to work with the cast and the material of “Annie.”
Even though he said he’s heard the song “Tomorrow” many times over the years, Shockey said he still enjoys it because he said he feels the tune, and the musical itself, still have something to say.
“Because it’s optimistic. Especially with the times we’re going through now, it’s a good thing,” he said.
Performances of “Annie” by the River City Community Players will be at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday as well as on Aug. 6 and 7 and 13 and 14. Matinee shows at 2 p.m. are scheduled for Aug. 1 and 8.
For more information, visit www.rccplv.com.
