This ‘Annie’ will charm your socks off

Photo by matt nagle

IT MAY BE A HARD KNOCK LIFE FOR ANNIE AND HER PALS AT THE ORPHANAGE, BUT THE STUDENT ACTORS IN FIFE’S PRODUCTION OF THE PLAY WILL NO DOUBT BE RECEIVING MUCH APPLAUSE AND KUDOS FOR THEIR WORK IN “ANNIE,” PREMIERING MAY 7 AT THE COLUMBIA JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER.

When it comes to high school theatre in the South Sound, few compare to the excellence of the drama department at Fife High School. It starts with drama instructors Dave and Teresa Hockman, who for many years have been showing their young charges the ropes of staging live theatre. Then there are the actors themselves – a dedicated “theatre family” made up entirely of students from Fife High and Columbia Junior High. These young thespians are nothing short of charming onstage, and audiences will have the perfect chance to see this for themselves when the popular family musical “Annie” opens on May 7 at the Columbia Junior High School Performing Arts Center.

Split into two casts so that everyone who auditions gets a part to play, this production of “Annie” features more than 50 student actors, some of whom play more than one role. Every one makes a long-term commitment to attend rehearsals after school four days a week for about two months, and to learn their lines and songs on their own time as well. Even the faculty gets involved – Fife teachers and administrators play six roles in this staging of “Annie.” Fife Schools Superintendent Dr. Steve McCammon will portray President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the rest of the adult cast will play his cabinet in the May 7 and May 15 performances. They are also featured in the song “Tomorrow” and sing some brief solos.

McCammon’s son, Kyle, pays Oliver Warbucks in Cast I, and sings a duet with his dad in the closing song “New Deal for Christmas.”

Just about any of the young actors you talk to will admit that it isn’t easy getting up on stage under the spotlights. Alycia Gentry, who plays Warbucks’ secretary Grace Ferrell, said the hardest part for her is “the confidence to get up and sing by myself because this is my first time having solos in a play.” To help her play her roles, Maile Francis said, “In my mind I’m imagining I’m Jean Harlow.”

Two ninth-graders from Columbia Junior High have been selected to play the lead role of little orphan Annie – Emily Rathburn in Cast I and Arika Matoba in Cast II. Both have about 130 lines to learn, and a big batch of songs too, complete with choreography.

Fresh from her role as Alice in last season’s “Alice In Wonderland,” Rathburn said she has the expected nervous excitement about getting up on stage again. However, from the looks of her performance during dress rehearsals any nervousness she may feel doesn’t show a bit. “I just love it,” she said about being onstage. “You just get hooked and there’s no other feeling like it.”

Rathburn looks to her big sister, Hayley, for guidance, as Hayley Rathburn plays the boozy, cantankerous Miss Hannigan in Cast I. “My sister has been in many shows, and she’s gotten so good. I like watching her…I want to be like her.”

Matoba, who is rather new to the stage, said she appreciates the helpful camaraderie among the cast, particularly from the older high-schoolers. “I like to do these plays because you learn from others. The seniors help us…and we make a lot of new friends.”

And those opening night jitters? “I get calm once I get onstage and say my first line…then I don’t want it to end,” Matoba said.

Both girls expressed high praise for their drama teachers, the Hockmans. “I can’t believe we’re so lucky in the Fife School District to get these two amazing directors,” Matoba said. “They’re the greatest, honestly. I don’t know what we’d do without them.”

“Annie” plays at 7 p.m. May 7, 8, 9, 14 and 15 and 2 p.m. May 9 and 15. General admission tickets are $8.

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