ORLANDO, Fla. – Maybe far away, or maybe real nearby, you can catch “Annie The Musical” for the final time in Orlando this weekend. The show started its North America tour at the Dr. Phillips Center on Tuesday, and will move onto Kentucky next.
The musical is set during the Great Depression in 1933 and it follows Annie, an orphan living in New York City. She believes her parents are still out there and yearns to find them. To improve his public image, billionaire Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, invites her to live in his home. While Annie gets used to living in the mansion, the two end up forming an unexpected bond.
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Since 1982, the show has reminded the audience about holding on to hope, where the “sun will come out tomorrow.” It also celebrates how you can still find family and happiness with a “hard knock life.”
Avery Hope, 10, plays the orphan, Pepper, and during tomorrow’s matinee, she will be starring as Annie.
She told us about the audition process and how she booked her roles.
“It started off with a submission through my agent. Callbacks happened a few weeks later. Two full days of singing, dancing, and acting. I got the call from my agent the following week that I had booked Pepper and understudy Annie. I couldn’t wait to start rehearsals. I got to meet a lot of incredible kids at the audition and some of them are now my colleagues. I couldn’t be happier,” Hope said.
She said her schedule is quite busy and for school, the kids have a tutor during the week. They do get two weeks total of off-time during the tour, which will be going on until May of next year.
Hope also discussed the challenges of being on the road and traveling, but thankfully, she says her parents have toured before.
“Sometimes you have to make do with what you have and sometimes that means cooking in a hot pot in a hotel bathroom. Eating healthy, staying hydrated, taking vitamins, and getting sleep is super important. Travel days can be really long, so you have to take care of yourself,” Hope said.
“Annie” has some interesting characters in the musical, and it even features an actual dog who plays Sandy.
For this cast, Sandy is played by Georgie with Bailey playing the understudy.
Hope said because she’s an understudy for Annie, she has extra rehearsal time between shows.
“I have extra rehearsals like ‘dog time’ with Bailey and some of the cast. Bailey is the understudy for Sandy and he just celebrated his 9th birthday this past Wednesday,” Hope said.
“Bailey has a larger resume than I do, which is pretty cool for a dog,” she went on to explain.
You can purchase tickets to see “Annie” here, but seats are filling up fast.
If you can’t make it to the Orlando performances, the show will return to Central Florida. The musical will be at the Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach on Feb. 20 of next year. For information, click here.
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