Village of Orland Park Theatre Troupe Presents "Annie" at Sandburg Performing Arts Center

The Village of Orland Park Theatre Troupe will perform the musical Annie April 26, 27 and 28 at the Performing Arts Center of Carl Sandburg High School.

“This is a show for musical lovers of all ages. It’s a great outing for the entire family,” said Orland Park Recreation Program Supervisor Stephanie Simpson, the show’s executive producer. “We are very excited to bring Annie to the Orland Park stage and encourage everyone to buy their tickets early,” Simpson added.

After its 1977 Broadway debut, Annie ran for nearly six years and won Tony Awards for best musical, best original score and best book. It is based on the Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie and tells the story of an 11 year old girl living in the Municipal Orphanage on New York’s Lower East Side.

“The south suburbs hold some of the most talented community actors,” said Producer/Director Frann Carnivele-Sidlow. “We have a phenomenal cast from throughout the region and our audiences will not be disappointed,” she added.

Grace Kane (Orland Park) and Sarah Walton (New Lenox) share the role of Annie. Joe Nowinski of Chicago Ridge is Oliver Warbucks. Orland Park’s Camille Auskalnis is Miss Hannigan, the orphanage principal, and Kathy Janik of Lemont is Warbucks’s secretary, Grace Farrell.

Eric Walton of New Lenox is Rooster Hannigan while Orland Park’s Sarah Callis is Rooster’s girlfriend, Lily St. Regis and is the show’s dance captain. The village's Recreation & Parks Advisory Board Chair Dan McMillan returns to the stage, appearing as President Franklin Roosevelt.

“What’s really neat about this cast is the number of family members performing together,” Carnivele-Sidlow said. “We have siblings, parents and children and even adult siblings in this show. We’re not kidding when we say it’s a ‘family’ show,” she said, adding, “The families who enjoy performing together are what community theater is all about.”

Supporting roles include Orland Park’s Bryan Reiss appearing as Drake the Butler and Dan Nevinger portraying Bert Healy. The six orphans, all played by Orland Park girls, have been double casted with Ann Burns and Jamison O’Sullivan playing Molly. Playing the part of Pepper are Rose Foley and Allison Kazlauskas. Cara Hall and Mollie McCormick share the role of Kate while Emma Dorey and Taylor Villa are Duffy. Lizzie Harlin and Rosie Richardson play Tessie with Jessie Moyar and Hanah Remes appearing as July.

Orland Park residents appearing in the show also include Cara Buikema, Carson Callis, Abigail Dorey, Teresa Dorey, Alex Earhart, David Ford, Logan Harris, Jessica Hernandez, Hannah Kane, Joanna Leafblad, Brian McCormick, Eve Moyar, Kaylin Pierson, and Eleanor Rybak.

“This is one of the larger casts we’ve had for our spring musical,” Simpson noted. “We have 50 orphans and more than 80 cast members, all coming together to bring Broadway to life in Orland Park,” she said.

Tinley Park residents appearing in Annie include Jacob Mackey, Christina Wallace and Mark Wallace. Those from Worth are Joe Berlinski and Rachel Berlinski, The cast also includes Brenda Bass (Homer Glen), Caitlin Carroll (Oak Forest), Mariah Dicksen (Lockport), Jamie Maniatis (Palos Hills), Molly Ricker (Evergreen Park) and Elizabeth Sacha (Palos Park).

Orland Park residents appearing as orphans include Allison Boertlein, Emma Bohren, Victoria Borak, Caroline Bueche, Ellie Callis, Madeline Carrillo, Abigail Cogan, Demerice Cuellar, Hannah Dorey, Alexa Faille, Grace Faustino, Alana Fennessy, Madelyn Filipiak, Grace Galman, Mia Garza, Grace Guzolek, Rachael Juwayyid, Carly Kaplan, Josephine Leafblad, Veronica Leafblad, Savanna Manning, Kayla Pelini, Marissa Pelini, Keelin Przybytek, Emma Scarpelli, Nicole Stubenfoll, Cammi Szymczak, Kari Torgerson, Veronica Vaughn and Zoe Whitlow.

Orphans also include Hannah Belair (Orland Hills), Raina Goodwin (Frankfort), Dana McGinty (Oak Forest), Gabrielle Lynch (Tinley Park) and Jessica Warpehowski (Tinley Park).

Jimmy Mazeika is the show’s assistant director with Dr. Michael Barr serving as musical director. Desiree Mikols choreographed the show with Michael Dicksen designing the set. Carol Dicksen is the show’s costume designer.

“Imagine the number of costumes required for a cast of 80 plus,” Carnivele-Sidlow said. “One of our moms, Carol Dicksen, designed the costumes and we’ve had a number of parents who sew volunteer to make them. The team work, both on stage and behind the scenes, has been heart warming,” she added.

Annie was written by Thomas Meehan with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin. It is based on Little Orphan Annie by permission of The Media Tribune Services, Inc. Orland Park’s production is presented through special arrangements with Music Theatre International.

Performances are Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 28 at 2 p.m. Reserved tickets may be purchased at the Village of Orland Park Recreation Administration Building, 14600 South Ravinia Avenue.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors/students and $14 for children. A limited number of tickets may be available at the door. For more information, call the Village of Orland Park Recreation Department at 708/403-PARK.