Houston in August is the place to be for heat, humidity, and
the some of the tops in youth theatre. Class Act Productions, in the suburb of The
Woodlands, has an array of stunning talent in the form of actors, musicians,
and designers. They all come together nicely for a remarkable production of Annie.
And it all takes place in the huge Nancy Bock Center for Performing Arts. A
huge venue that they fill up, aided perhaps by a clever marketing scheme. In
the parking lot you’ll see dozens of cars with their rear windows advertising
Annie with nicely designed soap paint.
Seventh grader Morgan Starr stars as the title
character, eleven-year-old redheaded orphan Annie. And she leads it well with
energy and nice singing of I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here and her big solo
Tomorrow accompanied by her adopted dog Sandy (the latter being a veteran in the role
from nine years ago who never misses a cue, and who perhaps was born to play
the role with her real name being Sandy). Annie leads an impressive team
of orphans who get the show going by energetically grousing over their Hard-Knock
Life, and then really outdoing themselves with their exuberant You’re Never
Fully Dressed (without a smile) song-and-dance number. They are all ruled
over in the orphanage by the Little Kids-hating Miss Hannigan, and it
doesn’t get any better than dynamite talent Meredith Tyler. This senior
from John Cooper High School is a rip with creative body language,
facial expressions, voice, timing, drunkenness and desperate flirting with any
guy unfortunate enough to come near.
Annie’s life takes a desirable turn with her introduction to
Daddy Warbucks, and college student Trey Westerburg fills the role with
touching emotion as he falls for Annie, and he sings about it with a
beautiful, smooth voice, especially moving in Something Was Missing
while he clumsily tries to remember how to dance with his new partner.
Complementing Warbucks  is his executive secretary Grace Ferrell, with Lauren
Lawson imbuing her role with an inner gentleness you can’t teach and
tremendous vocals that leave you wanting more (and you can get more at
Northland Christian School’s upcoming production of The Sound of Music
where Lauren will play Maria).
Other great performances come from Miss Hannigan’s sleazy
brother Rooster (Spencer Crosswy) and his ditzy girlfriend Lily (Maddie
Landers) who team up with Hannigan for a most memorable stroll down Easy
Street. Sean Rooney channels Franklin D. Roosevelt, fireside
chatting his way through the singing of Tomorrow. And the entire cast
shines as happy rich servants, angry poor residents of Hooverville (who
are still generous enough to be thank President Hoover and invite him to
dinner), and a fantastic production of N.Y.C. with a feature solo by
Star-to-Be Whitney Brandt.
Director Tina Kraft has every aspect of this
high-quality production working flawlessly. Jonathan Shelledy and Joan
Rothhammer have created magnificent sets for the orphanage, the mansion, and
the sights of NYC, with a starlit sky that adds ambience to several scenes. Fayla
Curry’s choreography and the cast’s execution make the big ensemble numbers
shine. And Musical Director Rae Moses and his orchestra are spot-on
throughout this musical’s memorable score. So if you ever see any soap paint
rear window signs for any Class Act Productions, you may just want to follow the car. I
think you’re gonna like it there.
Performed August 3-5, 2007.
Photos by Deb Evans.
Rob Hopper
National Youth Theatre
~ Cast ~
Molly: Jenny Gee
Pepper: Alison Gieske
Duffy: Madisen Plum
July: Megan Miller
Tessie: Madeline Dennison
Kate: Lillian Buonocore
Annie: Morgan Starr
Miss Hannigan: Meredith Tyler
 Orphans:
Adeline Breaux
Alaya Carr
Sydney Crofton
Caroline Davis
Nicole Dunton
Amanda Eakin
Rachael Farnan
Kylie Foster
Lesley Huckabay
Morgan Kanaly
Julie Lewis
Azayra Ouzounian
Miranda Oxendine
Kendall Peterson
Joy Sabattus
Maitland Starr
Shelby Thompson
Bundles McCloskey: Keith Hale
Apple Seller: Kaley Baum
Assistant Dog Catcher: Nathan Sewell
Dog Catcher: George Downham
Sandy: Sandy
Lt. Ward: Craig Putman
Artie: Ricky Mora
Mary: Ashley Dunton
Eddie: Nick Venzin
Betty: Cecily Breaux
Ira: Aaron Boudreaux
Thurman: Andrew Novak
Sophie, The Kettle: Alyssa Porter
Fred: Joe Dougherty
Policeman #2: Vic Shuttee
Grace Ferrell: Lauren Lawson
Drake: Callen Myers
Cecille: Kelley Peters
Annette: Sharon Joncyk
Mrs. Greer: Alyssa Porter
Mrs. Pugh: Alex Cochran
Oliver Warbucks: Trey Westerburg
A Star to Be: Whitney Brandt
Street Boys in NYC:
Alan Boudreaux
William Denne
Colton Haffey
Casey Ponton
Matthew Schreiber
Kasey Steel
Tanner Thompson
Rooster Hannigan: Spencer Crosswy
Lily: Maddie Landers
Bert Healey: Tyler Lewis
Fred McCracken: Joe Dougherty
Wacky: Casey Ponton
Jimmy Johnson: Ricky Mora
Sound Effects Man: Clayton Colson
NBC Pages: Colton Haffey & Matt Schreiber
Ronnie Boylan: Kelley Peters
Bonnie Boylan: Alex Cochran
Connie Boylan: Caroline Obkirchner
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Sean Rooney
Louis Howe: Will Rogers
Francis Perkins: Diane Goldsmith
Cordell Hull: Keith Hale
Harold Ickes: Joe Dougherty
Henry Morgenthau: Tyler Lewis
Honor Guard: Devin Sewell
Justice Brandeis: Vic Shuttee
Hooverville Citizens, Warbuck's Staff, New Yorkers:
Brooke Allen
Kaley Baum
Aaron Boudreaux
Whitney Brandt
Cecily Breaux
Madison Cagle
Julie Campbell
Marinah Carruth
Alex Cochran
Clayton Colson
Joe Dougherty
George Downham
Megan Doyle
Ashley Dunton
Macy Fontaine
Rachel Fritz
Caroline Giles
Diane Goldsmith
MacKenzie Haffey
Keith Hale
Chandler Harvey
Sharon Joncyk
Tyler Lewis
Hillary Moore
Ricky Mora
Callen Myers
Alex Nickolas
Andrew Novak
Caroline Obkirchner
Kelley Peters
Mackenzie Plum
Alyssa Porter
Craig Putnam
Will Rogers
Devin Sewell
Nathan Sewell
Vic Shuttee
Jason Spradley
Kayla Steel
Terran Swonke
Nick Venzin
Catherine Zirilli
Director: Tina Kraft
Musical Director: Rae Moses
Choreography: Fayla Curry
Stage Manager: Bethany Walkowicz
Lighting Design: Blake Minor
Sound: Andy Davis
Set Design: Jonathan Shelledy
Scenic Design: Joan Rothhammer
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