A production of the Broadway musical “Annie” is coming to the Bellefonte High School auditorium Friday and Saturday.
The show is being produced by Hidden Talent Community Theatre, a newly formed group of 10- to 18-year-old students from Bellefonte, Bald Eagle and Penns Valley area schools. Penns Valley student Zachary Floray and Bald Eagle Area student Halle Mitchell lead the group and serve as student directors.
“It kind of just happened, because I had heard that SCCT (State College Community Theater) was not doing a show this summer, and I decided that I was going to put on my own show and do my own community theater,” said Floray.
He and Mitchell created the Hidden Talent group as a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
“You don’t really have to get permission, so much as to just file a lot of paperwork,” said Floray. Mitchell said that performers were recruited from the three schools in advance of the beginning of rehearsals. ‘We sent a lot of advertising to the schools, targeting youth groups,” she said.
The role of Annie will be played by 12-year-old Katie Gavek, of Centre Hall, with supporting characters portrayed by students from all the participating schools. Nicole Goodman, who has choreographed several musicals at Penns Valley, serves as choreographer for ‘Annie.’ Costumes and props from Penns Valley High School are being used in the show, which will feature a pit orchestra composed of student and adult musicians.
“There are a lot of talented youth instrumentalists in the area, and a lot of them are coming from Bellefonte and Penns Valley,” said Mitchell.
Rehearsals began June 27, allowing just one month to put the show together.
“It’s really coming together,” said Floray. “All of our cast is excellent. They step up to the plate, and they get what needs to be done done.”
The group holds weekday evening rehearsals in the social hall of Grace United Methodist Church in Centre Hall.
“Annie” is based on Harold Gray’s popular “Little Orphan Annie” comic strip, and debuted as a Broadway musical in 1977. It ran for six years and won a Tony Award for best musical. It spawned a Broadway revival in 1997, as well as several movie versions.
In the musical, Annie is a young orphan girl who, in the depths of the 1930s, lives in a miserable orphanage run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan. Her situation changes dramatically when she is selected to spend time at the residence of the wealthy munitions industrialist, Oliver Warbucks.
Quickly, she charms the hearts of the household staff, and even the cold-hearted Warbucks can’t help but learn to love this wonderful girl. He decides to help Annie find her long-lost parents by offering a reward if they would come to him and prove their identity. However, Miss Hannigan, her evil brother, Rooster, and a female accomplice plan to impersonate those people to get the reward for themselves, putting Annie in great danger.
Three performances of ‘Annie’ will be presented: 7:30 p.m. Friday and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets, which are $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and younger, are available at the door and online.
