on Broadway and won a Tony for Best Musical.
It’s now produced at least 800 times per
year around the world, according to estimates
from The New York Times.
Who couldn’t pull for a spunky little girl who
truly believes that the sun will come out tomorrow?
You can bet your bottom dollar.
— Randy Noles
GET YOUR TICKETS
D I D Y O U K N O W ?
In the Little Orphan Annie comic strip, Daddy Warbucks lost his fortune due to a corrupt rival
and ultimately died from despair at the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Following World
War II, he reappeared — the explanation being that he had only been in a coma.
48 artsLife | SUMMER 2018
EVENT: The Unity Players Present
Annie: The Musical
DAYS/TIMES: Thursday, Friday, Saturday
and Sunday, May 24, 25, 26 and
27. Showtimes are 8 p.m., with a 2
p.m. matinee added on Saturday
VENUE: Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater
NOTES:
staging this production of the hit
Broadway musical, now a staple
iPrevail and its program to assist
Central Florida foster homes.
TICKETS: Priced starting at $35
844.513.2014 • drphillipscenter.org
It’s an old show business
adage that kids and dogs
will always steal the show
— and Annie, of course,
has both. The dog who
plays the plucky orphan’s
canine companion, Sandy,
performed the same role
in a 2017 Garden Theatre
production of Annie. His
offstage name is Joey.
“I was having fun auditioning with Natalie
and working with her on shows,” says Bishop,
who’ll appear as Daddy Warbucks. “I
had the idea for doing this show at church
one night. The plot aligns with an issue that
Kierstyn and I care about — so I decided to
take a gamble.”
Lending their expertise are Andrew and
Lisa Renée Johnson, a Clermont couple
who started Premiere Youth Theater, which
operates workshops for young performers.
The Johnsons had auditioned and trained
preteen actors for The Music Man, and are
doing the same for Bishop’s production of
Annie. Lisa Renée Johnson is also portraying
the evil Miss Agatha Hannigan, who runs the
orphanage from which Annie escapes.
Bishop says he needs to sell about 900
tickets to recoup his costs and donate
run is about 1,500.
But interest has been strong, thanks in part
to the fact that many cast members are
community theater veterans with strong local
followings. Activists in the foster care community
have rallied behind the effort as well.
Plus, the story remains irresistible. After all,
the original 1977 Martin Charnin and Thomas
Meehan musical ran for more than six years
/drphillipscenter.org