‘Annie’ is the optimistic show we need

If there was ever a show I wanted to be a part of, it was “The Music Man.” After all, that was the first musical I remember watching when I was a kid.

I can recall my parents telling my brother and I that we would like this movie, so we sat down in front of the couch and gave it a try. By the end of the movie we were excited about the possibility of playing trombones because of the song “Seventy-Six Trombones.” Ironically, when I entered the sixth grade, I signed up to play that great instrument. Maybe that’s one reason “The Music Man” is still one of my favorite productions.

A few years ago, Dublin Community Theatre had tryouts for “The Music Man.” Unfortunately, because my wife was going through breast cancer treatments that summer, I decided not to be a part of that cast. We did watch DCT’s production and came away impressed with the talent on the stage. 

While “The Music Man” was the first movie I remember watching, it was not long before I was introduced to “Grease,” and then a musical about a little orphan named “Annie,” which I first saw on a Christmas Eve night on HBO. Our sister, who was about 4 years old at the time, would go around singing “Tomorrow” for weeks. For me, I have always liked the song “It’s A Hard Knock Life.” I was humming that catchy tune when I went to Theatre Dublin for auditions in January. 

For some, trying out for a DCT productions may be nerve-wracking. If I had nerves I lost them when I saw former castmates from “Guys and Dolls” and “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” As soon as I walked in the lobby I saw more familiar faces in “Annie” director Glenda Berry and assistant director Elaine Avery. 

By the time my name was called to walk up on the stage and sing a song, I had sat in the audience and watched many adults sing about a minute’s worth of a tune. Now it was my turn.

And what did I choose to belt out? “Luck Be A Lady Tonight,” from “Guys and Dolls,” a song I was comfortable with since I was part of the ensemble who performed that the previous July. 

After singing, we all read from various parts of the upcoming musical. That ended tryouts. By that evening, the cast list was released. About a week later, we gathered for a reading and we are now working on bringing this fun, inspirational musical to the big stage. I look forward to the fun and work we will have in bringing “Annie” to our local community who will have four opportunities to converged on Theatre Dublin to watch this show at 7 p.m. on April 23 and 24 and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on April 25.

And this time, I am not the only person from The Courier Herald in the cast. My colleague and award-winning columnist Kyle Dominy, will be on the stage making his DCT debut. 

In the first act, I will be a homeless man, in which I get to be part of the ensemble of “We’d Like to Thank You Herbert Hoover.” In the second act, I portray Cordell Hull, who was President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of State. In this act, I get to help with the reprise of “Tomorrow.” 

Sadly I will not be on the stage for “It’s A Hard Knock Life.” As much as I like that song, I will leave it up to our young ladies to sing and dance. From what I have seen of their practice, I would need oxygen when I crawled off the stage if I was a part of that number.

One of the things I like about “Annie” is the theme of hope coming from the lead character. The story is set in 1933. America was in thick of The Great Depression. There wasn’t much to be happy or thrilled about. And yet here comes this 11-year-old orphan who really brings out the best in everybody she comes across.

In what we call the Hooverville scene, Annie walks into a place where people have reached the bottom. They used to be someone, but because of The Great Depression, they have fallen into this make-shift community. And along comes Annie with her hopeful answers.

And later, she stands toe-to-toe with politicians who can’t help but discuss all of the problems in the world at that time, including talks of the early days of what would lead to World War II. But the more we read through the script and listened to the dialogue, the more it became apparent to me that things have not changed that much.

Much of the show’s dialogue sounds like conversations one would hear out in public today. While working on the play, it is easy to see how much we need this kind of optimistic attitude in our world today. 

Everywhere we look is doom and gloom – especially in the news. But come this April, people will be able to turn off the TV, head to our theatre and watch the “Annie” cast bring the type of optimism that is needed to remind us that hope is only a day away.