Students in Penn Middle School’s Drama Club are preparing to stream two weekends of “Annie Jr.,” and it’s been a sprint from the start, according to club sponsor Sharon Wiant.
“We started very late,” Wiant said. “Normally, we start in January and we usually need every bit of that time. We were given the OK to move ahead with the musical in mid-March.”
That meant a pared-down cast of 34 compared to the typical double-cast show with more than 100 participants, socially distanced rehearsals and the use of new technology to bring the show to the audience.
When it came to sets, Wiant said the club was finally able to find a silver lining in last year’s covid-canceled production of “Legally Blonde.”
“We were able to re-use some of the sets, including a two-story house,” Wiant said. “We were able to repaint it and get it done in time.”
Wiant said director Maddie Nick, who is a Penn-Trafford graduate and the co-founder of local theater school 20/20 Performing Arts, helped the cast stay focused during a compressed rehearsal run.
“She’s done a great job working with the kids,” Wiant said. “They really responded to her and were able to focus on their characters.”
“Annie Jr.” is a likewise-compressed version of the full Broadway musical, telling the tale of “little orphan Annie” and her ordeal in Miss Hannigan’s 1930s New York City orphanage.
The musical will be livestreamed May 28 through June 6 at 7 p.m. through a video-on-demand service, which means viewers do not need to choose a specific date or time in advance. Once purchased, the show can be viewed anytime during those dates. Once viewers begin watching, they have 48 hours to finish the show.
Tickets are $10 plus a service fee, and can be purchased at ShowTix4U.com by searching “Penn Middle Drama Club,” or at PennMiddleDrama.com.
