Encore Theatre will spend the holidays with "Annie"
Diane Hill as Miss Hannigan, and Liz Griffith as Grace, in The Encore Theatre's production of the musical "Annie."
“I’ve worked with dogs, I’ve worked with chickens, and I’ve worked with roosters and lambs,” said Cullen. “The chicken was kind of difficult.”
We can only imagine. Meanwhile, the chance to play Annie’s pet pooch warranted a doggie audition for the role. And even though Cullen calls Kentucky home — despite directing four shows at Encore this year — she was able to get back to Michigan in time to handpick the show’s title character: Bryana Dorfman.
“She’s pretty darned amazing,” said Cullen. “She’s got a great voice even though she’s tiny, and she’s a real natural. … She’s mighty when she needs to be.”
The Tony Award-winning show — with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and a book by Thomas Meehan — premiered on Broadway in 1977. Based on Harold Gray’s comic strip “Little Orphan Annie,” and set in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan in 1933, the musical focuses on a redheaded orphan girl who dreams of escaping from the orphanage and finding her parents.
“I’d done the show many years ago, and going back to it now, one thing I realized was, wow, a lot of history is involved with the show,” said Cullen. “There’s this whole thing with (Franklin D.) Roosevelt, the New Deal, and the depression, and what families were dealing with at that time.”
Encore has made the unusual choice to open “Annie” on Thanksgiving weekend.
“We figured everyone was home for the holidays, with the kids being on break at school,” said Cullen. “Since everyone was going to have that weekend off, we thought we’d give families the opportunity to come and see the show. … Kids love seeing other kids perform, so it’s perfect for families and perfect for the holidays. Once Thanksgiving hits, everybody’s ready for Christmas.”
Encore, which pairs established professional performers with local amateurs in its productions, will feature University of Michigan grad Liz Griffith as Grace, Michigan-based actress Diane Hill as Miss Hannigan, and Peter Riopelle (touring production of “The Drowsy Chaperone”) as Drake. “We talked about possibly doing a Christmas revue,” said Cullen. “But then (Encore co-founder) Dan Cooney and the other producers said, ‘Let’s just go whole hog and make a spectacular Christmas show.’”
Cullen felt lucky to get the rights to “Annie,” since it’s a show that seems to perpetually have a touring production. But once that hurdle was removed, Cullen contended with how the intimate Encore Theatre stage could contain the musical’s wide range of settings.
“That was my biggest concern in doing the show in space we have,” said Cullen. “There’s the orphanage, then Daddy Warbucks’ mansion, then scenes outside in Hooverville. I thought that was going to be our biggest challenge, but (set designer) Dan Walker came up with clever way to get us to all these places with very few blackouts.”
And as a bonus, the script never calls for a chicken to perform a trick.
PREVIEW “Annie” Who: Encore Musical Theatre Company. What: Classic musical, based on a depression era comic strip, about a spunky, redheaded orphan girl who longs for a family of her own. Where: 3126 Broad St., Suite A in Dexter. When: 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday. The show runs from Friday, November 27-Saturday, December 19. How much: $28 ($25 for seniors, $22 for groups of 10 or more). Info: 734-268-6200 or the Encore Theatre web site.
Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.