It's hard to imagine a beleaguered president who, after hearing a spunky orphan girl sing about optimism, orders his cabinet members to stand and sing, too; yet that's precisely what happens in the classic musical "Annie," now being staged by Dexter's Encore Theatre Company.

The show aims to recreate a Depression Era fantasy, of course (the aforementioned scene even suggests that the girl inspired Roosevelt's New Deal). At that frightening time, when the country seemed to be veering off-course — economically and otherwise — many struggling, out-of-work Americans dreamed of rescue by a paternal figure, be it in the form of a wildly rich businessman like Oliver Warbucks (John Sartor) or the government, as represented by FDR (Jedd Nickerson).

Such is the backdrop for the story of Little Orphan Annie (Bryana Dorfman), who, after a failed attempt to escape the orphanage, lands in Warbucks' home for the holidays. When Annie tells Warbucks of her dream to find her real parents, the billionaire helps in her search and offers a substantial reward. The news reaches Annie's bitter former guardian at the orphanage, Miss Hannigan (Diane Hill), as well as her ex-con brother Rooster (Steve DeBruyne) and his girlfriend Lily (Liz Jaffe), who pretend to be Annie's parents in order to collect the reward.

Encore's production begins with a kick, as Dorfman immediately demonstrates, during "Maybe," that despite her small size, she's got the pitch-perfect pipes and acting talent necessary for the role, and the ensemble of orphan girls deliver "Hard Knock Life" with skill and energy. Yes, some of the song's highest notes were a strain for the young singers, but by and large, they sounded good (and Maeve Donevan, as Molly, is criminally cute).

Indeed, Annie and the orphans provided most of the production's highlights on opening night. This is partly because they had fun and really sold their numbers — particularly the wonderful "Fully Dressed" — whereas many of the adults in featured roles were so restrained that their scenes rarely, if ever, "popped" on stage.

For instance, though Warbucks is an uptight character, Sartor makes him a bit too wooden (not to mention the fact that he struggled mightily with "Something was Missing" on opening night). Meanwhile, Hill and Liz Griffith (as Warbucks' assistant, Grace) are musically sound, but their characters also seemed far too muted for this comic strip show.

In a sense, the outsize musical is at odds with the Encore's intimate space. Past Encore productions have benefited from low-key acting choices, but the nature and scale of "Annie" seem to beg for larger-than-life characters, regardless of the venue.

Among the show's adult performers, DeBruyne is the standout, demonstrating that in this broadly drawn, family-friendly musical, more is more. DeBruyne's Rooster is loud and brusque, and his performance of "Easy Street" with Hill and Jaffe is a production highlight. (Also noteworthy was Madison Deadman in the small role Star to Be; 13-year-old Deadman's occasional featured vocals, though brief, were performed with impressive clarity and power.)

The production's unevenness, however, extends to nearly every part of the show. Daniel C. Walker's spare set design covers the show's basic needs with minimum fuss and great economy, but consequently, the profound disparity between the orphanage and Warbucks' mansion is difficult to convincingly convey.

Director Barbara Cullen's choreography varies in quality from number to number, and the furniture seen on stage often doesn't match the intended environment (the sofa and chair in Warbucks' home don't look posh, and Hannigan's desk looks too modern, brightly colored, and new). The majority of Maggie Miller's costumes work quite well, particularly Lily's sharp, sexy, red and black ensemble; yet the dress Annie wears in the first act's final scene hits a distractingly wrong note, and the displaced Hooverites could stand to look a bit more scruffy and down-in-the-mouth. (And this is a small point, perhaps, but after Annie claims the stray dog Sandy as her own in an early scene, the dog disappears from the show, then mysteriously re-appears in the final number. What happened to that dog? How did it find it's way to Warbucks' mansion on its own?)

In the end, "Annie" has the feel of a theatrical hodgepodge. Even so, the production's young performers — Dorfman in particular — provide a spark that's otherwise lacking, thereby keeping audience members, young and old, tuned in. Clearly, these will be the performers we'll be watching for, ahem, tomorrow.

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.