Hard Knock Nights: 'Annie' coming to River Campus stage

The Broadway musical "Annie" will take the stage at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus featuring a freshman who snagged the lead, a Southeast faculty member playing Daddy Warbucks and Lloyd, an 18-month-old hound mix, who will play the part of Annie's dog Sandy.

The beloved musical based on the Harold Gray comic strip "Little Orphan Annie" will be performed in the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and Feb. 23, 8 p.m. Feb. 22 and 2 p.m. Feb. 24.

Anna Hebrank, a freshman musical theater major from St. Louis, hoped for the lead role of Annie when she auditioned, but still was shocked when her role was announced. Hebrank said she thought she may be too old to play the 11-year-old orphan.

"It felt great. I cried, obviously," Hebrank said. "It was amazing. I've always wanted to play Annie."

Director Amy Fritsche said during her audition, Hebrank had just the right mix of maturity and sharpness that she sees in Annie's character. Fritsche said Hebrank performed the part well and was "bright, young and spunky." To top it off, she was the right height when compared to Joe Mason, a Southeast fine arts instructor who portrays Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks.

"I was ecstatic when she came and auditioned," Fritsche said. "She had more of a spunk and more of the young Annie sound that I was looking for."

Theater students normally don't have the opportunity to see their instructors perform outside of school, Hebrank said, and working alongside Mason is a different experience.

"I think it's cool to see what they're teaching, to see them put into their own career -- to see them perform," she said. "It's cool to see their work put into action."

The cast of Southeast Missouri State University’s production of “Annie,” during rehearsal Monday at the Bedell Performance Hall. The musical opens Feb 20 at 7:30 p.m. with additional performances Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m, Feb 22 at 8 p.m. and Feb 23 at 7:30 p.m. (ADAM VOGLER)

While being a preteen girl dealing with growing up was easy to relate to, other aspects of Annie's character proved more difficult to connect with, Hebrank said.

"I couldn't relate to not having parents," she said. "I couldn't relate to being an orphan, so that was hard to get into."

Learning hand signals to direct Lloyd, a hound mix who plays the part of Sandy, an abandoned dog who becomes Annie's faithful companion, is another skill Hebrank had to master.

"I've never worked with a dog, so I'm pretty excited to see how it's going to turn out," she said.

Lloyd takes part in Puppies for Parole, a program that allows inmates of the Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston, Mo., to obedience-train candidate dogs.

Lloyd is available for adoption at Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary in Jackson, and Fritsche hopes he is adopted by the end of the show.

The optimism of orphan Annie is endearing, said Hebrank, and a scene featuring a Hooverville, where people made homeless by the Great Depression have come together as a community, speaks to the 1930s and the Great Depression, bringing a "kernel of truth" to the musical, Fritsche said.

The cast of Southeast’s production of “Annie,” during rehearsal Monday at the Bedell Performance Hall. The musical opens Feb 20 at 7:30 p.m. with additional performances Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m, Feb 22 at 8 p.m. and Feb 23 at 7:30 p.m. (ADAM VOGLER)

"Annie" also will feature three young members of the Cape Girardeau community who will play orphans.

"It's such a family-friendly show," Fritsche said. "I have no doubt that everyone will enjoy it."

Tickets for "Annie" may be purchased from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays at the River Campus Box Office, located in the Cultural Arts Center, 518 S. Fountain St., by calling 651-2265 or by visiting RiverCampusEvents.com.

adowning@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent addresses:

518 S. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, MO