Worthing Musical Theatre Company (WMTC), which was established over 50 years ago, puts on two shows a year. This year’s production of Annie has a large cast with 30 adults, 31 children and a dog performing.
The show will be performing five times at the Pavilion Theatre, which has a capacity of around 700. More than three quarters of the tickets are sold for most of the shows and the Saturday matinee is sold out.
The show is directed by seasoned director Julie Jordan, who has worked with choreographer Rachel Davis and musical director Daniel Paine to bring to stage their vision for the show. Worthing resident Julie said it's been demanding working with such a large cast, but is happy with how rehearsals are going.
"It's been quite a challenge working with so many children and a young dog," said Julie. "This was only possible working with our very tight team of Rachel and Dan. We all have the same vision for the show, and are delighted with what we have achieved."
The Annie cast has been rehearsing since October, and are now rehearsing three times a week, with the show only a few weeks away.
Annie and the main orphans are split into two casts - Roosevelts Rascals, who are performing on Wednesday and Friday night, and Saturday matinee, and Hannigan’s Helpers, who are performing on Thursday and Saturday night. The 15 ensemble orphans are performing in all five shows.
The children performing in the show, aged between 7 and 13, come from across Sussex, including Worthing, Hove, Littlehampton and Haywards Heath.
The role of Annie in team Roosevelt Rascals is played by 12-year-old Worthing resident Elsa Cannon, who has performed in various shows for WMTC and Durrington Theatrical Society. Her sister Iris Cannon, 8, plays orphan Molly in the show. Annie in team Hannigan's Helpers is played by 10-year-old Angmering resident Emily Tutt, who has also been shortlisted for a role in a Netflix show. Her 7-year-old sister Grace is also in the show in the Ensemble.
Approximately a third of the children in the show have never performed in front of a paying audience before, but impressed the casting team so much at auditions that they were given various roles within the show. One of these is 9-year-old Hove resident Bella Guy, who is in the Ensemble. Bella, who attends St Andrews C of E Primary school in Hove was delighted to be cast in the show and is looking forward to performing.
"It feels amazing knowing hundreds of people will watch us perform on stage,” said Bella. “It's so exciting, I can't wait!"
Unusually for an amateur theatre production, the show even has an acting dog Nya, who is playing the role of Sandy, Annie’s dog. 2-year-old Nya is a mixed breed – half Cocker Spaniel, and a quarter French Bulldog and Jack Russell. This is Nya’s first show, but she is also taking part in Legally Blonde in Crawley in May. Nya’s owner Jamie Sawyer, who plays Drake the butler and a police officer in Annie, said training Nya was relatively simple, although teaching her to bow was more challenging.
“Training with Nya has always been easy,” said Jamie. “She loves to be praised and engages her brain whenever she hears commands, so responding to the girls playing Annie was nice and easy. Teaching her to bow was a little trickier and involved balancing treats on the floor that she puts her head next to, but not eating them with her rear legs raised.”
The adult cast of Annie includes various experienced actors. The role of the cruel orphanage matron Miss Hannigan is played by Suzanne Britten. Suzanne, 42, worked as a professional actor in her 20s and has played various roles since she joined WMTC in 2015. She is excited to take on the role of Miss Hannigan.
“Annie holds a special place in my heart as it’s the first musical I saw when I was five,” said Littlehampton-resident Suzanne. “I’m hoping my five-year-old twin girls will enjoy it as much I do, even if Mummy’s the baddie!”
WMTC regular Philip Davis, 32, is playing billionaire Oliver Warbucks, who takes in orphan Annie and ends up adopting her.
“I am excited to be playing Oliver Warbucks because it is very different to what I normally play,” said Worthing-resident Philip. “Whilst I adore playing the villain or quirky character, playing a straight-laced billionaire with emotional layers is certainly a challenge I relish.”
Tickets for Annie are available from Worthing Theatre & Museum’s Box Office on 01903 206 206 or can be booked online on the WTM website wtm.uk/events/wmtc-annie/
Photos by Love Heart Photography ( https://www.loveheartphotography.com/)