Polson students bring musical “Annie Jr.” to life

“It’s the Hard-Knock Life” and “Tomorrow” are some of the songs from the musical “Annie Jr.” that lit up the stage at Polson High School Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

A cast of sassy orphan girls and Annie herself (Katherine Bartel) do their part to plague Miss Hannigan (Ashlin Peters), the bossy and grouchy head of their orphanage. 

Peters does Carol Burnett proud, swanning around in a maribou-trimmed peignoir with a flask in her pocket. Enter Hannigan’s ne’er-do-well brother Rooster (Jack Huffine) and his platinum blonde sweetie Lily (Inara Nicol).

Always wanting to make an easy buck, Huffine’s Rooster is slick and bombastic and his zoot suit is amazing. A personal favorite is Sandy (Kayla Grainey), Annie’s dog friend, who always is pursued by a diligent dog catcher (Amelia Stene).  

The plot kicks into gear when billionaire Daddy Warbucks (Dominic Venters) sends his secretary Grace Farrell (Dixie Montgomery) to choose an orphan to spend Christmas at his mansion. Bartel plays Annie smashingly with a winsome smile, sweet voice and sassy personality. Venters’ Daddy Warbucks is a treat – a businessman who makes President Franklin Roosevelt wait for his call-back but who contacts the FBI to help find Annie’s parents. 

The  production is directed by PHS Theater Director Sarah Larkin, who comes from a theater background. She studied to perform on Broadway in New York City and has been a voice and piano teacher for 17 years. 

Since Polson Middle School students were encouraged to audition, Larkin chose to use two casts for “Annie Jr.” so more kids could take part in the production. About 50 students showed up for auditions – a process that can take a lot of bravery.

“The amount of talent here blows my mind,” Larkin said, “And I’ve been in the professional theater world for 20 years.”

Finding costumes for “Annie Jr.” had Larkin up late one night looking on the internet; she had her heart set on a teal zoot suit for the Rooster Hannigan character. She happened to find a costume shop called Beyond Costumes in Yonkers, New York. 

When Larkin called the next day, she found that it was not just a little hole in the wall – the owner had 20,000 costumes to purchase or rent. As Larkin talked about Montana and the theater department’s slim budget, the owner asked only that the drama department pay the shipping costs. So Annie’s dresses, the teal pinstripe zoot suit, coats for the orphans (some were fur), and other costumes – 200 pounds worth – arrived in Polson with no rental fees attached. 

“It was so kind of her,” Larkin said.

The director also had praise for her actors and singers.

“The orphans worked so hard,” she said. “And Dixie did a terrific job. All the kids worked so hard – they set the bar high.”

She also had kudos for stage managers Amy Thoft and Rayleen Wadworth, two high schoolers who “basically ran the show.”

Last week's performance had a special ending. After the musical was finished, the actors took their bows and presented Larkin with a huge bouquet of flowers. Then, Jack Huffine and Dominic Venters led the cast and crew in “Chicken Rap,” an original song they wrote for the stuffed chicken who accompanied Rooster’s character.  

A whole new cast takes the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $8 for students, seniors, and veterans. 

    The orphans sing in the musical "Annie Jr." playing now at Polson High School. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
  

    Annie, played by Katherine Bartel, sings her heart out as Grace Farrell, played by Dixie Montgomery, looks on approvingly. The two are appearing in the musical "Annie Jr." playing this weekend at Polson High School. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)

    The cast of "Annie Jr." closes last week's performance with their original "Chicken Rap." (Berl Tiskus/Leader)