Curtain will come up on 'Annie' starting May 12 at Nolan Center

Spring may still be gray and dreary in Wrangell but the sun will come out on May 12.

That Friday at 7 p.m., the musical "Annie" will open at the Nolan Center theater and will run again May 13 at 4 p.m., May 20 at 7 p.m. and May 21 at 4 p.m.

Last Sunday, cast and crew were busy checking microphones, coordinating and rehearsing a full run-through of the performance for the first time.

According to Haley Reeves, in her directorial debut, there are between 30 and 40 cast members, some of whom are taking on dual roles, such as Bob Baker, who plays Bundles McCloskey, the laundryman who helps Annie escape the orphanage. He also arranges set pieces in between scenes as a stagehand.

"Annie," the long-running musical that debuted in East Haddam, Connecticut, in 1976 and opened on Broadway in 1977, is based on the 1928 comic strip "Little Orphan Annie," about the adventures of an orphan and her dog, Sandy, who find a home with Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks.

Kaiya Roher, 12, plays the infamous redhead Annie, and has had to learn 11 songs. She has about 140 lines to memorize along with the songs and, on top of that, she has to learn the choreography along with her 10 fellow orphans. But she's doing her research.

"I've watched most of them (the movies based on the musical)," she said. "I watched the 1982 version and the modern one. I've memorized most of the songs. I'm kind of in between nervous and excited."

In one example of truly committing to the role, teacher Matt Nore, who is playing Daddy Warbucks, is memorizing his two songs and five scenes, and he shaved his head since the character is known for his shiny, hairless dome, albeit a tad early.

"For some reason, in my head, I was thinking the play is (this) weekend," he said. Outside of the appearance, the role presents new challenges for Nore. "Singing and dancing is outside my normal wheelhouse. I can read and recite lines and stuff like that, but (singing) was something new I really had to practice."

Ellen Jellum is another actor taking on a dual role as one of the Hooverville ensemble, sharing the role of Star-to-be with Bella Garcia-Rangel. She's also writing the opening context to familiarize viewers with New York in 1933 during the Great Depression.

She's been impressed with Reeves directing style and the commitment of other cast and crew.

She believes "Annie" is more difficult than the community theater's previous performance of "Sound of Music."

"I think this one's a lot harder. I really admire Haley's organizational skills," she said. "But 'Sound of Music' felt like we were rehearsing in cells. With 'Annie,' there are five main characters who come in and out through the whole play and then, like, 30 characters with two lines apiece. There are a lot more moving parts."

Reeves said the biggest challenge has been getting everyone together to rehearse at common times. Being a veteran of 15 to 20 plays in community theater in Havre, Montana, she said that's the nature of community theater.

"It's community theater and everybody has stuff going on and that's part of it," she said. "If you do miss (a rehearsal), they let me know, we catch them up. It's just an easy work-together kind of thing."

Reeves wants the cast to be able to come to her with any questions and rely on her experience and support. "I want everyone to feel like their voice is heard. I want them to feel like they can trust me," she said.

It's a style that seems to be making the hard-knock life a little easier.

"(The cast) is doing a great job ... a few weeks ago we turned a corner," Jellum noted. "But that's theater for you. There's a point where you're panicky and then it comes together."

Tickets will be available through the Nolan Center website at nolancenter.org and at the box office.