Singing and dancing their way through ‘Annie’
“From the top, again!” young thespians are told, at a rehearsal by Jerome De Silva’s and the cast shuffle back to their original positions. The cast of ‘Annie’ are not the familiar faces one is used to seeing at Jerome’s usual productions-they’re much younger too. Meet the young faces of Asian International School who will bring to life one of the most loved musicals.
Pix by Indika Handuwala
“I don’t believe in having one standard for children and another for the adults,” shares the director in question. “There’s only my standard, and that’s giving nothing but your absolute best.” Jerome has invested a fair amount of time in this play, throwing himself into the very heart of it just like he does with all his other productions. For the director, there’s a very fine line between school productions and the full blown, glitzy musicals Colombo knows him for best. “I love working with school children you know,” he smiles. “Most professional actors who work with me today started out as one of my school students.”
‘Annie’ is perhaps one of Broadway’s most well known and loved productions, having first made its debut in 1977. The original Broadway production ran for six years straight, setting a record for the Alvin theatre (now Neil Simon theatre), winning several Tonys for its score and story. The musical is based on the well-known Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse. It’s a hugely popular play for reproductions, with the New York Times estimating that about 700 to 900 productions of Annie are staged in the US alone each year.
The story is perhaps a familiar one, but engrossing nonetheless. It is 1933 and Annie is an orphan in a girl’s orphanage run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan. She was left on the doorstep of the orphanage, with a note from her parents saying they’d be back for her. This is the hope Annie clings on to, says Shyalina Muthumudalige, who plays the title role. “She’s a very boisterous, cheerful character,” says the young actress, who last played a lead role in Ruwanthie De Chickera’s Kalumaali. “It’s lovely to take on Annie.”
When it seems like her parents aren’t going to make an appearance anytime soon, the ever proactive Annie decides to escape from the orphanage and find them herself. Miss Hannigan manages to drag her back in, however, and while she’s in the matron’s office she meets Grace Farrell, secretary to billionaire Oliver Warbucks. Warbucks brings an orphan into his house every Christmas; this is largely to groom his ‘corporate image’, laughs Vishnavi Nadarajah and Chamathka Ratnayake who bring double trouble as the star struck young secretary Grace. “She’s hopelessly in love with him,” says Vishnavi. “But he’s too blind to see it.” Grace immediately takes a shine to Annie and invites her to spend Christmas at the Warbucks mansion.
At the mansion, a delighted Annie soon has the entire staff under her spell, and when Warbucks returns she manages to ensnare him too and he soon becomes ‘Daddy Warbucks’. Jameel Ariff and Pavith Pathirana embrace the role of the formidable business tycoon with gusto, from his transformation from arrogant recluse to cheerful and kind father. Warbucks is soon enamoured with this child who has brought such light and laughter into his life and plans to adopt her formally. But for this he must ascertain her real parents really are missing; moved to quick action, he puts up a notice on radio for a cash prize for anyone who comes forward as Annie’s parents.
But trouble is brewing for Annie back at the orphanage, when the rogue Rooster Hannigan and his girlfriend Lily pay a visit to Miss Hannigan. When they cop on to the cash prize on offer for Annie’s parents, the threesome hatch an evil plan; Rooster and Lily would pose as her parents, bring her back to the orphanage and share the cash with Miss. Hannigan. In exchange she provides them with the information necessary to prove their parentage. “Rooster is a nasty piece of work,” say Bilal Ghouse and Shelantha Fernando who play the character. His sister is a little better; Miss Hannigan is grouchy, vindictive and disgruntled with her stock in life-and she happily takes it out on the orphans she has been assigned to care for. Udara Hapangama’s having a ball portraying this grumpy old spinster and says she wouldn’t have wanted any other role. “Hannigan brings a great deal of character to the play,” she grins.
We also meet young stage manager Radesh Vethakan-all five feet of him. Radesh is the precocious young man Jerome has entrusted with the entirety of the formidable task of managing the stage. He runs a tight ship; his crew have the sets moved and replaced in under 15 seconds, just enough time for Jerome to murmur, “good for these fellows to do some hard work every once in a while!” Despite his exacting directorial style and many, quips at his cast’s expense, the young thespians are starry eyed and delighted at the prospect of working with the acclaimed director.
Catch the young cast of AIS singing and dancing their way through ‘Annie’, directed by Jerome De Silva and choreographed by Shanuki De Alwis on March 12 and 13 at 7.30pm at the Lionel Wendt. Tickets will be available at the school office from tomorrow.