“Annie Jr.” coming to Lynn

LYNN - Orphan Annie will make a pre-holiday visit to Winston County this week in Lynn Schools’ production of the Broadway musical “Annie JR.”
Performances will be Friday, Dec. 10, at 7:27 p.m. and both Saturday, Dec. 11, and Sunday, Dec. 12, at 2:27 p.m. at the Lynn Schools lunchroom. The unusual start times help make sure no one forgets when the shows begin. Admission is $5 at the door (no advanced sales), and the proceeds will benefit both Lynn Elementary School and the Lynn High School band.
Though abridged, with a runtime of only 60 minutes, “Annie JR.” still includes favorite songs such as “Tomorrow,” “Hard Knock Life” and “Little Girls.”
“I knew if we were going to start a theater program, it would start with ‘Annie,’” said Sharon Fike, LHS assistant band director and “Annie’s” artistic director. She explained that she chose “Annie” because it’s a great introduction to theater since everyone is familiar with it.
In this production’s all-student cast, the

adult roles have been undertaken by LHS band members in 9th-12th grades, and the orphans are portrayed by students in 1st-5th grades.  Annie herself is played by 6th-grader and beginner-band member Anniston Wilson.
“I had my heart set on this part,” said Wilson, who has grown up watching America’s favorite orphan in movies and on television. When Fike addressed Wilson as Annie in the school lunchroom one day, letting her know she’d gotten the part, Wilson jumped for joy.
Most of the cast have not done musical theater before. They’ve acted in school plays and church programs or sung with a choir, but rehearsing “Annie” has been a very different endeavor.
Senior Michael Boyd (Rooster Hannigan) said, “It’s been a good experience so far,” adding that he’s enjoyed how much they’ve been learning.
“We’ve picked a good play to start on, too,” he continued. “(It’s) not incredibly hard, but not just super easy either. A little bit of a challenge for everyone, I think.”  
Brooklyn Burks (Grace Farrell), a freshman, said she originally had not wanted to play such a big part because she has stage fright, but Fike cast her in this part anyway.
“She said that I had an amazing voice and she wanted me to challenge myself. I actually am pretty grateful that she did that now,” Burks said, adding that the experience has helped her overcome her fear of singing in front of people.
Fike, who has a deep background in theater, has been teaching the cast not only how to act, sing and perform choreography, but also how to understand and follow stage directions.
“These kids can go anywhere in the world (after this) and they’ll be able to take direction from any director anywhere,”  Fike said.
Staging “Annie” has not been without its challenges. The biggest ones have been limited rehearsal time and the impact of the pandemic. Rehearsals have only been underway since October, when marching band season wrapped up. Additionally, students from all grades have had to be absent due to illness.
Fike extolled the students’ ability to accomplish so much in so little time. It is that which makes this production—the thirteenth staging of one version or another of “Annie” that Fike has directed—unique in her experience.
“If anything stands out,” she said, “it’s (these students’) eagerness and the rapidity of how quickly they have done this. This is a community that didn’t have a band director for two or three years.  The students kept (the band) going, so these kids are used to not having—and (then) just pulling it out of their hat. Sometimes, I don’t know how they do it.”
The students feel similarly about their director. Senior Rex Bryan (Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks) observed that Fike’s experience has made it possible for them to achieve a lot in only a couple of months.
“It’s really extraordinary what she’s doing in such a short time,” said Bryan. “We couldn’t ask for a better (director).”
Fike gives equal credit to her husband, band director Rodney Fike.
“I am married to a theater buff,” she said. “He does sets and particularly sound and lights, so where I leave off, he picks up. I get the vision in (my mind), but I have no clue how to make it happen, and he does. It is quite a partnership.”
Sophomore Cheyenne Bell (Miss Hannigan), who has done theater before, also praised Sharon’s leadership.
“She’s really generous to the little kids,” Bell said, referring to the elementary students in the cast.
The older cast members and Sharon, too, seemed to be having a ball working with the younger students. They all remarked on how adorable the children are. With that in mind, Bell said, “I feel so bad because I have to sit there and yell at them” (as part of her role).
Sharon and Wilson marveled at the gifts the younger cast have demonstrated, recalling special moments in auditions and rehearsals when various children’s specific talents shone through.  
Sharon said, “My favorite part (of directing “Annie”) is always the orphans in ‘Hard Knock Life’ because the kids don’t know what to expect at all.  They get not just singing, but choreography and the whole thing, and you know right from the get-go if this is going to be successful or not.
“There’s nothing like watching little ‘orphans’ run to their moms and (say), ‘Wait till you see what we can do!’”
These young students will get the chance to show their classmates what they can do, as well; “Annie JR.” will be performed for the elementary school during an assembly Monday, Dec. 13.
Looking ahead to a week of dress rehearsals that would last until 8 p.m. and culminate in three public performances, the older cast members were excited to see all their hard work come together on opening night.
Sophomore Carlee Crane (Lily St. Regis) said, “It’s going to be fun. I have to try and pull off a New Jersey accent, so it’s going to be interesting.”
Some of the cast admitted to being somewhat nervous or at least thinking about what it might be like to perform in front of a crowd—but Wilson knows what to do when the moment comes.
“Just live the part,” she explained. “Like Mrs. Fike told us, ‘This isn’t you. You can’t do stuff like you would regularly do. You have to do it in the way this character would.’”
Theater, and more broadly, the arts in general, are good for students, according to Sharon, who explained that participation in the arts can give students the means to attend college.
“It’s easier sometimes, especially in small communities, to land art scholarships than athletic scholarships. Kids don’t realize they can get a scholarship in theater, and it can pay their way through (college).  They don’t have to major in it,” Sharon said. “And it’s not just theater. It’s music. It’s (fine) art. It’s all (the arts).”
However, many schools, especially smaller ones, cannot afford to provide access to art programs, Sharon noted.  
“Art programs are no longer (in danger of being) cut; they are just non-existent in small schools,” she said. “They’re unaffordable. They just don’t exist.”
She’s determined, in spite of that, to help introduce the arts to students because of the positive impact such exposure can have on their futures.
Sharon pointed out that Lynn Schools have never done anything quite like this musical before, acknowledging that the new administration at both schools made it possible.
“Things like this could not happen without supportive administration,” she said.  “I don’t think my husband and I have ever gone to either principal (and been told ‘no.’)”
Sharon went on to note that she has rarely, maybe only once before in her career, worked with principals like Daniel Farris (Lynn High) and Brad Alsup (Lynn Elementary).
“They are awesome,” she said, “absolutely phenomenal.”
Of course, productions like “Annie” also can’t be performed without paying a licensing fee, and this production was licensed using band funds.
“How can you put a price on watching a kid develop? How can you put a price on seeing talent blossom that no one knew was there, except that child? You can’t put a price on that,” Sharon said.