I spent yesterday morning watching my favorite play with my favorite people: Annie in an auditorium of elementary and junior high school students at Coughlin-Saunders Performing Arts Center. 

 

I was so excited when I saw that Lagniappe Theatre was bringing Annie to Central Louisiana that I seriously considered auditioning for the show. It is one of the best musicals ever, its nearly 50-year run a testament to its popularity. I ultimately decided attending as an audience member would be easier with my schedule though I knew I’d have serious FOMO during some of the musical numbers. 

 

I wasn’t wrong! I relived hours worth of living room performances as an orphan, inebriated orphanage mistress, Hooverville resident, fresh-faced actress arriving in the Big City, and billionaire’s secretary. 

 

From the opening notes of Maybe in Act I, I knew why Reese Toney had been cast as Annie. I’ve seen Annie on stage at least 80 times and Reese is one of the best Annies I’ve ever seen. Her angelic voice rings through the auditorium with such stunning precision, I was mesmerized. She’s an incredible actress as well, blending innocence with spunk effortlessly. 

 

The sets were stunning; the choreography amazing. One would have a hard time believing this was community theater and not a visiting professional troupe. 

 

One of the show’s most popular songs, It’s a Hard-Knock Life, did not disappoint as throngs of girls sang and danced their way through the lively number. 

 

The Hooverville scene was, as always, fun and educational. I learned more about The Great Depression, Herbert Hoover, and FDR’s New Deal from Anniethan I did sitting in school. Learning through song is active learning!

 

When Annie heads out for the night in NYC with Mr. Warbucks (Grant Blakeney) and Grace (Kelly Lombardi), I was reminded of my childhood dream: to visit NYC! I sang along in my head with Star to Be (Libby Claire Mayo) as she stepped off the bus with “three bucks, two bags, one me.” Libby Claire’s youthful exuberance in her solo rekindled an old fire in me. Forget what middle-aged me knows about New York City, the NYC scene made me once again want to book a flight ASAP!

 

Completely stealing the scene before even uttering his first line was Vincent Smith as Rooster. The audience loved him so much it was easy to forget he was supposed to be a bad guy! 

 

As many reenactments of Easy Street my sister and I performed in our den, we never came close to the production Smith, Katoya Flowers (Miss Hannigan), and Talon Dearborne (Lily St. Regis) put on in Lagniappe’s Annie. That was hands-down the greatest Easy Street number I’ve ever seen!

 

Once again I’m blown away by the talent we have in Central Louisiana, especially in our younger generations. What better proof of future decades full of outstanding performances all across Cenla than this week’s production of Annie by Lagniappe Theatre?

 

You do not want to miss this show!

 

Opening to the public this evening, shows are Thursday, September 26th at 7pm, Friday, September 27th at 7pm, Saturday, September 28th at 7pm, and Sunday, September 29th at 2:30pm.  

 

For more information or to buy tickets, visit 

www.lagniappetheatre.com or call (318)487-8243.