‘It’s a hard-knock life’
WATERFALL – A talented cast sang and danced their hearts out as they put on a magnificent performance of Annie Junior at Reddam House Waterfall recently.
Featuring beloved musical numbers, beautiful costumes, young talent and an awful lot of heart, the youngsters of Reddam House Waterfall recently took the stage by storm with their performance of Annie Junior.
About 70 children from Reddam House Waterfall took part in the production, which is set in 1930s New York and tells the story of 11-year-old orphan Annie, who has fiery red hair and the spirit to match it. Mistreated by the villainous Miss Hannigan at the orphanage, Annie’s adventures start when she is invited to spend the Christmas season with self-made billionaire Oliver Warbucks, eventually leading her to her new family.
Peppered with some of the most famous musical numbers from the stage (including It’s A Hard-Knock Life and Tomorrow), the performance delighted a packed audience when it ran at the school from 30 April until 3 May.
“We’ve been rehearsing since about November,” explained Shaye Garmany, who is the head of drama at Reddam House Waterfall and who worked tirelessly on the show.
“We chose to perform Annie Junior because, for the first time, we wanted to put on a performance which included both the children from the college campus and the senior preparatory school, and this piece had enough roles.”
A number of roles in the play have been shared by the young performers, including the role of Annie which was played by Hannah Coltman and Maiya Simelane in alternating shows.
“The cast has been amazing,” said MJ Gerazounis who is in Grade 12 and played Rooster.
“The younger members are so talented and they sometimes show us up! I guess it’s due to all the hard work that went into the show.”
The other performers agree. “I love acting and dancing and so decided to audition,” explained Ntaoleng Mokitimi, one of the girls who play orphan Pepper. “I think it’s going to be a really cool performance because we’ve all put so much effort in.”
Besides all the talented children involved (from grades 4 to 12 at the school), Annie Junior also had a special guest star with four legs: Raffi the guide dog was invited to play the role of Sandy, a lovable mutt that Annie meets on the streets of New York.
“We approached the South African Guide-Dogs Association to ask if we could use one of their dogs in the performance,” explained Garmany. “We thought that as guide dogs have already been trained, she’d work out great.
“Raffi has become a mascot of sorts, we’ve actually also taken her around the school buildings to help promote the performance.”
To thank the association for their loan of Raffi, the school held a raffle, before the performance held on 1 May, to raise money for the association using prizes donated by parents. Annie Junior also inspired the school to collect donations of clothes, shoes, toys and other items for the New Beginningz Children’s Home based north of Joburg.
“The young cast has been amazing. It’s wonderful to watch a production become a piece of art and give the chance to showcase young talent,” concluded Garmany.
Details: Reddam House Waterfall www.waterfall.reddamhouse.com
Related article:
Take a trip to the theatre for this season’s greatest production …
