BWW Interviews: DEBUT(S) OF THE MONTH - The Orphans of ANNIE!

At the tender ages of seven to twelve years old, the multi-talented, high energy orphans of the new Broadway production of Annie are giving seasoned pros a run for their money. On stage at the Palace Theatre, Tyrah Skye Odoms, Junah Jang, Jaidyn Young, Taylor Richardson, Emily Rosenfeld and Madi Rae DiPietro bring down the house as they wreak havoc on Miss Hannigan, perform their own version of Bert Healy and the Boylon Sisters and tug at our heart strings as they long for a family to call their own.

Below, meet the orphan girls of Annie, all making their Broadway debuts, and find out why they believe you're never fully dressed without a smile!

Tyrah Skye Odoms (Kate) - Regional credits include Suessical (Who), Beauty and the Beast (Chip) and Annie (Molly).

On when she first knew she wanted to be an actress: "My brother did some acting in a couple of shows and I watched some of his shows and I was like, 'Hey I want to be an actor one day.' So then I did like auditions and stuff and now I'm on Broadway."

On finding out she got the role: "At first I was just like, 'uhhh' and then I was like, 'Oh My God!!' and it was so cool."

On her favorite song from 'Annie': "I like 'Never Fully Dressed' and I also like 'Hard Knock Life.' Those two are really fun. It's really fun to do 'Hard Knock Life' but you have to act like you're really mad...so I think about how we have to clean everyday and so it makes my face show that I'm really mad, and I think about why we have to stay up till midnight and clean and make dresses and everything. So that's easy."

On what she likes to do in her free time: "Sometimes I go to the Marriott Hotel with some of my friends from the cast and we go on these elevators and we ride all the way up to the 45th floor and that's the last floor and then it goes straight down with no stops and that's really fun!"

On why everyone loves 'Annie': I don't really know. There's been a lot of productions and whenever you think about Annie it's like, 'Oh my God I love Annie!' And everybody knows about Annie and it's just a really fun and exciting show.

On making her Broadway debut: "That was really exciting. That was the first time I was kind of nervous before the show. I'm never really nervous except for Opening Night and there was a really big crowd and everything and it was just really exciting."

Junah Jang (Tessie) - Youth theater credits include Seussical The Musical, Annie, The Sound of Music, and Schoolhouse Rock Live!

On whether she's like her character 'Tessie' - "Well Tessie is really a cry baby and a whiner, so I don't think I'm really a whiner or a cry baby in life. But I think I'm similar to her because she has a point when she says everything. She's not just complaining and whining, she actually has some sort of reason behind it. She's actually being reasonable."

On when she first knew she wanted to be an actress: "Well I started in a local theater when I was four, and I've always loved singing and acting. I never knew I was going to be an actress. I never was like, 'I'm going to be on Broadway or a in a movie." Every single local theater production I was in I was always like, 'is it time yet? Is it time yet?' Singing's so fun. I've always loved it."

On what she likes to do in her free time: "I really like reading. I really love the series 'Harry Potter' especially, so whenever I get a chance I always read. I have to catch up on school work of course so I do that too, but in my free time I want to read."

Caryn Robbins is a features editor for BroadwayWorld, covering TV, flm and the best of Broadway theater.

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