Student Blog: A Letter to High School Directors: STOP DOING THIS SHOW!

Imagine for a moment, the curtain has closed on this year's spring musical, the sets have been taken down, the costumes buried in the prop room to be repurposed for a show five years down the line. Your castmates and you have finally gotten over the Sunday show blues. As you move on, you ask yourself the age old question, "What's the show going to be next year?" Now at most other high schools, the directors would announce the show well in advance. When I went to school, we got the show with the cast list. Needless to say, this left a large amount of room for speculation, for all we knew the show could either be "Shrek" or "High School Musical". However, no matter what show we were casting in our minds, even if it seemed implausible, there was one musical we always knew could not, nor, never should be done: "Annie". The sad truth is it's one of my all-time favorite musicals, but it's also the last show you should be doing in a high school theatre department. So a message to all directors seeking that next big show, STOP DOING "ANNIE"!

If anyone knows anything about theatre, then the story of "Annie" needs no explanation. Simply, a young orphan girl is adopted by a wealthy businessman, taking her on a grand adventure through the big apple. It's a story that has been adapted multiple times to the stage and screen, most recently in 2014, starring Quvenzhané Wallis,Jamie Foxx, and Cameron Diaz.

For any young girl, the role of Annie is a dream come true, it's arguably the most iconic child role in all of Broadway history. That's the thing however; did you notice that I said it's an iconic "child" role? In fact, Annie isn't the only child, at least 75% of the cast in "Annie" are children.

Now, everyone's voices are different and I'm not saying that only children are capable of singing these parts, but even those not as vocally knowledgeable understand that voice changes come with age. The role of Annie is a Mezzo-Soprano, and if you listened to the soundtrack recently, "Tomorrow" isn't the only big belting moment for the character. Nearly every song Annie gets in the show requires belting to an insane amount, and while high school age Mezzo-Sopranos are out there, every production of "Annie" I've found myself attending, it always seems the veins of a senior Alto protruding out the neck under that iconic red wig. Not to mention, it's a show that takes a toll on the female ensemble as well. "Hard Knock Life" is quite the ironic title, as it perfectly describes the struggle of making a bunch of 16 to 19-year-olds scream out the vocals of 9 to 13-year-olds.

As previously mentioned, I am not any kind of voice-coach, hell I'm one of those people very guilty of losing their voice by belting in the car with friends. Every high school is different, and I'm sure that there are thousands of talented female performers who can play these parts with ease. I also understand that there are high school theatre departments that mix in performers in their middle school, which frankly, is the best course of action for this specific show. When it comes down to it, if you're a director and you think your cast is right for this show, then by all means go ahead and start building those sets.

However, you can't tell me that there are any high schools out there that can make the Annie and Daddy Warbucks dynamic natural when both are played by actors of the same age. I explain my point by reflecting on a local production I had witnessed with my own eyes. To protect the innocent, no names or high school will be mentioned, but to give context the Annie and Warbucks were both seniors. While both were talented performers, the fact that they both were at eye level with one another, and both were legal to vote, it gave the father-daughter dynamic a more unsettling romantic vibe. Which if you need a refresher, these characters, narratively, have a near 40-year age difference. "I Don't Need Anything But You" is not a love song, people!

In the end, I must reiterate and express I'm not here to dash anyone's artistic visions or abilities. If you're high school plans on doing or have done "Annie" I'm in no way saying your productions are automatically terrible. Hell, I would love to be in a production of "Annie". Rooster is one of my biggest dream roles. There are countless theatre departments out there, and after the year we've all had, the last thing I would want to do is stop anyone from putting on a show. This article is more or less here to think about when considering what production to bring to the stage next. "Annie" is a wonderful show, but remember it's one that could come at the cost of your cast.

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