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FERNDALE — You can bet your bottom dollar The Ringwald Theatre’s next show will be arriving soon.
The Ringwald’s performance of the musical “Annie” will begin on June 6 and run through June 30. The theater is located inside Affirmations LGBTQ+ Community Center, 290 W. Nine Mile Road.
Performances will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, and 3 p.m. on Sundays.
“Annie” famously tells the story of the aforementioned orphan’s life in the orphanage and the finding of her family in 1930s New York City.
Actor and co-Director Joe Bailey said “Annie” might seem to some an unlikely choice for The Ringwald, but what the musical really is about is optimism and a sense of believing in the possibility that better times lie ahead.
“While remaining resolutely unpolitical or apolitical with our approach to the show, we thought that it had a lot to say about the times in which we are currently embroiled, and so that was really the jumping off point when it came to making the decision to produce it,” he said. “
Instead of using the traditional kid actors for the show, the musical will have adults in the cast.
Bailey said this choice added an extra layer for them, as he thought it would be interesting to see adult actors in these roles choosing to be optimistic about the times in which they’re living.
“Not to take anything away from younger performers, but it seems as though younger people can just naturally be optimistic about the things that they’re experiencing, and I thought it would be interesting to see adults choosing optimism and hoping that things would improve,” he said.
Lily Belle Czartorski, who will be leading the show as Annie, found that the dynamic of being an adult playing a child brings an extra layer of depth to the storytelling.
Agreeing with Bailey’s outlook on the musical, Czartorski said, “I feel like naturally it’s a child’s instinct to remain optimistic, which is a very large theme of the show, but for an adult to do it, it’s a much more intentional and conscious decision. And that really resonated with me, getting to tell that story as an adult.”
Czartorski didn’t feel like it was a challenge to do this, as Annie is a character who is consistently optimistic despite all the hardships that she’s facing.
“It’s pretty inspiring to me as a person, you know, just like the lyrics that she sings, it’s very easy to feel and resonate with, that there will be a better day tomorrow despite what’s happening now.”
Czartorski and the rest of the cast will bring to life such songs as “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” “Maybe” and “Tomorrow,” music created by Charles Strouse, who died May 15 at age 96.
“The music itself is so great with accompanying the message of each song,” she said. “We are going to have a live piano for the show instead of prerecorded tracks, which I absolutely love that because it just adds another layer of collaboration to the production and makes it more alive and real.”
Tickets for “Annie” cost $35 for shows Friday through Sunday, $25 for Thursday shows and $20 for Monday shows. There also are $10 rush tickets available before every Thursday performance when the box office opens at 6:30 p.m.
For more information and to get tickets, visit theringwald.com.
