Children’S Theatre Presenting ‘Annie’
Once or twice a year, the Spokane Children’s Theatre pulls out all the stops and stages a big, lavish spectacle at the 760-seat Met.
“Annie” is this year’s holiday bash, and it opens tonight and continues through Dec. 1. With 10 shows, many of which are already threatening to sell out, this all-time kid-friendly hit may easily attract an audience of more than 7,000.
The director is Troy Nickerson, one of Spokane’s most in-demand performer-directors. He said he is staging this rags-to-riches story in traditional style.
“It’s a big, splashy Broadway musical style, with lots of big production numbers,” said Nickerson.
It also will have lots of dogs. In addition to the traditional Sandy (arf), this production features two other dogs to fill out the dogcatcher scene.
And, of course, it has a full complement of orphans, played by local children age 7 to 13. The cast, including both adults and kids, totals 33.
Annie will be played by Maryellen Cooley, a 12-year-old from Cataldo School in Spokane. She was chosen over 120 aspiring young Annies in auditions.
Melody Deatherage plays Miss Hannigan, Tim Peterson plays Daddy Warbucks and Tami Knoell plays Grace, Warbucks’ secretary.
The show runs today and Friday at 7 p.m., , Saturday and Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m., , and Tuesday, Wednesday, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $5 and $6, available only in advance by calling 328-4886. Don’t wait - some shows will sell out.
The Met is at 901 W. Sprague in downtown Spokane.
`A Very Special Christmas Special’
The Blue Door Theatre, Spokane’s improvisational comedy theater, opens its holiday show, “A Very Special Christmas Special” on Saturday.
This will be a mix of improvised scenes and written sketches. They are billing it (in best “Brady Bunch” style) as “a very special show, for a very special holiday, with what is surely to be a very special perspective.”
It opens Saturday at 8 p.m. Note the change from the usual Friday date; it will revert back to Fridays after that, running every Friday from Dec. 1 to Dec. 22 at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $5. This theater has turned into a hot ticket, so it would be wise to reserve a seat by calling 747-7045. The Blue Door Theatre is at 122 S. Monroe. Look for the blue door in the alley.
`I Ought to Be in Pictures’
The Spokane Community College players present Neil Simon’s bittersweet comedy “I Ought to Be in Pictures” beginning Monday.
This Simon play is about a oncesuccessful screenwriter, Herb Tucker, whose daughter shows up on his doorstep after a 16-year absence. He abandoned her as an infant, but now she wants his help to get into the movies.
Ron Heiss, an SCC drama teacher, directs.
The show runs Monday, Tuesday, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. A matinee is Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets are $5 general admission, available at the door. All shows are at the Lair, Building 6, SCC, 1810 N. Greene.
`Romeo and Juliet’
The University of Idaho Theatre Department presents Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy-romance, “Romeo and Juliet,” beginning next Wednesday.
This version is directed by Nike Imoru, an artist-in-residence at the university. She is a theater scholar, actor, director and movement specialist from the United Kingdom.
“What we bring to the foreground in this production is not only the love between these two young people, but the complex web of family relationships within culture as a whole,” said Imoru.
The show opens Wednesday and continues every day through Dec. 3, and then resumes Dec. 6 through Dec. 9. All shows are at 7:30 p.m. except a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee on Dec. 3.
Tickets are $8 adults, $7 seniors, $6 youth and $3 UI students with ID. Tickets are available through the UI Ticket Office on the Moscow campus or by calling (888) 8UIDAHO. Tickets also are available through G&B, 325-SEAT or (800) 325-SEAT.