MTC School of Performing Arts Presents ANNIE, 1/12 & 13

Music Theatre of Connecticut School of the Performing Arts presents "Annie." The production will take place on Saturday, January 12 at 3pm and Sunday, January 13 at 3pm at Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court (off Post Road East) in Westport, CT. Tickets are $30/$25 for adults and $25/$20 for students and reservations are suggested. For tickets, call Music Theatre of Connecticut at 203.454.3883 or visit www.musictheatreofct.com

"Annie" is a musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip "Little Orphan Annie," with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The musical's songs "Tomorrow" and "It's a Hard-Knock Life" are its most popular pieces. "Annie" had its world premiere in 1976 at Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut. The original Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on 1977 and won 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book. The musical ran for nearly six years on Broadway, spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours and a pair of film versions.

The musical is a fully staged and costumed production performed by MTC students, ages seven and up. Directed by MTC co-founder Jim Schilling, with musical direction and choreography by Marty Bongfeldt, costume design by Diane Vanderkroef, set design by Eric Zobeck, stage management by Deb Levy, Molly Perling as assistant to the director and with animal training and "Sandy" provided by William Berloni. The cast of "Annie" is comprised of MTC School of the Performing Arts students. Sarah Allen, Sydelle Bernstein, Ella Bloomingdale, Maizy Boosin, Quincy Carson, Brianna Cornfield, Caroline Dean, Alison Feder, Emily Greenblatt, Rachel Hart, Tess Haskel, Honor Heisler, Joshua Horowitz, Molly Jeanneret, Siri Kanter, Eddie Kiev, Lauren Lambrecht, Cassie Lang, Nina Lee, Emma Lee, Chloe Manna, Sydney Newman, Skylar Newman, Buckley Ryan, Emma Saxon, Ella Seo, Morgan Skinner, Charlotte Smith, Madelyn Spera, Zachary Terrillion, Elisabeth Tonsberg, Nina Udell and Georgia Wright of Westport, David Littlefield and Cory McCullough of Wilton, Alison Gentry, Sarah Green and Maiya Urquhart of Fairfield, Holly Rybnick and Sophie Starkman of Norwalk, Lydia Perling of Greenwich and Aiden Coleman of Bedford, NY.

This Music Theatre of Connecticut production of "Annie" will also feature the dog, "Sandy," who is trained by the legendary William Berloni. Berloni's Broadway animal training credits include the canine stars of Broadway's "A Christmas Story: The Musical," "Legally Blonde," the original Sandy in "Annie" as well as the current revival, "Camelot" with Richard Burton, "Anything Goes," "The Wizard of Oz," "Gypsy," "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and more. Berloni has also trained animals for movies and television shows including "Charlie Wilson's War," the last seven seasons of "Sesame Street." As an author, his books include "Sandy: The Autobiography of a Star" and "Broadway Tails," with proceeds donated to the Sandy Fund at the Humane Society of New York. Berloni has received the ASPCA Humanitarian Award and the American Humane Association Craven Award for his work on Broadway. William Berloni, his wife Dorothy and their daughter Jenna, live on a farm in Connecticut with fifteen dogs, three cats, two horses, a pony, two llamas, and a miniature donkey. Mr. Berloni is currently the Director of Animal Behavior for the Humane Society of New York and is involved in helping animals that need homes.

For more information or to reserve tickets, call Music Theatre of Connecticut at 203.454.3883.

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