Economic woes, the threatened government shutdown, warfare, earthquakes and Charlie Sheen: Who couldn't use a pick-me-up right about now?
For those looking to shake off the doom and gloom, there's a little redheaded orphan and her scrappy dog waiting in the wings at two Top of Utah theaters.
The musical "Annie" opened Monday at the brand-new CenterPoint Legacy Theatre in Centerville, and next Friday, the Terrace Plaza Playhouse mounts it own production of the show that unabashedly waves a banner of optimism and promises a better day tomorrow -- literally.
And the four young actresses double-cast in the title role of Annie at the two theaters are eager to spread that message.
"It makes you think about tomorrow and how hopeful you've got to be to be happy all the time," said Cedi Christensen, 11, of Sandy, explaining why the show's signature song, "Tomorrow," is her favorite.
Christensen is double-cast at the CenterPoint theater with Hanna Gemperline, 12, of Bountiful, playing the role on alternate nights. The duo putting on that little red dress at Terrace Plaza are Kiersten Cragun, 10, going on 11 this month, of Roy, and Livy Alvey, 10, of Layton.
The four girls beat out hundreds of others to land the iconic role. Alvey is wide-eyed with excitement as she relives the audition process. It was after 11 p.m. when Terrace Plaza Playhouse made the final announcement.
"When they told me I got Annie, I was thinking, 'I am totally dreaming right now' 'SClBcause I was like, 'What's happening?' and I totally thought I was asleep," Alvey said. "When I woke up, I was like 'OK I think I had a dream last night, but is it real?' "
It was, indeed, real, and now Alvey and the three other girls are living and breathing Annie.
"When everything is going wrong, she just does something happy and makes everyone feel better," said Alvey of the character. "It just helps to know that you can be happy, even when there is stuff going wrong that's sad."
Gemperline is so committed to the role that she had 12 inches of her normally dark hair cut off, bleached and then dyed red. She donated her hair to Locks of Love.
Gemperline doesn't regret cutting her hair for Annie, whom she described as the ultimate optimist.
"She really tries to find the good side of things, and that kind of helps people change their attitude about it and they start getting more positive about things," Gemperline said.
That optimism, combined with street smarts and feisty attitude, may explain the longevity of the newspaper comic strip character upon which the musical is based. "Little Orphan Annie" was created by Harold Gray in 1924 and was canceled last June after years of declining popularity.
However, the 1977 musical remains popular and a 2012 revival is in the works on Broadway.
Annie not only cheers people up, but she also has a lot of fun in the process, thanks to a Tony-winning score that includes a gold mine of upbeat songs and dance numbers.
In fact, three of the four Annies polled for this story cited one of the show's lavish dance productions as their favorite, including Gemperline, who said she loves doing the polka in "You Won't Be an Orphan for Long."
"I Don't Need Anything But You" is Cragun's favorite number "because I love to dance and it's this big dance number," she said. "We get to do a lot of stuff with the cast -- the servants and Daddy Warbucks and Grace -- and we're all together and it's a big humongous family and it's so much fun."
Listen to the four Top of Utah Annies sing “Tomorrow”
Kids and animals
The appeal of "Annie" is no secret to the two women directing these productions.
"Every girl has wanted to be Annie at one time in their lives," said Ogden resident Leslie Richards, who is directing the Terrace Plaza production. "All the girls love it and all the parents want their girls to be in 'Annie.' It's just a really popular show and brings in a lot of audience members."
A stage full of adorable orphans singing "It's the Hard Knock Life" may be irresistible, but don't underestimate the appeal of one of the actors who would probably rather be backstage sniffing around the green room for unattended treats.
That would be Sandy, of course, played by a yellow lab named Teesha at Terrace Plaza -- and double-cast at CenterPoint by a cocker spaniel/poodle mix named Daisy and a cocker spaniel/terrier who normally answers to the name of Chewy.
"When they are onstage, they do steal the show" said Centerville resident Addie Holman, who directs the CenterPoint production. Holman, who played Annie in a Bountiful Performing Arts Center production when she was 13, credits the role with her ongoing love affair with theater.
"It's been so fun doing this," she said. "Seeing the girls do it now reminds me of myself and how exciting it was. It's such a cute show."
Doggone it!
As much fun as the dogs are, they do present challenges.
"You never know what a live animal is going to do onstage," Holman said, noting this was the first show she has directed in which she held dog auditions.
Richards said cast members have gradually been working Teesha, who is making her theatrical debut, into the production. They plan to train the dog so she won't be distracted by what's going on offstage or in the audience by, for example, a noisy patron unwrapping a piece of candy.
"We're trying to do some preventative kind of things so that she doesn't run up and try and eat everyone's concessions in the middle of the show," Richards said.
In addition to a microphone check before each show, Holman said, the actresses are also required to go through a "dog check," where they actually perform one of their scenes with the dog.
The girls playing Annie understand the necessity of working with their dogs to limit the possibility of any canine malfunctions.
"It's a matter of the dog getting to know you and then it will follow you anywhere if you have a treat in your hand," said Cragun.
Alvey added, "Our dog is pretty obedient, so if you have a treat, it will do what you want."
But dog will be dogs.
"You never know what it's going to do, so sometimes you have to work around it," Gemperline said.
Added Christensen: "The first time we were onstage with the dog, the dog jumped off the stage and we were like, 'OK, we kind of have to train this dog better because we don't want it jumping on an old lady. That would be bad and then they never would want to come (back)."
Christensen, who is the smallest of the four Annies, has an additional challenge in that her dog, Daisy, is bigger than she is.
"Sometimes, it kind of drags me around. I've got to try to control it. I've gotta get stronger," Christensen said earnestly. "Sometimes it wants to go backstage and I'm pulling it, singing 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow,' and I'm being dragged offstage. It's hard, but once you get to know the dog and it starts to know what's going on, then it starts obeying."
But even if a dog named Daisy drags a little girl named Cedi offstage singing "Tomorrow," you know a spunky, smiling orphan with a can-do attitude will be right back -- as soon as she gets that dog under control.
Therein lies the appeal of this character, Holman said.
"The underlying story of what the writers were trying to get across is that no matter how depressing your life is, if you have optimism, there is always a better day coming down the road" Holman said. "That's a universal, timeless theme to think about, especially when times are bad."
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