"Annie" Comes Alive on the Riverview Stage

The sun will come out tomorrow when Riverview High School students take the stage for their annual spring musical.

This year, the cast is performing "Annie," a musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, on April 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Tenth Street Elementary auditorium. There will be a 2 p.m. performance on April 7.

The plot revolves around red-headed Annie's attempt to find her birth parents and her adventures along the way.

This year's cast is led by two Maddies—freshman Maddie Kocur plays the role of Annie, and Maddie the dog plays the role of Annie's new pet, Sandy.

Alex DiClaudio, the musical's co-producer and a Riverview musical alum, is on the producing team for the revival of "Annie" on Broadway in New York City.

"It's been fun to bring that experience here to some degree," DiClaudio said.

Before the members of the cast auditioned for roles in October, the producing and directing team held open call auditions to scout the talent.

"We had a list of about 10 shows we had in mind," DiClaudio said. "We saw we were light on guys and had multiple strong options for someone to play Annie. That's what led us to this musical."

The cast began working on choreography in October and started rehearsing at the Tenth Street Elementary School auditorium in January. The crew also has been busy building sets on Saturdays since the beginning of the year.

"We have a very dedicated group," DiClaudio said. "The cast is a relatively inexperienced group, but they're putting their all into it. They really fit into this classic show."

Eighth-grader Gabriella DiPietro and her brother junior Dante DiPietro play orphan Molly (Annie's friend at the orphanage) and Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks (a millionaire who opens his home to Annie), respectively. The siblings have been involved in Riverview musicals for several years.

Junior Niomi Phillips plays Grace Farrell, Warbucks' secretary, and senior Jocelyn Hong plays Miss Hannigan, the alcoholic orphanage matron who hates children.

Gabriella said she's looking forward to her singing and dancing scenes.

"It's fun, fast and upbeat," she said.

Niomi said she's enjoyed working with the entire cast.

"There's really an array of different people in the show and in the cast," she said. "It's really neat."

Dante said because the show is so well-known, it really puts the pressure on the cast to do it right.

"Everyone knows about the show and how it should be," he said. "That's the challenging part."

Jocelyn encourages the entire community to see the show.

"The sun won't come out if you don't come to see it," she said with a laugh.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets are still on sale for Riverview School District's production of "Annie!"

Ticket sales to the public will continue this week on Thursday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Tenth Street School lobby and also next week, Monday through Thursday in the Tenth Street lobby from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Any seats that are still available will also be sold for 90 minutes prior to each performance.

You may also order by calling 412-828-1800, ext. 1038 or by using the "Annie" ticket link on www.rsd.k12.pa.us.

The cost is $10 for adults and $8 for children, students and seniors.

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