Kenai Central hits the big stage with ‘Annie’

It’s been 11 years since Kenai Central’s drama program has put on a show in the school’s Renee C. Henderson Auditorium. Next week, with “Annie,” the big stage will be lit up once more — with Kardinal actors, an optimistic little girl, and familiar songs like “Tomorrow.”

The production features actors from Kenai Central and from Kenai Middle School, which freshman Emma Karron, who plays Annie, said means many of the actors have gotten to know one another and grow close through the production, which began in September.

Lizzy Johnson, who plays Miss Hannigan, said assembling a show like “Annie” requires students to work as a team — especially in the final weeks before the show’s premiere, as costumes, props and cues all come together.

“It’s fun,” she said. “A cool environment, like a giant family.”

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The classic story of a young orphan finding her place in the world and changing hearts and minds with her boundless optimism as realized by the local actors, Johnson said, will “look amazing” and make people laugh.

Shauna Koch, who plays Lily, said she’s never been in a theater production before. She said the production has brought together people “that are so different” to put on a show.

“At the end of this, everything we’ve worked so hard for is going to really pay off and make people happy,” she said.

Gavin Hunt, who plays Daddy Warbucks and who’s been in several local theater productions in recent years, said his favorite part of any show is the opportunity to act off of scene partners and cultivate the combined performance that attendees will see in the show. Working alongside Karron’s Annie, he said, has been “a lot of fun.”

Drama at Kenai Central has grown, Hunt said, during his time at the school. Putting on “Annie,” a Broadway musical with a large cast, in the school’s auditorium marks a big step for the program.

The show is directed by Terry and Lara Lindeman. Putting on a larger scale musical on the big stage, Terry said, is about creating experiences for students to grow in a collaborative setting not unlike what some students experience through team sports.

Theater teaches integrity, commitment and group problem-solving, Lara said, all skills that the actors will take beyond the stage.

The cast made up of both high school and middle school students brings “a great diversity of energy and of talent and of maturity,” she said. It also allows drama in Kenai to more directly invest in the younger students who in a few short years will find themselves at KCHS. She pointed to Logan Maw, a seventh grader who’s acting alongside Johnson and Koch, both high school juniors, as one of the show’s antagonists.

“It’s really cool to have that mix,” Lara said.

“Annie,” in particular, is an exciting show because of the titular character’s optimism and positive attitude, which “speaks to true joy,” Lara said.

Playing Annie, Karron said, means embodying a fun and sarcastic child, much younger than she is. That’s a fun space to experiment in.

Johnson, similarly, said that as Miss Hannigan she has to be rude to the orphans, who are played by a cast of middle schoolers. Hannigan’s cruelty can be played for laughs for the audience, and that’s what Johnson said she’s excited for when people come to see the show.

That sense of comedy is also inherent in Koch’s Lily. In a villainous role adjacent to Hannigan, Lily is seeking to separate Annie from Warbucks, but Koch said she’s excited to show people a character different from her own self and make them laugh.

Warbucks is a deeper character, Hunt said, than he initially expected when stepping into the role. The fatherly role isn’t one he’s unfamiliar with, last year playing Mufasa in “The Lion King.” But Hunt said that Warbucks’ strong sense of passion and empathy shine through in songs like “NYC.”

“He’s a child that is trying to show the people he loves the world that he sees,” Hunt said. “I really want to capture the beauty and love that he sees through Annie.”

“Annie” will run on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 15 and 16, at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door, $10 for adults and $5 for students.

Emma Karron, part of the cast of “Annie,” rehearses at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Lizzy Johnson, part of the cast of “Annie,” rehearses at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

The cast of “Annie” rehearse at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Gavin Hunt, part of the cast of “Annie,” rehearses at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)