Posted by: joseph in MyBlog on Jan 29, 2010
“The sun’ll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun…”
This hopeful melody is none other than the famous “Tomorrow” from Annie. This lively musical production is set to grace Cypress’ own Berry Center stage February 12 through 21 as the first performance of Annie allowed in the Houston area in some years. Performed by Houston’s Center Stage Theater this production is fit for the whole family, featuring actors from the community, ranging from adults to children and even dogs!
The perseverance and positive outlook of a little orphan girl named Annie, portrayed here by Hope Harris, has been lifting audience’s hearts show after show. Gary Kreitz, president of Houston’s Center Stage Theater, will be featured as Daddy Warbucks and hopes this classic story of hope will warm the hearts of Cypress-Fairbanks and NW Houston residents even as each audience member faces struggles of their own. “It is such an uplifting story of rags to riches, and in today’s economy, people are always looking for something that has a ‘feel good’ theme, and this show certainly fills that bill.”
Houston audiences have not been able to see Annie for a few years due to licensing and touring restrictions, so this is the first show in Houston in quite a while. Kreitz talked about the process, “We attempted to secure the licensing for a long time and HCST was the first theater to get the rights to do it after the restrictions were lifted.”
Still, it is a classic story that many have seen by movie or on television if not on stage, so they want to offer a fresh version of this classic tale and at the same time hope to remain true to the original version of the story. “We realize we need to offer a fresh approach in the presentation. We think we have done just that. In trying to make things a little different our choreography will be quite a departure from what other theaters have offered. It is quite unique,” Kreitz shared. “We have also taken great pains to make certain our sets and costumes are as authentic for the period as they can be. We even auditioned dogs to get the best one for the role of Sandy.”
This show embodies the mission and vision of Houston’s Center Stage Theater which seeks to provide innovative education, maximize family involvement, create high quality productions and participation opportunities, achieve excellence and collaborate with the community for a total training that serves others.
In order to continue serving the theater will host a special Saturday night benefit performance on February 20th. This benefit dinner and show only costs an extra $2 per ticket and proceeds go to The Great Northwest Houston Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. This night of enjoyment will begin at 5:30pm with a catered dinner followed by an official ribbon cutting for the Houston Center Stage Theater witht eh CyFair Houston Chamber of Commerce. But of course the show must go on! The evening ends with a performance of this American Classic, Annie.
This will be a production that will leave you singing, “I love ya, tomorrow, you’re always a day a way!”
For more information on Houston’s Center Stage Theater or to purchase tickets for this classic musical please visit www.HoustonsCenterStage.com or call 281-827-4692. The Berry Center is located at 8877 Barker Cypress Road, Cypress, TX.