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Roachdale girl to take the stage as Annie
All of the world is a stage for nine year-old actress Olivia McKenna of Roachdale. McKenna will be starring in her "dream" role as Annie Warbucks this coming week at the Meyers Dinner Theatre in Hillsboro.
The young McKenna will be taking on the lead role of the young red-headed orphan Annie, growing up in hard knocks Brooklyn until her Daddy Warbucks takes her away. This is a role that McKenna has been dreaming of taking on since she was about two years old.
"I used to have dreams and yell for Grace Hall or Daddy Warbucks," McKenna stated.
This isn't the first time that McKenna has hit the stage. She has been in productions at the Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre in Indianapolis where she recently reprised her role in the annual Christmas Show, she is also undertaking the role of Mia in the Montgomery City Movie and has taken many other roles in dinner theatre plays across Indiana.
Director Linnéa Leatherman at Meyers Dinner Theatre said that the cast of Annie is more than she expected. With actors coming as far as Noblesville to participate in the musical, the 18-person production is a tight knit group.
Leatherman said that the cast has been dedicated to learning the roles and choreography to put on the show with only four weeks of rehearsal time. She also said McKenna was ahead of the curve.
"I think she (McKenna) had the songs and role memorized before she even tried out," Leatherman laughed.
She also said that McKenna is quite young for taking on the role of the iconic red head, but that she has taken to the role wonderfully.
While still only nine years old, the young girl is looking toward her future goals, while acting is a big part for her she also wants to explore different options.
"I'm very interested in engineering and science," McKenna said in a recent interview with the Banner Graphic. "I'm looking at many different paths."
McKenna's parents Heather and Kevin Cook encourage her interest in different areas other than theater.
"There aren't that many roles for children in theater," Heather commented.
While there might not be many roles for children in musical theater, McKenna dreams of larger roles in different musicals like "Les Miserables," "Gypsy" and "Sunny Girl. "
Several area actresses who play the orphans in New York City during the Great Depression as they battle the sadistic Miss Hannigan, played by Ginny Spillman of Indianapolis will join McKenna. Hannah Estes of Hillsboro, Nina Myers of Lafayette and Aubrey Allison, Danville, Ill. join Waynetown residents, Lauren and Taylor Mermoud and Jessalynn and Jovie Simpkins as the orphans.
Mark Tumey of Noblesville will play business tycoon Oliver Warbucks. Though a newcomer to the Myers Dinner Theatre stage, Tumey is a familiar face to audiences in Noblesville, Carmel and Indianapolis. He has just finished a run in William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Bailey Williams of Danville, Ill., will portray the personal secretary to Warbucks. Williams is a young actress who already has extensive theatre credits in both Indiana and Illinois.
James Servies, who has done several shows at Meyers and also at the Vanity Theatre over the years, will head the mansion staff as Warbucks' butler, Drake. He is joined by Abigail Estes of Hillsboro as Mrs. Greer and newcomer Cathie Morgan of Indianapolis, as Mrs. Pugh.
Morgan also portrays the first female presidential cabinet member, Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor. Joining her in FDR's cabinet is Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, played by Wabash College student Mahlon Nevitt, who also plays Officer Ward and several characters in Bert Healy's radio show, "Hour of Smiles."
McKenna and the cast are looking forward to the upcoming show.
The production will start on Aug. 21 and run until Sept. 14, with a special children's matinee on Aug. 31 where children will have a chance to meet with the actors after the performance. The cost for dinner and show is $36 for general admission and student tickets are $25. For more information on Annie and The Myers Dinner Theatre go to the website at www.mye-rsdt.com or call 798-4902.