“Leaping Lizards!” Sylvania Arts Youth Theatre is gearing up for their spring musical, Annie Jr.
The “sun will come out” next weekend. See the Youth Theatre group perform on March 15 and 16, 7 pm and March 16 and 17, 2 pm at the Fransiscan Center at Lourdes University. To purchase tickets for the show, visit the website.
The cast is composed of 57 talented young children, many of whom have never acted or performed on stage before, according to the Director, Irina Zaurov. The children have been working extremely hard, rehearsing three times a day to prepare for the spring show.
“We have one (rehearsal) for dance, one for voice and one for acting,” Zaurov said.
Although many of the children have never performed on stage before, their youthful energy makes up for their lack of experience, according to Choreographer, Alyx Fisher.
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“Kids aren’t self-conscious about it. They just come in and they’re ready to absolutely be silly. And that’s what they need to do,” Fisher said.
The actress performing Annie, Alayna Brazzil, has taken the show to the next level, according to the production team.
“I mean, to be 10 years old and to be able to hold a show like she is is spectacular. And only talks about where she’s gonna go in the future,” Producer Alayna Tobis said.
Brazzil’s family dog, Winston also gets a chance to take center stage during this production. Winston is playing the stray pup, Sally, in the iconic musical.
Tobis also spoke highly of the orphan ensemble, which is composed of many newcomers to musical theatre.
“So many of the kids were all first-timers on stage, and getting to watch them kind of grow into their roles and really understand like the art of acting has just been amazing,” Tobis said.
One member of the production team is new to Sylvania Arts as well. This is the first show for Music Director Ella Cole, who hadn’t done theatre since high school.
“It was just a nice way to get back into doing theater again. Since not doing it for so long,” Cole said.
Sylvania Arts will have an exciting opportunity for those interested in returning to the theatre or giving it a try. For the first time ever, Sylvania Arts will be presenting a high school and adult production, Between The Lines, in November.
It will be the Northwest Ohio premiere of the Broadway musical. Auditions will be held around August or September, with more information to be released soon.
For more information on Sylvania Arts or to purchase tickets for Annie Jr., visit sylvaniaarts.org.
