Annie.



The girls.

 

In celebration of my 23^rd and a half birthday, eight of my lovely friends joined me for an evening of musical theatre. 



We had heard about the local prodution of Annie last fall and I decided that if I wasn't going to audition to be in the production, I would at least attend. My love for Annie began at a garage sale when I was just a toddler. My rag doll Annie went with me everywhere--even to church camp as a kid. When I was in elementary school, my mom surprised me and took me to the Broadway rendition of "Annie" in Portland. After that magical night, I would sing along with the original cast soundtrack and longed to dye my hair red. (However, I think if I auditioned now I would be more inclined to play Miss Hannigan.) Even though I memorized all the songs and begged, she wouldn't take me to New York to audition to BE Annie. Ever since, Annie has held a special place in my heart.  

This past Saturday, my love of Annie was fueled again. First we had dinner at Maria’s, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Springfield. Thankfully, we had called ahead and made a reservation. We were appalled at how crowded it was, but then realized it was the Saturday before Valentine’s Day. Duh!

We meandered down to the theatre, wearing our fancy dresses and heels. However, it was only about 18 degrees outside, so our dresses were covered by heavy winter coats.

  

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Once inside, a huge group of children had hijacked our row. (Yes, we had a whole row to ourselves. It was in the balcony, but it was still our row.) Once the ushers had shooed away the stray children, we were free to take our seats. The good news: we did not lack leg room. The bad news: our seats were awkwardly perched on a ledge so we had to be sure to cross our legs for the duration of the production. (Note to any future theatre-goers: the best time to go to the bathroom is during the announcements before the show. Everyone has already rushed out of the bathroom, because the show is about to start, but you still have about 4 and a half minutes to go potty.)

The lights dimmed. The music began. And for the next two and a half hours we were whisked back in time to the 1930s with Annie, Miss Hannigan, Daddy Warbucks, and FDR’s New Deal. I tried to refrain from singing aloud to all of the songs (for the sake of Christy and Natalia who were sitting next to me). But I definitely joined in for the “Tomorrow” reprise at the end. I couldn’t resist.

It was a delightful evening...and one check off my 25 before 25 list!