PRESCOTT – Theatre goers are in for a nostalgic treat when “Annie Jr.” hits the stage in December, put on by the Prescott Middle School theatre department.

Co-directors Abigail Mattimiro and Dianna Krahulec and 40 middle schoolers will bring this classic tale to life Dec. 6-8. Kids 11 and under also have the opportunity to take part in the VIP experience Sunday after the show.

“They’ll get to take a tour of the stage and see the cast up close,” Mattimiro said. “They can view our sound and our light board and we’ll maybe even show them a little bit about how it works.

We do ask that there is a chaperone with them during the experience, but only the student needs to purchase the VIP ticket.”

“Annie Jr.” tells the tale of little orphan Annie, the irrepressible redhead who charms everyone with her courage and positivity in 1930s New York City. She is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago at the cruel Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. Annie gets a chance at happiness with billionaire Oliver Warbucks, who wants a “rent-an-orphan” for Christmas.

Mattimiro has been begging Krahulec for a chance to do “Annie Jr.” and finally persuaded her that this was the year.

“When I was in middle school, I played Ms. Hannigan as a sixth grader, but prior to that I had seen the musical multiple times on VHS,” Mattimiro said. “My parents love Carol Burnett, but I watched the 1999 version with Kathy Bates, where Annie has the straight red hair, whenever I was home sick. The vocals are just so good in that one. It’s just a musical that I’ve always liked.”

The duo joke that it’s a holiday classic, because there’s a Christmas tree in a scene at the end. In their time directing together, they’ve done a lot of fantasy shows (Frozen Jr., Beauty & the Beast Jr.) and wanted to switch it up this year.

“We wanted to give them something different,” Mattimiro said. “Acting as real people is actually much harder to do, rather than a candlestick or an Oompa Loompa. They’re acting as adults and they don’t know what it’s like to be adults. That has been the biggest challenge, how to have our middle schoolers who are playing adults channel those personas.”

As they add tech to the show and the kids start to bring it to life, Krahulec and Mattimiro get to see the students fine-tune their characters. It’s hard for them to pick a favorite part.

“Annie just has so many classic lines that I like,” Mattimiro said. “I love Ms. Hannigan, Rooster and Lily, those three leads in particular are wonderful. They do a really good job at channeling their characters. But everyone is phenomenal. I just think the show as a whole is just a really good show. I think ‘Hard Knock Life’ is going to be a really good number that people will like. The choreo is awesome and brings it to life.”

Mattimiro also likes the political jokes that fly from Warbuck and feels people will appreciate them. The show is filled with adult jokes, typical of a Disney production.

Krahulec appreciated the costumes in the show, which transform the cast to the 1930s.

“Costuming orphans is really hard, because this is set in the 1930s,” she said. “And the trends are coming back, which is really interesting. It’s a very interesting mix of balancing that there with the costumes.

“Once we put it on the stage and put it together, you find those little moments. My favorite part is really all the choreo numbers and the bows. I did not care for ‘Annie’ going into this, that nasally forced accent was so horrid to listen to, but what has come around is that we’re not forcing that on our kids. They’re putting their stamp on it, not a direct comparison of what people will expect.”

The kids started rehearsals the second week of school. Krahulec said they are on track with their goals, timelines and plans.

“Friday is our last non-tech rehearsal. After that we have longer rehearsals where we’re adding every element such as stage, lights and microphone. The kids are impressing me at how memorized they are, especially our leads,” Krahulec said.” I am very proud with how much work everyone has put in on their own time to come to rehearsals prepared.”

Like many area programs, the cast attended a boot camp in August to learn some skills and to become familiar with the music. It helped the audition process run more smoothly and saved time.  

 We always say this every year, but we’re very proud of the kiddos and the work that they do,” Mattimiro said as she teared up. “This is also really sad because Dianna is moving to Pennsylvania. Dianna and I have been doing this for four years and this is our last show together.”

Krahulec is expecting a baby on Christmas Eve and will move with her husband to Pennsylvania in early February.

“We’ve always been on the same wavelength,” Mattimiro said. “Dianna just has different skill sets that I don’t have … We have such a great team of adults that help bring the show to life. She can see things differently than I can, but we end up meeting on the same page. We complement one another. That is reflected on the kiddos. They stand behind us. They definitely don’t enjoy hanging out with us all the time, because we have high expectations of them. We really do push them. When they get to high school, they really appreciate that we did that.”

Krahulec said the performers and crew do a great job balancing their rehearsal schedules with sports and other activities. Their hard work makes for an incredible show.

“Regardless of if ‘Annie’ if your favorite show or not, come support the students,” she urged.

Ticket are on sale at prescott.k12.wi.us or on the QR code on the poster. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Dec. 6 and Dec. 7, with a matinee at 2 p.m. Dec. 8 (followed by the VIP experience) at the Prescott Performing Arts Center (1010 Dexter St.)

Cast & Crew (sidebar)

Production team

Director & Music – Dianna Krahulec

Director – Abigail Mattimiro

Set & Sound Designer – Thomas Speltz

Choreographers – Julie Mattimiro, Abigail Mattimiro, Allison Cornish, Dianna Krahulec

Scenic Construction – John Rigg

Lighting Designer – Bill Larson

Publicity – Andrea Herzan

Tech crew

Rori Anderson, Jessica Benjamin, Eliott Cook, Steven Craft, Maverick Drew, Mrf Fischer, Violet Henderson, Sophie Perez, Caiden Riley, Eli Rohl, Emmett Stoeckel, Syrenna Taylor, Allie Tibayan, Savannah Whiting

Cast of characters

Annie – Sydney Hillebrand

Miss Hannigan – Lauren Wall

Oliver Warbucks – Sam Martin

Molly – Irene Babcock

Tessie – Sophia Thissen

July – Naomi Murphy

Duffy – Londyn Wilson

Kate – Brooklyn Huppert

Pepper – Izzy Robertson

Grace Farrell – Camron Erickson

Rooster – Ella Ptacek

Lily – Makena Dullum

Sandy – Milly Tiffany

Drake – Tristan Stulc

Star to Be – Landon Brazzale

Mr. Bundles – Magnus Henderson

Ensemble

Mrs. Greer – Claire Schultz

Mrs. Pugh – Caitlyn Overland

Dog Catcher – Brenna Mabry

Apple Seller – Lila Montreal

Officer Ward – Stella O’Reilly

Cecile – Kate Markert

Annette – Mariella Most

Servants – Natalie Brown, Charlie Pagenkopf, Elo Gergen, Mackenzie Parkos

Chauffeur – Payten Theis

Usherette – Lexi Schulzt

President FDR – River Howze

Ensemble – Audrey Christianson, Heidi Fortney, Aubrey Romens, Lucy Grundtner, Stevie Johnson, Kenzie McCarthy, Sami Thissen, Avery Ptacek, Lulu O’Reilly