To be the director of "Annie" but not be a fan of the song "Tomorrow" might make for a hard-knock life, but Brian Harper is coming around to the number.
"I love the way she sings it," Harper said of how Cailyn Chaney, the actress playing the titular Annie in The Little Theatre's production of the musical, is making him appreciate "Tomorrow" more.
"All the familiar things are there," he said of the rest of the show - Annie's red hair and dress and her dog. The Little Theatre's production will have a live dog; its real name is Dixie Bell, and it belongs to Jeff Ball, who's playing Rooster Hannigan.
Oliver Warbucks, played by Chris Kennison, will also be bald, though Harper said that wasn't a requirement at audition.
The 1930s-set production has been in rehearsal since mid-June, and Harper said the show is "going a little more representational" with the sets on stage. Rather than lavish sets, this time they'll be a bit more minimalist to provide more room for actors: a grand staircase with some columns to represent the mansion and one small platform with beds on it for the orphanage.
Behind it all will be the New York City skyline, as "New York is the unnamed character that's always there" in "Annie," Harper said.
Though New York City might go unnamed, he noted care has been taken to make sure every performer gets some recognition. "Everyone who appears on stage at some point has a line," he said.
The cast of 10 orphan girls alongside Annie has some racial diversity, Harper said. Two boys are part of the cast, too, to play a wide variety of subjects including servants, paper boys, citizens of the city and residents of the Great Depression-era "Hooverville."
The range of experience in musicals among the child actors varies. "A couple have done one or two other things," others have been in four or five musicals, and "a lot of them, this is their first time."
Harper said a lot of new people are involved in this year's production, including the Schatte family, who recently arrived from Texas. "It's always nice when you have people who haven't appeared before."
"It is a feel-good show," he said, that "has a nice message that family's important," even though for Annie, as an orphan, family is about who she finds in life and not who she was born with.
"Annie" is Harper's second time directing, though he has been an assistant director on another show.
The Little Theatre's production of "Annie" will run Aug. 10-13, with evening performances Thursday-Friday and matinees Saturday-Sunday.
Tickets will be $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. Online purchases will be available at tltjc.org through Sunday, and tickets can be purchased at the box office of the Miller Performing Arts Center on Monday and thereafter, from 5-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and noon-2 p.m. Aug. 13-14.
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