Annie! The musical.

 

Growing up, Annie was one of my favorite musicals. Coming from a theater-loving immigrant family that did not have much disposable income for entertainment, we were always checking out musicals and plays from the library. This was one that was in our regular rotation. I'm pretty sure we even pirated a tape of the soundtrack because I clearly remember singing and dancing to the music, especially "It's a hard knock life." In fact, now that I think about it, my interest in gymnastics probably came from wanting to recreate that scene by doing all those flips the girls do.

This last year, I have introduced the film to my boys and they, especially Dezi, have really taken to it. He sings along as best he can and loves to pretend he is an orphan too. When South Jordan Community Theater announced that they would be putting on this play, I though it would be great for everyone to audition, but there were two problems. One, there were no boy orphans, and two, we were out of town during try outs. It would have been really fun for Ryan and I, but probably impossible with his work schedule being what it is.

When it came time for us to go, Ryan and Caetano were both down with a cold. I felt so sad that Cai would miss it, but I guess he is still a little squiggly. Better for him to miss than Dezi, for sure. Dezi and I arranged to go with Leta, Nathaniel and Ailsa and we had a great time. Dezi really enjoyed it, even though he was disappointed that it wasn't exactly like the movie ("Where's Punjab?" he kept asking). Still, I heard him softly singing along and he was very excited any time he saw any of the Thomas' on stage. After the play, he asked them all kinds of questions and made it a point to say hi to the girl that played Annie. To him, they are all as much stars as the people he sees on TV and that is something that is quite magical. I love taking him to see plays and look forward to a long life of being involved with theater, whether he decides to participate or just remains a spectator. He was sad that he couldn't be in this play so I'm pretty sure he'll want to be in the first one that has a part for a five year old boy!