Annie onTour

Annie Blog is Live!

2009-09-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

Hello from Grace Elizabeth Etzkorn (Kate/Understudy Annie)

2008-05-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hi! My name is Grace Elizabeth Etzkorn and I play Kate/Understudy Annie and have been performing as Annie on the Matinees since January.

I love being on the Annie National Tour. It is fun to play the part of Kate as she is a very sneaky orphan and is a great character to play. She gets to step on Ms. Hannigan’s foot and is always pulling a prank on her. I think this is the reason that Miss Hannigan has her sleeping on the floor in the first scene. I also get to tease and taunt Ms. Hannigan by sticking a dead mouse up in her face. But, what is really funny is that even though I do all those mean things to her in the show. We are actually really good friends in real life.

I also have been able to play Annie and also enjoy playing this role It’s also hard to play both parts because you have to sometimes be switching back and forth on different days. I also think that it is fun when an understudy goes on because it is interesting to see how that person portrays that character. There is a good reason if the lead in unable to perform and understudies are necessary to any show so that when the lead is unable to perform they are there to cover for them. Everyone is so talented that they are just so incredible to work with and I have learned a great deal from working with the adult cast members. When I first went on as Annie, they were so supportive and I will never forget how they all helped me.

It has been a great experience being out on the road because, I got to meet a lot of new people, make some new friends, and especially hang out with the orphans. We have been to so many cities and spent so much time together that I this is an experience of a lifetime. I definitely love singing, dancing and acting and thank God for this wonderful opportunity!

On-The-Road Update

2008-04-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

Reno was quite an enjoyable visit for the entire company. Everyone got a little fire under them and spent most of the week in the casinos or enjoying the natural beauty Reno, NV has to offer. Many company members spent many an hour at the roulette wheel while others opted for the majestic landscape of Lake Tahoe (the lake seemed to be a less expensive decision). The girls even had the opportunity to enjoy one of Reno's attractions, Circus-Circus. They had all kinds of games to entertain our orphans.

Well here we are on one of our last weeks of the tour. Currently we are playing the "Fargodome". Yes you heard right... FARGODOME. Just the name makes the entire company smile! I must say the show here is going just swimmingly... speaking of which, duty calls.

Catch up with you next week.

Hello from Annalisa DiBernardo (Molly)

2008-04-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! It’s Annalisa! I play the part of Molly, the youngest orphan, but in real life I am 11 years old. The tour is going great, but we are getting close to the end. We only have 3 and a half weeks left! All of the orphans are reminiscing about what we did when we were in rehearsals and throughout the tour. Being on tour for almost 9 months has made us become like sisters.

Even though I’m not as young as Molly, I can relate to my part because Molly can be very mischievous and so can I! She also does a flip into a basket and I’m a gymnast as well as a dancer, singer and actress. When I’m older, I think I want to become a singer, actor or Marine Biologist. Who knows, maybe I’ll be a performing Marine Biologist!

Now, I get a lot of questions from kids like, “Who does your hair and make-up?” and “Who is your personal secretary?” I also get asked, “Do you each get your own dressing room?” and “What is it like not to do school?” To start off, we don’t wear make-up, we do our own hair, none of us have a personal secretary and the orphans share a dressing room. And, trust me, we DO SCHOOL! We have a tutor who travels with us and we go on fieldtrips whenever we can. They are always so much fun! The traveling can be hard and we miss our families, but we are doing what we love…performing! My favorite part of performing is making people happy. I absolutely have loved this experience and couldn’t be happier with the show.

On-The-Road Update

2008-04-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

Greetings Everyone!

Today is our last day in Salt Lake City and let me tell you we have really enjoyed our stay here! The week started out kind of dreary and damp here in SLC but as the week progressed the weather has turned absolutely gorgeous! When we arrived you could hardly see the mountains for the fog and clouds and now you have a clear shot from wherever you stand. It is sunny and warm but the mountain are still snow capped and majestic.

This week was also great for keeping the company busy. We had two big events, Wednesday night at the hotel we had an "Around the World" party. Countries included: France, Italy, Germany, India, Israel, 3rd World, Desserted (ha!) Island, and Andalasia (for all you "Enchanted" fans)/NYC. Each room was decorated to the nines and had a great sampling of their local cuisine. Some of the rooms were actually educational and a great time was had by all!

Thursday afternoon we had a lovely time at the Hogue Homestead. Verlin, one of our truck drivers, invited us over to his daughter’s home for a visit and meal with his family. What a lovely afternoon. The Hogue clan put on quite a feast. The only thing that could have surpassed such great company and food was the view! Verlin's daughter lives in the mountains, her front yard is a view of the city and the backyard is the side of the mountain (which some of the crew members were brave enough to climb).

Well, as I said before, this was a busy week for us, and fun to boot! This week we passed the 1 month date, only 1 month left to the end of tour. Everyone has mixed emotions about the end, it will prove very bittersweet. I am sure the time we have left will just fly by.

Well time to get back to the show... catch up with you next week!

Hello from Abby Spare (Tessie)

2008-04-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

Hi! I’m Abby Spare and I play Tessie. I am from around Boston, Massachusetts, which is cool because we just finished some shows in Boston. This tour has been a lot of fun. My favorite town was either Madison, Wisconsin or Athens, Georgia. I liked these towns because they were very cute and sometimes reminded me of home. We will be heading to Salt Lake City, Utah next week. I am looking forward to that because we get to be there a whole week! One of my favorite things I did with the cast was celebrating New Year’s in Birmingham, Alabama. This was the first year I stayed up to watch the ball drop!!! Altogether, this tour has been the best experience of my life!

On-The-Road Update

2008-03-31T13:09:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a blustery week here in Boston, but despite the weather everyone has enjoyed their stay in Beantown. Many company members have had family and friends visit throughout the week so that has kept many people busy. The majority of the company made the most of being in such a historic area. Many of the cast members took the long walk and toured the Freedom Trail. Others just decided to meander around the streets on a self-guided tour.

The Wang Theatre is absolutely beautiful and we have had great crowds all week long. Standing ovations and hoots and hollers all around. Well come Monday we will be taking quite a jump from here in Boston to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Hope this finds everyone well, and have a wonderful week!

On-The-Road Update

2008-03-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

Greeting from Oklahoma City!

Well it is our last night here In OKC, and we are just wrapping up the 200th show of the tour! Everyone is surprised that that we are already on the 200th show, seems just yesterday it was Christmas time and we were in New Haven, CT celebrating our 100th show.
Well it was a highly enjoyable week here on the Annie National Tour. Everyone was able to have some normalcy and run errands like everyday normal citizens (we love rental cars). The girls and Ms. Lori went horseback riding one sunny day. The crew took a nod from the girls and made a family day of horseback riding as well. We have also heard rumors that management had a sunny day picnic. All in all our stay in Oklahoma city was nice and relaxing. This week we are off to Asheville, NC, where we have a golden day (yea!) and then we jet-set to Philadelphia for the remainder of the week. Hope everyone has a great week, we'll catch up with you soon!

Oh! P.S. - A little luck of the Irish to 'ya on Monday... Happy St. Patrick's Day!

On-The-Road Update

2008-03-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

Well here we are again at the end of yet another one week sit-down, rested and doing well. The company has enjoyed their week here in Tulsa. The theatre is large and has a friendly and dedicated house staff. It was incredibly convenient this week, our hotel was adjacent to the theatre so everyone could walk, no bus or metro needed (there was also a Starbuck's right out side the door, a company favorite and necessity). The girls and Ms. Lori took yet another field trip this week (we thought they would be tuckered out by last week) to the Gilcrease Museum of American Art History. The girls followed their curriculum for American History and viewed pieces from 1776-1876, choosing a favorite they drew their own interpretation and wrote a short piece about it. They also received the opportunity to view original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation.

This week we are taking a short jaunt south to Oklahoma City, where we will be for another week. The weather looks great and we are all looking forward to getting to know another great city!

Catch up with you again next week!

On-The-Road Update

2008-03-03T13:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I must say that this week has been great. The company hoofed it all over Washington, DC this week. Cast members caught up on sleep and then tuckered themselves out just as quickly by walking miles around the city. The girls and Ms. Lori, their tutor, took trips to the Smithsonian and The White House this week. On Friday, they had a free day and were able to go explore what they wished.

It was so great to stay in Washington, DC proper. We were in a great area, Dupont Circle, which was filled with shops and restaurants. We had a super fun-filled night on Thursday. Some members of the office came to visit and joined the rest of the company for a few rounds of bowling.

We are all loving having the opportunity to have some free time to see the sights and relax. For the next few weeks we will continue to have the opportunity to do just that. Next week we are off to a week long engagement in Tulsa, OK and then the week of the March 10th we will have another week long in Oklahoma City, OK. Hope you all have a great week, catch up with you soon!

On-The-Road Update

2008-02-25T12:49:00.000-08:00

Greetings! Whew! We got through it! This past week has been wild and crazy (well a little more of the latter). As I mentioned last week we traveled five cities in five states in seven days. We have traveled a total of 1,560 miles this week.

Last night in Lafayette, IN we had a little friendly competition. J. Michael Zygo (Rooster) headed up an Oscar night party, keeping track of all of the ballots and making sure we all stayed honest.

Congratulations to Cheryl Hoffmann (Lily), Andy Meyers (Bert Healy), and Sunny Naughton (Orphan Swing/Wrangler). They all tied for 1st place with each correctly guessing 12 winners.

We are now in Wheeling, WV, our stop-over before we head to Washington, DC tomorrow. The excitement in the company is building.

They are all thrilled to be in one place for one week and also to spend some time sight seeing. The girls and Ms. Lori are very, very excited to be going to the White House. Everyone is also anticipating seeing many folks from the NETworks office. We are so close to home base we will be getting some fun visits this week! Well back to work, hope everyone has a great week (I know we will).

Catch up with you soon.

On-The-Road Update

2008-02-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

So this is it, our last super-crazy week! This week we will be traveling to five different cities in five different states. Lots of time on the road and lots of time in the theatres: we have 9 shows this week! It is definitely going to be a tough week but we have such a wonderful and committed company they will surely fly through with no problem.

We are, as I have mentioned before, returning to the chill of the North. I think some of the girls are excited because I have heard whisperings of snowman building. I am not sure the adults share in their excitement, but it will be nice to see all the pretty snow (and there is a lot of it). I can say for sure that everyone is excited about going to Washington, DC next week. We are staying in a great hotel (yeah, they have kitchens) and we have the time to see a few of the sights. Well back to the show... catch up with you from the Nation’s Capitol!

On-The-Road Update

2008-02-11T12:39:00.000-08:00

Greetings all!

Well another week has passed and we are getting closer and closer to a long span of week-long stays! We have just a few crazy one-nighter weeks left. We will soon be leaving the busses behind and flying from city to city for a while. Everyone is very excited to visit some of the upcoming cities. I know that Ms. Lori and the girls are anticipating visiting Washington, DC. They will be taking quite a few field trips while in our Nations Capitol. I believe they will also be making time to tour historic Boston.

Well back to the show, hope everyone has a great week!

Oh, and don't think we forgot...

From all of us here at the Annie National Tour - Happy Valentines Day XOXO

On-The-Road Update

2008-02-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Well I am pleased to tell you that the strange cold/flu/plague that had been keeping the cast and crew under the weather is on the run.

Everyone's heath is much better and I am sure that may have something to do with the fact that we have been in some pretty great weather. Right now we are in Corpus Christi, TX the weather is amazing (81 and breezy) and our hotel is right on the water.

Last night we actually had the evening off! Company members scatted to the wind. Some of the crew even went fishing. We have heard that they caught quite a bounty and then proceeded to grill the fish and have a bonfire (small but efficient) in the parking lot of the hotel. We are keeping south for a little while longer and then it is back to the frozen north.

Hope everyone is well and have a great week.

On-The-Road Update

2008-01-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Ahh - Spring is in the air and oddly enough in the middle of January. We are currently in Valdosta, GA and the weather is fine. We have been lucky, we have had some fantastic weather. Coral Springs the week before was like a tropical heat wave, the company had to break out the shorts and flip-flops.

Soon we will be making our way towards Baton Rouge, LA, near the home town (New Orleans, La) of cast member Jolie Dufrene. Jolie's family will be graciously providing us with some native down-home Louisiana cookin'. Everyone is very, very excited to taste the cuisine of the "Crescent City". There are even some company members that will be taking a short trek just to catch a glimpse of New Orleans (and possibly partake in the local night life).

Well back to the grind, catch up with you soon!

On-The-Road Update

2008-01-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

Hope this finds everyone well. We are back to life on the buses and the hectic schedule that a week of one-nighters creates. It has been a bit of an adjustment getting ourselves back into the swing of things. Immune systems have been running a little low lately, but we are all popping the AirBorne and vitamin-C and everyone seems to be on the mend.

We have already had a couple of long travel days and you know what goes best with a long travel day don't you? Bus problems of course. No big deals: the crew bus had a couple of hiccups and the cast bus received a busted window due to a unruly tree. But not to fear, all is now well on the bus front. It has been great being down south in the Florida and Georgia area. The weather has been kind to us (no snow, yea!).

Florida is also home for many of the company members so we have had lots of friends and family come to see the shows (talk about a great audience reaction) and visit on the road. All in all everyone is doing well and keeping this great show rolling!

Catch up with you next week!

On-The-Road Update

2008-01-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

Hello All!

Well it has been a lovely week here in Fayetteville, AR. The shows have been tremendous, sold out almost every night! The crew here has been great. They have been spot on workers and even helped us navigate the local area.

The girls had a fun little shin-dig the other night. Sunny Naughton, our child wrangler, had a princess party for the girls. It was an evening filled with pizza, Nintendo DS (this is the new craze on the road), and lots and lots of fun girlie stuff!

The adults have also been having some fun. They had a T-Shirt graffiti party at the hotel. Everyone wore a white shirt to the party and as the evening progressed they passed the sharpie markers around and signed each others T-Shirts.

Well, as I mentioned before it has been a great week and now we are looking forward to changing the pace of the tour once again, because after tomorrow we are... BACK ON THE BUS!

See you in the next city!

On-The-Road Update

2007-12-30T13:48:00.000-08:00

Greetings All!

Hope everyone had a great holiday! All is well on the Annie front and we are again getting ready to move to yet another city, Birmingham, AL is the next stop. We have been enjoying the warm (warmer that is, next to New Haven, Ct) and are glad to be continuing on to another warm climate. Tempe has proved a great little city. The theatre was beautiful, a Frank Lloyd Wright creation, and the downtown area was adorable (lots to do).

Well... one last day of 2007 and then we dive head first into the New Year and the continuation of The Annie National Tour.

From all of us here on tour we wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

On-The-Road Update

2007-12-24T13:45:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas!

Welcome to our Christmas Eve! The entire company is traveling somewhere at this moment. Most of us are in the air on our way to Tempe, AZ, others are on their way to visit loved ones (talk about a short vacation). We have already drawn attention to ourselves on this travel day. Many company members took to juggling (some better than others) in the airport terminal. People seem to love it, makes the fact that we are all traveling on Christmas Eve a little more fun.

Our week in New Haven was very nice, quite the change to be in one place for an entire week. We had pretty temped weather, which made it easy to sight-see, and believe me being on the campus of Yale there was much to see. We wrapped up our Secret Santa gift exchange this week on Friday.

Everyone had a great time, many, many surprises.Everyone did a great job at keeping their identity under wraps.

Well, we are all excited for Christmas Day! We all wish we could be with family and friends, but… I said it once and I'll say it again… we could not wish for a better 2nd family to spend the day with. For those of you scattered around the country have a wonderful day and a safe trip back, as for all or our family and friends we wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

XOXOXOXOXOXO The Company - "Annie" National Tour

On-The-Road Update

2007-12-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

Seasons Greetings All!

Well the time is upon us, the holidays are here!

We are all getting ready to leave our buses behind for a while and fly from city to city. For about the next month will be staying in the cities for a week at a time (wow, knowing what city your in when you wake up).

At the end of next week our company will scatter to the wind, most of us taking an airplane ride to sunny Tempe, AZ and the rest will be dotted all around the country. We are all excited to celebrate the holidays, be it with company members of a non-traditional dinner in Arizona or with friends and family gathered round a turkey. To top off the excitement, the company will be unveiling our Secret Santa's on Friday. I am sure this will prove much fun.

Well, time to pack up once again and move on to the next city. From all of us here at the "Annie" National Tour to all of you, Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings!

Season's greetings!

2007-12-04T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

It is another exciting week on the road with the Annie National Tour.

Busy does not even begin to describe this week. This will be (by far) our busiest week on tour. We are traveling to 4 states and six cites in one week. Talk about sight seeing. Good thing we decorated the bus for the holidays, we are going to be seeing a lot of it this week.

We had our first snow two nights ago and goodness was it pretty, blanketed the entire city of Scranton, PA in two feet of the fluffy stuff. Some of the girls went out early in the morning and had their first snowball fight of the season (the adults even joined in for a little snowball throwing therapy after our final show).

Well like I said busy, work is beckoning. Promise to catch up with you more next week!

On-The-Road Update

2007-11-29T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! Well it has been a very nice week.

It started off quite busy with two one nighters in a row but has ended nicely in Lexington, KY for four days, southern hospitality all around. We have all found many things to do around the area (shopping and restaurants as usual). The hotel was is great, everyone is enjoying their "Sleep-Number" beds (ahhh the small things in life).

As wonderful as Kentucky has been all of the buzz is about being in St. Louis for a WEEK! We will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday by the big arch. The entire company will be having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. No shows slated for turkey day so almost every one's agenda consists of eating and lounging most of the day, some company members are lucky enough to spend the holiday with family.

Well, almost time to pack it up in Lexington, from the entire company of "Annie" we wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-26T13:36:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, we did! Most of the company (some were lucky enough to see family for the holiday) joined together in the beautiful hotel restaurant for a bountiful Thanksgiving feast (the mashed potato bar was a hit!). After dinner we chose our Secret Santa's.

The company is now a-buzz with mini covert missions to stealthfully get gifts to their Secret Santa recipients, and the girls are more than willing to play the part of elf. St. Louis in general has been fantastic. The hotel is fabulous, a beautiful historic hotel (an Omni Majestic!). And the theatre, oh the theatre, it doesn't get much better than a FOX! There is such history here, every square inch of back stage is covered in show art and signatures. Everyone has been snapping pictures left and right.

We are sad to leave our lush accommodations and world class theatre, but the show must go on (the road that is!). It is a busy next couple of weeks for us, but we are getting closer and closer to the holiday season filled with one week sit downs! Catch up with you next week!

On-The-Road Update

2007-11-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! Well it has been a very nice week. It started off quite busy with two one nighters in a row but has ended nicely in Lexington, KY for four days, southern hospitality all around. We have all found many things to do around the area (shopping and restaurants as usual).

The hotel was is great, everyone is enjoying their "Sleep-Number" beds (ahhh the small things in life). As wonderful as Kentucky has been all of the buzz is about being in St. Louis for a WEEK! We will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday by the big arch. The entire company will be having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. No shows slated for turkey day so almost every one's agenda consists of eating and lounging most of the day, some company members are lucky enough to spend the holiday with family.

Well almost time to pack it up in Lexington, from the entire company of "Annie" we wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Hello from Jaida Benjamin (July)

2007-11-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

Hello! My name’s Jaida Benjamin and I play the role of the orphan, July!

As hard as it may seem to believe, the reality of this whole process and experience has finally hit me. When I sit and think about this experience, I realize how amazing this experience is! The intensity and work is hard, but I’m glad because this is exactly what I expected and wanted.

I love performing and having fun on that stage and there’s never a day when I’m bored with the experience. I look forward to doing a show everyday. I love when the audience gives us a standing ovation. The cast does such an amazing job and the music and choreography is bound to give you goose bumps if you come see our show. Hats off, to the orchestra, as well. What an extraordinary sound they make together and add to the show. And you wouldn’t believe the crew members backstage. They work so hard to make Annie what it is.

And I can’t forget to mention my mom…she’s the best chaperone ever!!! Annie is an outstanding production and I’m more than grateful and thank God everyday to be part of this cast.

On-The-Road Update

2007-11-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

Hello, hope everyone had a great Halloween, we sure did!

Abby Stevens (aka Grace Farrell) Mom and Dad were kind enough to invite us all over for a Halloween celebration. We rolled into the great city of Madison, WI at about 3:00pm on Halloween day and quickly headed to our rooms to get into costumes for the party. We defiantly have quite a creative bunch on this tour, some of the costumes we saw that night were; a Geisha, Joan Crawford and little daughter Christina, a Gothic Cheerleader, a black-eyed pea and the entire gang from Three's Company. After getting all decked out we re-boarded the bus and headed over to the Stevens abode. Mom and Dad Steven's went all out!

They had prepared a fall feast for us, how wonderful to have a home cooked meal (very, very rare on the road). The fun continued as all of the girls and their chaperones went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood (they got quite a haul for only 3 blocks), everyone chatted and laughed in the kitchen and we even received a performance from Jack, Chrissie, and Janet (come and knock on our door). What a wonderful night.

Now off to University Park, IL, catch up with you later!

P.S. Thanks again Mom and Dad Stevens! XO

On-The-Road Update

2007-10-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

US to Canada and back again!

We left Morgantown, WV and took a very scenic (hills, valleys, and trees oh my!) drive to the US/Canadian border on Monday, October 15. We went over the border with the greatest of ease allowing the company to take a small side trip to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls! Many company members had never seen the falls so it was a very memorable travel day. We all loaded back on the bus, happy and damp (it was a very windy day at the falls!) and headed to Brampton, ONT.

Brampton proved to be slightly hectic, but our wonderful company met every obstacle with outstanding determination and we had another 3 great shows.

Driving back into the States on the way to Saginaw, MI the trees were putting on their own show. Fall was in true form; the colors of the trees were incredibly vibrant shades of yellow, orange and bright red. The company was snapping photos of the sight right and left. Saginaw, MI was a quick one-show stop. There was large storm moving over the area during the duration of the show, and that is what our stay felt like, we just breezed in and out. We are now in Clinton Township, MI (home town of cast member, Corey Scheys) and close to finishing up our matinee, one last show for Michigan and then off to Cincinnati, OH where everyone is eager to call it home for a week.

Hello from Amanda Balon (Annie)

2007-10-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Hi! I’m Amanda Balon and I play Annie. I’m 10 years old and live in Orlando, Florida when I’m not on tour.

I really love being on tour and on stage! This is my favorite show I’ve been in so far. Opening night was in Orlando, Florida, which was cool for me because my family was there to see the show and so were all of my friends. I also love all of the traveling we are doing. The bus is really fun. I love it a lot! We do a lot of “one nighters”, which is traveling to one city one day and another city the next day. I never have done these before, but I really like them. It’s exciting to see all of the different theaters each week.

Last night, we had game night for the first time! We played a game called Celebrity, which is kind of like Charades. It was tons of fun! Most of the cast members were there and we all had a good time.

Halloween is coming up and I am very excited about that. I don’t know what I’m going to be, but I guess I will find out soon!

Right now, I am on the bus in school, heading to Newport News, VA. I can’t wait to get there! It sounds like a lot of fun.

Well, I guess that’s it for now. I hope to see you at the shows!

Sincerely,

Amanda Balon