FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Nicole Saffer, 386-681-2794
Or Nicole.Saffer@SeasideMusicTheater.org

DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MARCH 15, 2004 - Last week, Seaside Music Theater’s Artistic Director, Lester Malizia, phoned nine young girls with a heart-stopping question: Would you like to be in Annie? Their answers: YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

The suspense is over. After an audition process that exhibited the talent and professionalism of more than 125 of Florida’s junior performers, Seaside congratulates the actresses selected to play Annie and her orphan pals in this summer’s professional production of Annie:

ANNIE — Gracie Winchester, Ormond Beach
PEPPER/ANNIE UNDERSTUDY — Alexis Turbin, Ormond Beach
DUFFY — Samantha Jane Smith, Ormond Beach
KATE — Alyssa Danielle Hersey, Palm Coast
JULY — Megan Stillson, Jacksonville
TESSIE — Sheldon Hawthorne, Ormond Beach
MOLLY — Danielle Elizabeth Amols, Ormond Beach
ENSEMBLE/OLDER SWING — Chelsea Turbin, Ormond Beach
ENSEMBLE/YOUNGER SWING — Anna Levin, St. Augustine

“There were squeals of delight. They were overjoyed,” Malizia said of the overall response he received when he notified the girls and their families.

For Gracie Winchester, who will play the coveted title role, such phone calls have come before. Her resume includes a run on Broadway in Annie Get Your Gun. She also appeared in Seaside’s 2000 production of Street Scene with fellow Annie actress, Sheldon Hawthorne.

For others, this experience provides a doorway into a professional life in the theater, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shine. The girls will have the honor of working with Broadway veteran Donna Drake, who will direct and choreograph the production. And to add to the magnitude of their experience, Annie lyricist and original director Martin Charnin will be in the audience at their opening night performance.

So as most of their classmates head off to camps, vacations and area pools to celebrate the beginning of summer, these budding performers will begin a rigorous 3-week rehearsal schedule followed by 19 performances of one of America’s most beloved musicals. Annie runs June 10 – 27 at Seaside’s DBCC Theater Center location. Come and show these gifted young ladies your pride in our local talent.

Five-play subscriptions, priced at $130, are currently on sale for the 2004 Summer Season. In addition to Annie, the 2004 Summer Season includes Two Gentlemen of Verona, June 17 – July 4; La Perichole, July 8 – 18; The Cocoanuts, July 15 – August 1; and Beauty and the Beast, July 29 – August 15. Youth subscriptions are only $40, with full-time college student and group discount tickets available. Tickets are only $6 per person for Peter Rabbit, SMT’s children’s production, running May 28 – August 14.

Seaside now offers a Kidz Pak subscription for children 12 and under, priced at $43, which includes one ticket to Annie, one ticket to Beauty and the Beast, and one admission to Peter Rabbit’s Party (Performance of Peter Rabbit plus a special post-performance meet-the-cast luncheon). Children must be accompanied by an adult at all performances and events.

For ticket information, call 386-252-6200 or 1-800-854-5592.