Last weekend, The Houghton Musical Theatre Players, also known as HMTP, performed “Annie”, a Broadway musical that tells the story of an optimistic orphan girl and her journey of finding a family and a home.
Set in New York City during the Great Depression, the musical also includes the economic and social tensions of the time through a musical number performed by homeless people and a particularly interesting scene which involves Annie, President Franklin Roosevelt, his advisors, and Mr. Warbucks.
Annie, played by Liana Wool, functions in this scene as the ultimate force of good feelings and bright expectations. The President, played by Mike Heyd, and his advisors join her in a reprise of “Tomorrow” after which they come up with the idea for The New Deal: the plan that changed the fortunes of America during the Great Depression.
While these scenes dealt with the very real and devastating poverty of the time, HMTP found moments appropriate for comic relief, blending both heavy and light concepts into an enjoyable presentation.
Crowd favorites were Miss Hannigan, played by Janelle Conklin, and Rooster, played by Aaron Young. Despite having only five weeks to memorize lines and put together the majority of the performance, the actors seemed beautifully rehearsed and very comfortable performing together. The orphans, as an ensemble, displayed a particular comfort and chemistry with each other. Director Wynn Horton said, “The orphans were the easiest to teach; they just had to be loud and have lots of energy.”
Josh Mertzlufft, who played Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, commented on the diversity of the cast and crew and that diversity’s implications for the performance. He said, “There were people from everywhere [on campus] involved. There was no stereotype. We were really a cross-section of the campus, and the group was definitely not dominated by music majors.”
Horton and the cast felt that they could fulfill a greater calling while enjoying their talents in music, acting and dancing; 25 percent of the profits from the ticket sales went toward the Hillside Family of Agencies. Hillside, based out of Rochester, provides a wide variety of services, one of which happens to be adoption.
Because Houghton regularly deals with social justice issues both locally and globally, supporting an agency that provides help with adoptions is in line with the college’s overarching goals.
Mertzlufft said, “There is a campus drive for social action, and a lot of groups on campus are concerned with raising awareness. Not as many are actively pursuing those convictions. Sometimes, Houghton is being more of a mouth than hands and feet. ‘Annie’ was a way to be active.”
Elisabeth Nelson, a sophomore who played one of the orphans, said, “My greatest memories come from creating new relationships and meeting many different people. I would not have gotten to know some of the people I did without ‘Annie’, and that is what I will take away from my experience.”