ANNIE

On Saturday, we went with the McLarens and the Mendenhalls to S.H.A.P.E. to see a production of the musical "Annie." The Mendenhalls had three of their children in the play, Leisel, Julia, and Taylor. It was really a great performance. We were very pleasantly surprised. The whole thing was very professionally done and with (as we understand it) no real budget. The staging and costumes were great and the choreography and music excellent. There were so many that tried out that they had to triple cast the parts. Some of the major roles were done by one person the whole 12 nights, but most roles were changed each night, so most of the cast performed four times altogether. We figured there were about 30 children each night. And considering there were 3 casts, can you imagine trying to teach that many children all those parts - and it was flawless.

This is Leisel Mendenhall. She played Molly, which is a major part with speaking and singing and dancing. She did such an outstanding job. You would think she was a professional. We didn't find the other two Mendenhall kids to take their pictures afterwards. They were both minor characters and also did a tremendous job.

The adults were all military personnel and/or spouses. The Daddy Warbucks part was played perfectly by an African American gentleman. He was the ideal Daddy Warbucks. The part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt was played by someone who stepped in at the last minute and gave an excellent performance.

It was such a fun evening. We were lucky to have the Mendenhalls and McLarens in our ward, as we, being non-military, would never have been allowed on base without them.