This adorable little orphan wants to sing for you (20 photos)

The Musical Comedy Guild is set close out its 49th season with a production of Annie which opens this evening at the Kiwanis Community Theatre Centre.

Directed by Loretta Durat and starring Meghan Lee as Annie, the production runs Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Included in the cast of more than 50 are 30 children, many of whom have no prior theatre experience.

This is one of the reasons the Guild chose to stage Annie this season, according to producer Lesley Walsh Tibben.

"We like to keep the young people in Sault Ste. Marie invested and interested in theatre," she told Sootoday.com. "There are a great number of children here taking singing and dance lessons, and they don't always have an opportunity appear in something like this."

Working with so many young folk can have its challenges, however.

"We have an extremely talented group of children," explained Walsh Tibben. "With that talent comes a lot of personality. They all have very fun personalities, which at times can get a little boisterous. But the payoff on stage is definitely worth a little hair-pulling back stage."

Although this is not the first time Annie has been staged in the Sault, there is one major aspect that separates this production from most others in the city - the orchestra is on stage, incorporated into the set.

"What we've tried to do is physically bring the audience into the story," said Walsh Tibben. "It's a risk because it's more challenging for the band to hear the vocalists, but it also allows us to breach that fourth wall [by removing the orchestra pit] and lets the audience participate more in the production."

Tickets for Annie are available at the Station Mall Community Box Office or online at www.kctc.ca