Renton Civic Theatre’s “Annie” is a holiday treat

I am such a sucker for a little orphan singing their little heart out. It never fails to make me choke up just a little bit. Even before attending Renton Civic Theatre’s first Sunday matinee of “Annie,” I knew that the show — and its young lead — would not disappoint.

A classic musical, “Annie” is the story of an upbeat 11-year-old named Annie (played by young Mariah Shriner) who lives in an orphanage in 1930s New York City and dreams of reuniting with her parents one day. Annie is taken to stay with powerful billionaire Oliver Warbucks (Kyle Henick) by his secretary Grace Farrell (Rebecca Maiten) for a few weeks before being sent back to Miss Hannigan (Erin Carter) and the other orphans.

When Warbucks, a no-nonsense businessman-turned-big-softy, plans to formally adopt Annie, a search is first conducted to find her biological parents. With the help of the FBI and promises of a large check, the search goes far and wide. Soon, Annie and Warbucks’ big bucks catch the eyes of Hannigan’s criminal brother Rooster (Evan Strasnick) and his high-kicking main squeeze, Lily St. Regis (Big Anderson), who mean to de-fraud Warbucks and put Annie in harm’s way.

Complete with a ventriloquist dummy fit for radio, a puppet version of Sandy the dog and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, it is a heartwarming and enchanting musical.

As for RCT’s production, the set is minimal, the props are plentiful and accurate to the time period, the dance choreography is superb and the singing is a delight, especially when Shriner belts out “Maybe” and “Tomorrow.” The supremely talented actress’ voice is as powerful as it is lovely, making more than a few audience members hold their breath as she sings.

Shriner is a star, but she was among a sea of shining talent on that Renton stage. The orphans Molly, Kate, Tessie, Pepper, July and Duffy (played by Ava Mohr, Hazel Hart, Emmalynn Pardey, Juliet Messenger, Moxey Harris and Robyn Le) were a major highlight of the show. “The Hard-Knock Life” is a major cultural touchstone and these young performers handled the singing, the dancing and the cheekiness of Depression-era orphans with ease.

The entire cast did an excellent job bringing the characters and music to life, especially Luke Losi Pfleger, who played President Roosevelt and several characters in the ensemble. Some of the biggest cheers from the crowd came from Pfleger’s formidable pirouettes, and some of the biggest laughs came from their droll take on the 32nd president of the United States.

“Annie” continues until Sunday, Dec. 21, at 507 S. 3rd Street in Renton. Tickets are available at rentoncivictheatre.org. Season passes are also available online for RCT’s 2026 programming, which includes “She Loves Me” in February, “Steel Magnolias” in April, “Footloose” in June, “Noises Off” in October and “Scrooge!” in December.

Registration also opens in January for the summer 2026 Renton Civic Drama Camp for kids.