Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Two young girls — one who has acted in a movie and the other a newbie on the professional stage — will play the lead role in the Broadway musical, “Annie,” which will premiere in Manila in September.
Krystal Brimner and Isabeli Elizalde bested hundreds of applicants for the title role through live and online auditions.
Nine-year-old Brimner is no stranger to acting. She recently won the Best Child Performer Award in the 2015 Metro Manila Film Fest for her role as Angel in the Erik Matti film “Honor Thy Father.”
In her first foray into professional acting, 10-year-old Elizalde was able to bag the lead role.
Brimmer and Elizalde will take turns playing the titular character. The Musical will be shown at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila.
Set in New York during the Great Depression, “Annie” is about an orphan girl who is taken in by a billionare named Oliver Warbucks. The Tony Award-winning musical originally opened in 1977 and has been revived on Broadway and produced internationally numerous times.
Some famous songs from the musical are “Tomorrow,” “It’s a Hard-Knock Life,” and “Easy Street.”
“We’re very excited about Annie. We had so many challenges before we actually got the rights for the musical from MTI New York,” said Alou Almaden, Resorts World Manila’s (RWM) Chief Operations Manager for Entertainment.
She said RWM is backing Full House Theater Company and Ultimate Entertainment, which are producing the musical.
