JEANNA DUERSCHERL The Roanoke Times

Miss Hannigan (Julia Peltier) tries to straighten out Annie (Kelly Devens) during rehearsals at Mill Mountain Theatre.

Annie (Kelly Devens) and Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks (Nate Wulff) finish a song during rehearsals for "Annie Jr."

JEANNA DUERSCHERL The Roanoke Times

Six-year-old Olivia Goodman (center) plays Molly, one of the orphans in "Annie Jr." Kelly Devens, 11, (front right) plays Annie. The cast of "Annie Jr." includes 35 students from the Roanoke and New River valleys.

Mill Mountain Theatre may be down, but it's not out.

That's a part of the message the theater wants to convey this weekend, as a cast of 35 children from all over the Roanoke and New River valleys assembles to tell its audiences that the sun'll come out, tomorrow.

The children's play "Annie Jr.," which opens Thursday, will be the theater's first production since "Driving Miss Daisy" closed in February amid news that Mill Mountain was shutting down under a mountain of debt.

The theater's education program continued, though, and income from those classes allowed them to mount their new production. "Annie Jr." will be presented on the Trinkle Main Stage in Center in the Square, directed by sole remaining employee Ginger Poole.

Theater board president Jack Avis said the theater does indeed have a sunny tomorrow ahead.

Arrangements have been made to settle the theater's debts, and after a careful review, Mill Mountain will reveal a new business plan in the summer. He said the plan is for Mill Mountain to remain a professional theater using equity actors, though productions will be scaled back from what's been seen in previous years.

Avis did not want to disclose details of the financial plan, however, saying it would be premature.

Though there's a somber backdrop to the theater's circumstances, you wouldn't know it from talking to the kids in "Annie Jr.," who all seem delighted at the chance to act, dance and sing on Mill Mountain's main stage.

Auditions well attended

"It's a great honor just to have the main role," said 11-year-old Kelly Devens, a Glenvar Middle School student, at an evening rehearsal Dec. 3. "Two months ago, I never would have guessed that I would be Annie."

In October, the theater held an open audition and more than 100 children and teens tried out. Some of the cast members have been students in Mill Mountain Theatre's acting classes, but not all.

Taylor Dawson, 13, a Blacksburg Middle School student, came down to audition with a group of friends and landed a part in the orphan ensemble. She said it's been worth the long carpool commute.

"There's not much going on in Blacksburg," she said.

She's been in theater productions with adults, but this is the first chance she's had to act in a cast that's mostly her own age.

Beside Taylor, Olivia Goodman danced as her fellow cast members sang their way through "I Don't Need Anything But You." Cast as an orphan named Molly, Olivia auditioned on her sixth birthday, that being the minimum age for cast members.

Poole said that when Olivia came to audition, she said, "I'm official."

At the rehearsal, as the young cast members waited for their turns on stage, they occupied themselves with laptops or handheld Nintendo DS game systems.

A question about how it feels to be part of "Annie" loosed a chorus of enthusiasm.

"I'm so excited," said Mackenzie Comer, 12.

"Everybody's going to be cheering, everybody's going to be clapping," said Mackenzie Bowles, 10.

"This is my first play," said Ryan Smith, 8.

The cast members all knew their parts without prompting. Though Poole occasionally clapped approval, for the most part she watched and took notes so she could give the kids pointers during their break.

Poole said that she can't yet predict when the theater will attempt another children's production, but said she hopes that continuing income from the education program will allow Mill Mountain to do another one.

Not yet a comeback

Both Poole and Avis said that "Annie Jr." should not be looked at as the theater's attempt at a comeback.

In addition to the theater's current issues, Center in the Square has confirmed it will sell the Atelier, the Salem Avenue building that once housed the theater's actors.

Avis said that Mill Mountain Theatre still expects to have need of equity housing -- just not as many rooms as before -- and that Center in the Square is working with Mill Mountain to address concerns.

He said the theater may not put on as many productions as in years past, and may rely more heavily on volunteers.

Though the theater has hired music director Susan Braden and set designer Jimmy Ray Ward to help with "Annie Jr.," the production also owes its existence to 24 volunteers, mainly parents.

"It's shown us what we can do with volunteers," Avis said.