For the first time since the company’s debut, they will perform “Annie.”
In 2003, Moorestown Theater Company put on its first show, which opened with the company’s founders, Mark Morgan and Carol Ann Murray, walking out on stage with a baby orphan Annie in a basket and dropping her off in front of a sign that read “orphanage.” The baby wriggled on stage to the amazement of audience members who were taken aback that it wasn’t a doll in the basket. The baby was their daughter Juliet.
Fifteen years later, Moorestown Theater Company is celebrating its 150th show, and for the first time since the company’s debut, it will perform “Annie.” Juliet, now 15, will once again star as the orphan sharing the title role with 11-year-old Lily Sims for the company’s milestone performance.
Murray said she and her husband Morgan wanted to bring an all-ages show to town. She said from the beginning, their vision was to create a show based around the idea of inclusivity, and anyone who wanted to be part of the production had a chance to get involved.
“We didn’t know if it was going to work out,” Murray said. “We just had this vision that we could really do something special for the community.”
At the time, the company’s founders didn’t realize they would end up running shows year-round. Morgan said they put a rule in place from the beginning that any child age 6 to 12 who wanted to be on stage had to have an adult family member act in the production as well. He said they lost some people because of the rule and others begrudgingly participated, but more often than not, the family members walked away having enjoyed the experience and returned to MTC again.
Rick Williams, who shares the role of Daddy Warbucks with Stephen Szymanik, got involved in the company as a result of Morgan’s 6 to 12 rule. He said he was hesitant about performing, but his son, Nicholas, coaxed him into joining an MTC production of “The King and I.”
He said as long as Morgan has the rule in place, families will continue to come together onstage at MTC. Despite his initial hesitancy to join, getting involved in the company has been an unexpected joy for the news anchor.
“It’s a nice getaway, a nice respite from the news of the day, to come here and be somebody else,” Williams said.
Szymanik said MTC’s atmosphere has given the company its longevity.
“Moorestown Theater Company, unlike some other theater companies, is very family and friend oriented,” Szymanik said. “Couples come and do it; families do it — fathers and daughters. Moorestown Theater Company really takes those with special needs to heart, plugs them in and makes them feel important to the cast.”
MTC rapidly became an important place for children, Murray said. Today, nearly 75 percent of its programming involves children. Because their mission is one of inclusivity, no one is ever cut, and even when nearly 100 children wanted to participate in “Hairspray, Jr.,” the company added extra staff to accommodate having so many performers. Children without the financial means to participate are given scholarships, and over the years, MTC has put children with an array of special needs in its productions.
On July 19, the the 70-member cast of “Annie” will take to the stage of Hope Community Church to open the 150th performance. Murray said along the 15-year journey, they’ve heard from countless parents that participating in an MTC show has been life-changing for their child.
“That’s kind of how we feel, that we’re transforming people’s lives and it’s transformed our lives, too,” Murray said.
“Annie” will be performed at Hope Community Church in Moorestown on July 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27 and 28. Tickets are reserved and can be purchased online. For showtimes and tickets, visit www.MoorestownTheaterCompany.org.
