Photos: Dan Norman
The beloved musical will run through the holiday season.
Little Orphan Annie is bringing her infectious optimism back to the Main Stage of Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) after a 22 year hiatus, and two local student actors are getting in on the fun. Eve Scharback, a sixth grader at Minnetonka Middle School West, will play the titular redheaded lead alongside Penelope Talatinick, a ninth grader at Minnetonka High School, who plays July, one of Annie’s friends at the New York City Municipal Orphanage.
Annie first made its CDT debut in 1983, and the musical proceeded to have a record-breaking 56-week run on the Main Stage. The 2026–2027 revival was an easy pick for president and artistic director Tamara Kangas Erickson. “I appeared in Chanhassen’s very first production of Annie in 1983, at age 12,” she says. “I have profoundly deep feelings about this show because it had such an impact on me. I knew this was the business I wanted to be in some day. And look how it’s turned out.”
Penelope Talatinick (front left) as July sitting next to Eve Scharback (red dress) playing Annie in Chanhassen Dinner Theatres’ production of Annie.
Annie is a spunky little girl who can always find the bright side regardless of her dreary circumstances. When eccentrically rich Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks offers to adopt the orphan, she enlists his help to find her parents. Even when the reward money draws the attention of some conniving con artists, Annie, Daddy Warbucks and the rest of her ragtag gang find their “happily ever after” on Christmas Day. “I also feel like this is the best time to be bringing [Annie] back for our audiences because Annie, the little orphan who’s had more than her fair share of hard knocks, is just so full of hope and optimism,” Kangas Erickson says. “No one’s going to dash her dreams. It’s that optimism that we all need right now.”
The musical, which opens October 9 and runs through February 28, will be the third CDT revival of the classic tale. Find dates and ticket information at chanhassendt.com.
Chanhassen Dinner Theatres
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