In 1988 (West Side Story) the St. Kilian Players found themselves on the streets of New York City for the very first time and have been back to visit numerous times over the past 17 years with musical productions of Guys & Dolls, Anything Goes, Damn Yankees, and Hello, Dolly!. This year they're back again for Annie their summer production.

Leapin' Lizards! That popular comic strip heroine Annie (played by Elora Dannon Rosch) comes to the St. Kilian stage in one of the world's best-loved musicals boasting a cast of cute adorable orphans, and some very colorful characters who help move the plot along. It's December 1933 in New York City; America is in the grips of the Great Depression; and it's here we find Annie. She's a spunky red-head living in an orphanage under the supervision of drunken floozy Miss Hannigan played to the nines by Kathy Cullen. Annie dreamily ponders what her family life would be in the song "Maybe" but warden Hannigan has other plans. She demands that they all clean and polish the place until "it shines like the top of the Chrysler Building" in "It's a Hard Knock Life." With the unknowing help of Mr. Bundles, Annie plans an escape and out she goes to the streets of New York meeting a colorful melee of people. She's caught and brought back to Hannigan where she finds her life, and the lives off her fellow orphans, to be more horrendous than before. But we know it's about to change because of people like billionaire Oliver J. Warbucks (John Connelly), and his personal secretary Grace Farrell (played by Melissa Llewellyn) who pulls out all the stops to find Annie's parents. But, we'll leave all the other great songs and story details for the cast to present during the show.

Our wonderful cast and crew have spent months putting together this top-notch production. "Just narrowing down a cast of young girls to play the orphans was very hard," said director Lynda Diurno. "I must have auditioned 48 little girls for this show." Rounding out the rest of the cast also included finding a dog to play Sandy. "That," she said, "was my biggest challenge. " Diurno is a three-peat director for the Players putting forth two other shows - Bye Bye Birdie and The Sound of Music. In addition this is a family affair for the Diurnos. Husband Joe is the Set Designer and daughters Amanda and Carleen are involved as Assistant Choreographer and Stage Manager, respectively.

Co-Producers Margaret Barrett and Eileen Connelly are the dynamic duo behind the production overseeing the million details that need to be accomplished before opening night on Saturday, July 31st. This is Eileen's second year as producer having worked alongside her other half, John, who steps to the spotlight again, this year as that powerful business tycoon Oliver J. Warbucks and she welcomes help from veteran Player Margaret Barrett who is generally starring in the SKP productions, most recently as Maria in The Sound of Music.

The St. Kilian Players pride themselves on their ministry in the parish and welcoming manner. "We're not just for St. Kilian parishioners," notes John Connelly, a member of the Players' Executive Board. "We are an intricate part of the parish family. Our members are involved in many activities in the parish throughout the year, and then in the summer we all come back to make magic on the stage."

The production runs July 31 (8 p.m.), August 1 (2 p.m.), August 6 (8 p.m.), August 7 (8 p.m.) and August 8 (2 p.m.) in the comfortably air-conditioned St. Kilian auditorium on Cherry Street in Farmingdale. For tickets, priced at a reasonable $10, you can visit the Rectory at 485 Conklin Street during business hours 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. or call the Ticket Manager at 420-8570. Judging by the pre-opening buzz and ticket sales, this is going to be a sell-out. So, don't wait until "Tomorrow" 'cause "you're only a day away."