West Middle School Bets Their Bottom Dollar on This Week's 'Annie Jr.'

The sun will come out tomorrow for more than 100 West Middle School students, who have been busy preparing for this week's production of Annie Jr.

The show, performed on stage at Rochester High School, stars seventh-grader Shelby Stimpson as Annie, the red-headed orphan who leaves her "Hard Knock Life" to live with Daddy Warbucks and crew in a dream-like mansion. (Shelby had her hair colored and permed for the role.)

Rochester Patch got a sneak preview of the performance Tuesday night; see the accompanying video for a peek.

Directed by Tara Hammen, the show coincides with the 30th anniversary of the movie Annie and the 35th anniversary of the show's opening on Broadway.

“We all have struggles and hard times in life and it is up to us to figure out how we will choose to handle what comes our way," Hammen said. "Annie reminds us to keep hoping and dreaming of a better tomorrow.”

A special preview show geared toward elementary school students and their families is Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Admission is $5; tickets are available at the door. 

The show runs Thursday through Saturday, though Friday night's performance is sold out. Tickets for the 7 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Saturday shows are $5 for students and $8 for adults; tickets can be purchased at West between 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. through Friday or at the RHS box office starting one hour before the show.