After searching across the country, NBC has found its Annie.
The network, which will broadcastAnnie Live!this December has cast Celina Smith to play the lead role in its upcoming production. Smith, 12, joined theTodayshowTuesday for the big announcement.
The young actress toldTodayshe first found out she had been cast as Annie after a long audition process that began with a self-tape and ended with one very exciting call.
Looking back on the moment she heard she landed the role, Smith toldToday, “We were in my mom’s room and my team called and they were like, ‘What are you going to be doing this October?'”
“I was like, ‘I don’t know,’ " she continued, “and then they were like, ‘You’re going to be in New York doingAnnie Livethis October!’ and I screamed.”
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Smith, who has been performing since she was seven years old, said she got her start singing at an entertainment camp calledAGI Entertainment. Just five years later, she’s set to star alongside award-winning performers inAnnie Live!
“It’s just so amazing being able to perform with such an iconic cast, and I’m just so excited for this journey to start,” Smith toldToday.
Smith previously toured withThe Lion Kingplaying Young Nala, and appeared in the Tyler Perry seriesYoung Dylan, which premiered on Nickelodeon in 2020.
The NBC musical is also set to starTituss Burgessas Rooster Hannigan,Taraji P. Hensonas Miss Hannigan,Harry Connick Jr.as Daddy Warbucks andNicole Scherzingeras Grace Farrell.
Connick opened up about being cast as Daddy Warbucks earlier this summer,telling PEOPLEin June, “It’s such a classic show and it’s a show that I’m so familiar with, just from seeing it a million times.
He added, “And it’s one of those things where you watch it and enjoy it and never really imagine yourself a part of it, so when I was asked to play Daddy Warbucks it was kind of surreal because that’s such an iconic role.”
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Annie Live!marks the sixth live musical to air on NBC since 2013’sThe Sound of Music Live!.The network has previously aired 2014’sPeter Pan Live!, 2015’sThe Wiz Live!,2016’s Hairspray Live! and 2018’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.
Annie Live!premieres Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
source: people.com
