Reif Theater Arts presents Annie Jr. for students in 1st through 12th grade. With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone’s hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. Annie is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of an orphanage run by the cruel Miss Hannigan. Annie eventually foils Miss Hannigan’s evil machinations, finding a new home and family in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy.

Order Your Flowers Here

Singer, rapper, and writer Dessa has made a career of bucking genres and defying expectations—her résumé as a musician includes performances at Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, co-compositions for 100-voice choir, performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, and top-200 entries on the Billboard charts. She contributed to the #1 album The Hamilton Mixtape and the RBG documentary; her track, “Congratulations,” has notched over 20 million streams. As a writer, she’s been published by The New York Times and National Geographic Traveler, broadcast by Minnesota Public Radio, and published a memoir-in-essays (My Own Devices, 2018) in addition to two literary collections. As a speaker, Dessa has delivered keynote speeches and presentations on art, science, and entrepreneurship; guest lectures at universities and colleges across the US; and a TED Talk about her science experiment on how to fall out of love. She’s also the host of Deeply Human, a podcast created by the BBC and American Public Media. Dessa has been covered by Pitchfork, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal amongst others. The LA Times says she “sounds like no one else.” NPR’s All Songs Considered calls her “a national treasure.” On the stage and on the page, Dessa’s style is defined by ferocity, wit, tenderness, and candor.

The Ensamble 7/4 is born out of the friendship of seven young members of El Sistema (the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela), who came together to extend the boundaries of academic music to include Venezuelan folk music, Latin American music and jazz. Their aim is to continue performing with the high technical and artistic standards they have achieved as a result of their education at El Sistema, and to disseminate Venezuelan folk music worldwide, making it synonymous with excellence.

In seven years as a group, they have toured both in Venezuela and internationally in countries such as Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States.

WHAT IS THE CELLO SONGS PROJECT?
The Cello Songs Project features new arrangements of folk/pop/rock gems from Jonatha Brooke’s rich catalogue, plus new songs composed specifically for this project.

The Cello Songs Project is acclaimed singer-songwriter Jonatha Brooke, and Rebecca Arons, cellist and producer. Both transplants from Massachusetts to the rich Minneapolis music scene, Jonatha and Rebecca have been collaborating since early workshops of Jonatha’s award-winning off-Broadway show, My Mother Has Four Noses. Jonatha and Rebecca also co-produced Jonatha’s 2016 release, Imposter.

Featuring Jonatha Brooke: voice, guitar, piano, mandolin, kalimba
Rebecca Arons: cello

Lillian Carter was much more than President Jimmy Carter’s mother – she was a social activist, great humanitarian, nurse, peanut farmer, and nurturer. She celebrated her 70th Birthday in India while serving in the Peace Corps. She was astonishing in her ordinariness: she loved to fish and disliked cooking. But to describe her as “ordinary” is so far off the mark, as her President-son called her “Remarkable.” This play introduces us to this woman who refused to bow to the attitudes of her Southern surroundings, a free-thinker who enjoyed professional wrestling, who nurtured the best human qualities in all with whom she interacted. Mis Lillian loved her soap opera and a glass of good bourbon – often at the same time! Audiences internationally have appreciated meeting this “belle,” warts and all. There is no effort, no need, to present her as an angel. Her life is inspiring, funny, ever-changing, and, as is true of most people, sometimes tragic. She was an “original.” No one who met her ever forgot her. Once you see her story come to life, you won’t forget her either.