'Annie' star begins musical career at an early age
Broadway in Knoxville presents ‘Annie’
WHEN: 8 tonight; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Knoxville Civic Auditorium, 500 Howard Baker Jr. Ave.,
downtown Knoxville
CALL: 215-8999
ONLINE: www.broadwayinknoxville.com, www.annieontour.com
By Steve Wildsmith
of The Daily Times Staff
For all practical purposes, Amanda Balon is a normal girl.
“I like to read; I like to watch TV,” she told The Daily Times this week, naming “Hannah Montana,” “The Suite Life of Zack
and Cody” and “Curious George” as her favorite shows. “I like to swim and ride my bike and play with the dogs.”
She also likes something that few other 10-year-olds will ever experience — the applause of hundreds of audience
members as she takes a bow at the end of a show, as she’ll do tonight and Saturday as the lead actress in Broadway in
Knoxville’s presentation of the musical “Annie.”
The youngster has already lived more in her 10 short years than most adults — born in Kansas and now living in
Florida, she was raised, along with her twin brother and older sister, in her mother’s hometown in Zimbabwe, Africa. She
was young and doesn’t remember much, but a few things are hard to forget, she said.
“I remember we had a big house, and it got really hot sometimes,” she said. “We had seven snakes. We always had a lot
of animals around us.”
From an early age, Balon was drawn to musicals, choosing them over cartoons and other children’s shows and watching
them until she had memorized the lines and the lyrics. She auditioned for her first musical — ironically enough, “Annie”
— when she was 3, after the family had moved to Florida.
Her parents were skeptical at first, since the production really had no roles for a toddler. They gave in to her
persuasion, however, and made a vacation out of it. It turned into the beginning of a journey for the little girl — amid a
crowd of 300 8- to 10-year-old girls, Balon sang “Tomorrow,” the widely recognized centerpiece of the production, with
enough passion to bring those in attendance to their feet for a standing ovation.
As contracts and offers were thrown her way, her parents opted to enroll her in the Daystar Academy of the Performing
Arts, where she was the youngest student. At the age of 5, she was performing solos and entertaining crowds
throughout the Sunshine State. For the last year and a half, she’s been touring with the national cast of “Annie,” first in
the role of Molly (the youngest orphan), and last year as Duffy.
Those parts led to her eventually winning the coveted title role, she said.
“When I did the first tour as Molly (the girl playing Annie) helped me so much with everything, and when I played Duffy, I
got to do rehearsals as Annie,” Balon said. “That helped a lot, because I knew a little bit of my part beforehand.”
Now, she’s singing, dancing and waltzing across the stage as the star of the show. Because she’s been in it for the past
two seasons, it’s familiar territory, but there’s always something new to learn or discover, she said.
“Some things are new, like getting to work with Mikey, the new dog in the show,” she said. “Nothing’s really hard. I was a
little nervous on opening night, but I was more excited. I was really excited, because everybody — all my family and
friends — were out there. They had come to see me, so it was fun.”
And what little girl can resist the allure of being a star? Not Balon. She’s unabashedly enthusiastic about performing,
and she sees a little of herself in the character she plays.
“I actually like Annie, because she’s really optimistic,” Balon said. “She’s very kind and hopeful, and she doesn’t care
about the money — she cares about the people. And my favorite part of the show is when I come down the stairs in the
red dress, singing ‘I Don’t Need Anything But You.’
“It builds up to that, and I’m so happy I made it. I get to dance with Daddy Warbucks and everything! It’s just a really fun
show.”
Originally published: September 28. 2007 3:01AM
Last modified: September 27. 2007 1:20PM
