Auditions Begin in March to Find Local Connecticut Girls for Goodspeed’s 50th Anniversary Production of Annie
EAST HADDAM, Conn. (Feb 26, 2026) – Goodspeed Musicals proudly announces the Annie Audition Experience, the first step of the audition process to find local Connecticut girls to play Annie and the orphans for Goodspeed’s 50th anniversary production of Annie this fall. Whether your “little girl” has performed on stage a hundred times or puts on shows in the backyard every weekend, Goodspeed encourages 8- to 12-year-olds of all experience levels to join us in March.
The Annie Audition Experience will take place on March 15 and 22 at Goodspeed in East Haddam, Conn., and March 29 at Hartford Stage Rehearsal Studios in Hartford, Conn. Participants will register on-site, starting at 9 a.m. and continuing until noon or until 100 children have registered. Each child will be assigned a time slot on a first-come, first-served basis. The first Audition Experience slot will be at 10 a.m.
Children will be brought into the audition room in groups to play an acting game, learn a brief dance, and learn a song from the show. No preparation of audition material is necessary for this experience. Goodspeed is looking for trained or untrained, authentic talent.
All participants will be notified whether or not they have been chosen to move on to the next step in the audition process within a few days of their Audition Experience.
Interested children must be available for all performance and rehearsal dates (Sept. 29 – Jan. 2, 2027) and must participate in one of the Audition Experiences in order to audition for Goodspeed’s production (unless they have representation and can submit in New York). Children do not need to be members of Actors’ Equity to audition or to participate.
Goodspeed’s Annie Audition Experiences will be held either at The Alice Hammerstein Mathias Rehearsal Studio, 20B Norwich Rd., East Haddam, Conn., (parking is available at the Goodspeed parking area) or at Hartford Stage Rehearsal Studios, 942 Main St., second floor, Hartford Conn.
Goodspeed reaffirms its commitment to nondiscrimination and a flexible, imaginative casting policy. Children of all ethnicities are strongly encouraged to audition. For more information, please contact Jakob Harding, producing assistant, at jharding@goodspeed.org or visit www.goodspeed.org/annie-audition-experience.
ABOUT GOODSPEED MUSICALS
Goodspeed Musicals is a nonprofit arts organization that has achieved international acclaim and is the first theatre in the nation to receive two Tony Awards for outstanding achievement in musical theatre. Under the leadership of Donna Lynn Hilton, Artistic Director, and Vanessa Logan, Managing Director, Goodspeed Musicals is dedicated to the celebration, development and advancement of musical theatre. Goodspeed creates powerful, world-class productions of enlightening new and established works to delight, inspire and challenge audiences on its two stages – The Goodspeed in East Haddam, Conn., and The Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn. From Goodspeed, 21 musicals have gone to Broadway (including Man of La Mancha, Annie, Shenandoah and Holiday Inn) and 91 world premieres have been launched. Goodspeed’s Festival of New Musicals, GoodWorks commissioning program and the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Grove at Goodspeed are distinguished cornerstones of the organization that highlight its commitment to nurture creators and the creative process. Goodspeed also maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre. The organization is supported in part by the Burry Fredrik Foundation; the Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; Masonicare at Chester Village; The Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Greater Hartford Gives Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; and WSHU Public Radio. Additional support is provided by United Airlines, the official airline of Goodspeed Musicals. For more information, visit www.goodspeed.org.