MARQUETTE -- What do you get when you combine 84 kids, one dog, a stage and a notable red head? Annie Jr., a condensed version of the rags to riches story of one young orphan in New York City.

"What I like to say is it cut out all of the boring stuff, but it has all of the classic favorites," said Nikke Nason, director of Annie Jr.

Featuring songs like a "Hard-knock Life" and "Tomorrow," the bite-size version will be taking center stage at the Kaufman Auditorium in Marquette.  The large cast encompasses kids from as young as 4 years in age to young adults as old as 18.

All of them bring various backgrounds to the musical, which leads to a high-energy performance.

"Between having all of the orphans and servants, we just have so many kids that have such vast experience," explained Nason. "For some this is their first show, and we try to provide an opportunity to bring as much energy to the stage as possible."

The diverse set of players lends them experience beyond just performing.

"We have a lot of ten year olds teaching four year olds and some six year olds teaching eight year olds. So there's a lot of inter-generational peer-to-peer mentoring."

The Lake Superior Youth Theater is producing the musical, in part, to mark its second decade of existence.  When the group started back in 2001, the group featured Annie Jr. as its first production.

Now in 2012, the group is looking to reinvigorate public interest and support in the program.  The play runs March 9 and 10.

If you are interested in getting tickets, check out the NMU website.