Sometimes life imitates the musical. Laiken Jules, a 10-year-old singer whose powerhouse voice has been winning over TikTok, posted a video today of herself belting “NYC” from Annie with a caption that reads like the opening number of the show itself: “Leaving for Connecticut to be Annie in 5 days.”
It is official: Jules will star as Annie in Goodspeed Musicals’ 50th anniversary production of the beloved musical, running October 30 through December 27 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut. And it is a true homecoming story. Annie premiered on that very stage on August 10, 1976, before heading to Broadway and becoming one of the most enduring musicals of all time. BroadwayWorld called Jules a “viral TikTok sensation” when the full cast was announced earlier this month.
She was introduced to audiences at Goodspeed’s “Annie-versary” celebration on August 10, exactly 50 years to the day after the musical’s first performance there, alongside Scotty, the shelter dog who will play Sandy. In a lovely full-circle touch, Scotty is being trained by Bill Berloni, the Tony-honored animal trainer who found and trained the original Sandy for that 1976 premiere.
The cast also includes Tony nominee Emily Skinner as Miss Hannigan, Christopher Swan as Oliver Warbucks, Julia Nicole Hunter as Grace Farrell, Rhett Guter as Rooster and Kelly Berman as Lily St. Regis. Jenn Thompson directs the production, which Playbill first reported as part of Goodspeed’s 2026 season.
Tickets are on sale now, and Goodspeed is making it family friendly: Family Nights run November 4 through 8 with $15 tickets for kids ages 8 to 18 with each adult ticket purchase. You can bet your bottom dollar this is the can’t-miss theater event of the holiday season.