Whiz Kid: Geneva Third-Grader Stars as Annie in Fox Valley Repertory's Production

Mention an audition for a production of Annie, and you'll have a room overflowing with hopeful little girls faster than you can say, "Leapin' lizards!"

That was the case a few months ago when 8-year-old Kaia Ebel tried out for Fox Valley Repertory's production of the iconic musical. But as Kaia performed her monologue and sang Castle on a Cloud from Les Miserables for the casting directors, the soon-to-be third-grader at wasn't nervous. 

"I was just having fun," Kaia said.  

And she had a lot more fun a few days later when she learned she had landed the lead role.  

"I was on the phone when I first found out, and I screamed!" she said.

In person, Kaia's a little shy, but when she gets on stage and says her lines, she becomes the courageous, charming orphan—thanks in part to her signature Annie costume, complete with a curly wig. 

"I think it looks funny, but everyone else thinks it looks good," Kaia said. Finding the wig was simple—Kaia dressed up as the famous redhead for Halloween when she was just 3.

"You must have known that you were going to be Annie," joked her mother, Letty Ebel.  

Letty's known her daughter was born to entertain since Kaia was a toddler. "She would just sing amazingly, and people would be like, 'Do you have her in voice lessons?' " she said. "So we tried the little classes, and she just loved it."

Kaia's been on stage ever since, appearing in productions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, among others. But her role as Annie is her first time as the star of a show, and she can't get enough.

"I actually had one person in the play ask me for (my) autograph," Kaia said, laughing. "I just signed my name." 

Opening night is Aug. 2, but Kaia's role is double-cast, so she'll appear in the show at Pheasant Run on Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. and the final show Aug. 6 at 1 p.m. Admission is free, but the cast encourages audience members to bring toiletries to donate to Mooseheart.  

Kaia would love to continue acting and singing as she gets older. She plans to audition for Fox Valley Repertory's next show, Alice in Wonderland, and she hopes she'll land the starring role again.

If not, as Annie might say, the sun'll come out tomorrow. But for Kaia, today is looking pretty bright.