Visesia Fakatoufifita, Faith Young, and Timothy McCuen Piggee in Annie. Credit: MARK KITAOKA
Visesia Fakatoufifita, Faith Young, and Timothy McCuen Piggee in Annie.
Visesia Fakatoufifita, Faith Young, and Timothy McCuen Piggee in Annie, playing through Dec 30 at 5th Avenue Theatre. MARK KITAOKA

This story is presented as part of the Winter 2018-2019 edition of The Stranger’s Art + Performance Guide.

The Two Annies

After 500 girls auditioned, and six callbacks over six months, Visesia Fakatoufifita, 11, and Faith Young, 11, got cast as the iconic orphan. Fakatoufifita, who is of Tongan descent, saw The Little Mermaid at the 5th Avenue Theatre two years ago, starring Diana Huey as Ariel. She turned to her parents and said, “Mom, her skin is brown like mine! That means I can do this, too!”

The Wigs

This production features 40 wigs handmade by the 5th Avenue’s hair/wig team. All are made with human hair, with the exception of the Santa wig, which is made of yak hair. The Annie wigs were custom made to fit Faith and Visesia’s heads and were specifically styled for their faces and personalities.

Christopher Frizzelle was The Stranger's print editor, and first joined the staff in 2003. He was the editor-in-chief from 2007 to 2016, and edited the story by Eli Sanders that won a 2012 Pulitzer...