Theater: Broadway Bound?

Ashton Taylor

More Theater

“Annie”
Through Dec. 20
Fridays at 7 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $16
The Rose 2001 Farnam St.
345-4849

It’s not often that an out-of-state house-hunting trip includes a top-to-bottom inspection of a commercial property, but such was the case when Stephanie and Sam Taylor pondered a 2007 move here from San Diego.

“I’m sure our realtor thought we were crazy,” chuckled Stephanie. “No, it’s not like we were interested in buying the Rose, we explained to a rightly confused agent, it’s just that we knew that theater would be such an important part of our life here in Omaha.”

That’s because the Taylor’s daughter, Ashton, dreamed of the nationally acclaimed Rose (and beyond) the moment she learned of the planned move.

The triple threat singer/dancer/actress alternates with Lizzy Fleissner in the title role of “Annie,” the James Larson-directed, Sue Gillespie Booton-choreographed delight that runs through Dec. 20 at the Rose.

It was love at first sight when a wide-eyed Ashton first wandered throughout the ornate candy box at 20th and Farnam streets, but it was at the Omaha Community Playhouse that the Paris-trained dancer made her local debut.

Taylor’s work as a Little Bo Peep-costumed Baby Jane in “Gypsy” brought her the company’s Bill Bailey Debut Award. That was followed by a Theatre Arts Guild nomination for best performance by a youth actress. And now she’s looking to get gussied up for yet another gala affair when, in January, the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards recognizes her nomination for a performance by a young actor.

One show, three award nods. Not bad for a 14-year-old freshman at Millard West High School. Award predictions are fraught with danger, but this reviewer handicaps her as a lock for more of the same with “Annie” when next season’s round of TAG and OEA awards roll around.

Her sights are set on a career working a neon-splashed Broadway, but the uber-gifted teen dwells now (at least temporarily) on the plains where a busy slate of performing arts commitments in school may leave nothing but fleeting glimpses of her for the rest of us.

“I love Omaha, the Rose and the Omaha Community Playhouse,” said the performer whose move to Omaha interrupted a series of late-stage callbacks with the Disney Channel. “I’m getting a certain amount of teasing in school for my red ‘Annie’ hair, but I just remind myself that the sun will come out ‘Tomorrow!’”

Siobhan Sullivan, Taylor’s San Diego acting/singing coach who also directed the starlet in multiple productions, traveled to Omaha to see her former charge in “Annie.” She agrees that the petite powder keg is the real deal.

“Ashton has it all,” Sullivan beamed in the lobby during intermission. “She’s a total package with remarkable poise and confidence, a force to be reckoned with.”

Sullivan’s assessment is more than just rah-rah support for a former student. As a casting director who has populated Disney and Miramax vehicles with the best young talent, she has a professional eye for what it takes to make it big.

Keep close tabs on this one. Ashton Taylor might just be Omaha’s next “I knew her when” story.