Amanda Balon (born 1997) is an American former child actress, vocalist and dancer, best known for playing the title role in the nationwide Broadway tour of the musical Annie. Amanda initially joined the 30th anniversary cast (directed by Broadway director and script lyricist,

Martin Charnin Martin Charnin (November 24, 1934 – July 6, 2019) was an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the musical '' Annie.'' Life and career Charnin was born in New Yor ...

) as the youngest orphan, Molly. At age ten, she was given the lead role of

Little Orphan Annie ''Little Orphan Annie'' was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and print syndication#Comic strip syndication, syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James ...

. She remained with the production company NETworks Presentations for 3 years.

Biography

Amanda Balon was born in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and was raised in

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

along with her twin brother and older sister. She has been performing since the age of three. Amanda entered the Daystar Academy of the Performing Arts as their youngest student. She is also a member of the Senior competition travel team.

Recordings

Amanda Balon is part of the all-star cast on the 30th anniversary recording of the Broadway musical released by Time Life Records. Balon sings the never-before-recorded solos from Annie 2. She joins

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American comedian, actress, singer and writer. Burnett has played dramatic and comedic roles on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Carol Burnett, nu ...

, Sally Struthers,

Kathie Lee Gifford Kathryn Lee Gifford (Given name, née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress, and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show ''Live with Kelly and Mark, Live! wi ...

Andrea McArdle Andrea McArdle (born November 5, 1963) is an American singer and actress best known for originating the role of Annie in the Broadway musical '' Annie''. Career McArdle appeared on '' Al Alberts Showcase'', a local televised talent show in Phila ...

John Schuck Conrad John Schuck Jr. (born February 4, 1940) is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for his role as Sergeant Charles Enright in the 1970s crime drama ''McMillan & Wife''. He also played Herman Munster in the late- ...

Harve Presnell George Harvey Presnell (; September 14, 1933 – June 30, 2009) was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid-1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States. His career ...

Gary Beach Gary Beach (October 10, 1947 – July 17, 2018) was an American actor of stage, film and television. He portrayed Roger De Bris in both the stage and film productions of ''The Producers'', for which he won a Tony Award; he received a Tony nominat ...

, Marissa O'Donnell and other members from the original cast on the double CD which was produced by Robert Sher and released in June 2008.

References

* * *

External links

https://web.archive.org/web/20080821122346/http://www.amandabalon.com/ Official web site]
Annie 2005–2010 tour site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balon, Amanda Actresses from Kansas City, Kansas American stage actresses Living people 1997 births American emigrants to Zimbabwe American twins American child actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers