JULIE LI BROUGHT A NEW ANNIE TO LIFE

JULIE LI BROUGHT A NEW ANNIE TO LIFE

By Gerrye Wong November 14, 2025

Palo Alto Players just introduced the favorite musical ANNIE  to local Silicon Valley audiences.  Each performance has ended with standing ovations by the audiences who love the story of the poor orphan  making the life of a lonely billionaire bright and happy .The song TOMORROW with the lyric ”The Sun will come out tomorrow” always rings some bell in everyone’s head making one think there IS a rainbow after the rain and better days are ahead.  I found our own Cupertino school girl Julie Li a fascinating Annie and she won everyone’s heart by the time the curtain came down two hours later.  Her voice rings true,  mixed with her exuberant positive attitude is well modulated by Julie to become a great traditional Annie .    Had the chance to ask 12 year old Julie how her life has changed since she became the lead star in this production.   I am sure her school work suffers a bit when she has to use so much of her time and energy to playing this starring role. This very active twelve year old Julie  lives in Cupertino with her parents, Fang and Jie.  Born in Toronto, she and her family relocated to the Bay Area following her father’s work nine years ago. An older sister, now in college, shares Julie’s love for music and both are huge fans of musical theatre. Obviously showing her love of music began early, the talented little Julie first sang in a local community choir for four years  before taking now 3 years of private voice lessons.  Loving dance, she has had 2 years of ballet and hip-hop and recently added tap dance this summer.  Like the Energizer Bunny, Julie added 4 years of studying piano  to round out her love of music, but Annie has brought out her talent in acting and performing before a loving audience.   Fascinating are her answers below:

I JUST WATCHED YOU IN THE PREVIEW FIRST TIME FACING AN AUDIENCE AS ANNIE.  How did it feel that night?

Julie:  I felt really nervous when the overture was playing and I was double-triple checking to make sure every prop was set.  However, during “Tomorrow” I let go of all of my fear because I realized that it was the connection with the audience that made a performance special, not perfection.

WHEN YOUR FIRST PERFORMANCE WAS OVER AND EVERYONE WAS APPLAUDING AND YELLING, HOW DID YOU FEEL AND WERE THERE ANY LITTLE THINGS THAT WENT WRONG THAT FIRST PERFORMANCE NIGHT?

Julie:  When the audience was applauding, I felt so proud of myself because the hard work that I had done over the past months had finally come to view.  There was no better feeling than the one I was feeling then because as my parents say, pride from an accomplishment will always be the number one emotion you feel. A few things went haywire including some buckets being stuck together and the dog running off midway into the song, but the audience either didn’t notice or got a good laugh out of them.

JULIE, YOU SING, YOU DANCE, YOU ACT, YOU PLAY THE PIANO.  WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY YOU LIKE TO DO NOWADAYS?\

Julie: My favorite hobby that I like to do is to sing, because the best language I speak is the gift of song.  For me, a tune can carry better emotion and feeling than words can.

JULIE, WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT PLAYING ANNIE IN THE SHOW?

Julie:  What I like best about playing Annie is that after the performance, the audience walks out of the double doors a little more hopeful than when they came in because of her.  She is always overly optimistic saying that “The Sun will come out tomorrow” which inspires change to those around her.

JULIE, AFTER THE STRESS OF THE SHOW IS OVER, TELL ME A DREAM PLACE YOU’D LIKE TO VISIT  ON A VACATION WITH YOUR PARENTS?

Julie:  A dream place I would like to visit with my parents would be New York City, particularly Times Square.  I have been there before, but the feeling of being crowded in a tight space with bright ads surrounding me makes me come alive.  There’s something about the love across the busy streets that makes life seem like a dream where I am just another speck on Earth, chasing my dream like the other thousands of people next to me.

Julie Li will be playing Annie for just another week.  Check out Palo Alto Players Production of ANNIE at Luci Stern Theatre in Palo Alto to not miss seeing this blockbuster up and coming child star Julie Li at her finest.  We wish her well and thanks for making the sun come out in Palo Alto  to shine on all of us.