"I was so surprised," she says of getting the title role. "I was jumping on the bed and was screaming my head off, and I was jumping on my mom and screaming my head off. It was so great!"

And she's thrilled with her red hair. "I'm used to it now but at first I was like, 'Oh my gosh!' I was excited about it." Balon goes to the salon once a month for a cut and color and then gets "flat ironed before every show."

Before the final scene, "they tell me to get gussied up, and I have a one-minute-30-second quick change and I don't have time to curl my hair, so we use a wig at the end."

Her enthusiasm is infectious.

Balon, who is killing time until she's old enough to do acting full-time because "that's what I love, so I know I'll do it," talks animatedly about the dog she has come to love.

"His real name is Mikey and he's a great dog. He's really talented. We give him hand commands because we can't say 'stay.' He has an understudy named Lola. We play with them all the time. Mikey comes over to my hotel room and we have sleepovers."

"When the dog runs off stage," Berloni said, "they're rewarded with a little treat. Ultimately, it's approval. The treats and toys are learning tools, but ultimately they just want to be with you. It's the love and acknowledgement of it that's the ultimate reward."

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If you go ...

What: Annie

Where: Kingsbury Hall, University of Utah

When: Tuesday through April 13, evening and matinee performances

How much: $25-$55, with $15 student tickets

Phone: 581-7100

Web: www.kingtix.com

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E-mail: ehansen@desnews.com

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