Stirring a healthy dose of optimism into a high-spirited cocktail of entertainment, musical Annie is the perfect tonic being served at the Gaiety Theatre this week.

Eloise Barnes, 12, and Lowenna Joughin, 10, are sharing title role duties and, with crowd-pleasing classics Tomorrow and Maybe going down a storm, you can bet your bottom dollar theatre-goers are loving it.

Orphan Annie’s story, her hopes of finding her parents and her unwavering belief in happy endings needs little re-telling.

On opening night, Eloise gave a gem of performance, combining the feistiness and vulnerability essential for the role with the charm and wit to win over billionaires, presidents - and audiences.

The delighted response to each number and the standing ovation at the end of the show should give the young actor an indication, clearer than any words, of the joy her singing brought.

And the word coming back from Easy Street following Lowenna’s first outing on Sunday afternoon confirmed she sparkled just as brightly, also bringing everyone to their feet.

Supporting each of these talented performers over the week are two teams of exceptional orphans, singing and dancing their way through a series of well-choreographed set pieces including Hard Knock Life.

The only feet (deliberately) out of place on Saturday were those landing on the toes of Gillian Buchanan, revelling in her role as orphanage director Miss Hannigan, the harridan with a heart of stone and a brain of mush.

The adult cast saw John Snelling (Warbucks) and Kristene Sutcliffe (Grace) show true empathy with their young charge, while Charlie Williams (Rooster) and Beth Thomas (Lily) were a criminally entertaining duo. Bob Harrison was on stately form as FDR.

Marty, an assistance dog turned stage star, won plenty of hearts as Annie’s chum Sandy, and inadvertently gave both the young Annie’s a test of their mettle when he affectionately gave both a playful lick during their respective versions of Annie.

Neither missed a beat, and Lowenna’s little chuckle halfway through her line brought an extra burst of warmth and affection to an already-emotive song.

Centre Stage Productions deserves great praise for overcoming many obstacles to produce this entertaining, heart-warming triumph of a show.

Ultimately, Annie belongs to the youngsters gracing the stage this week.

When we ponder how brightly the future of Manx musical theatre may shine, we don’t need to wait until tomorrow to discover.

The sun has already come out.