5 Things to Know About Sandy the Dog in “Annie” at PPAC

Ellie Pulsifer as Annie and Addison as Sandy in the 2022 company of ANNIE. Photo credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

Annie is one musical that never gets old due to its mass appeal and upbeat message. The musical is back on stage at Providence Performing Arts Center now through February 5. It delivers a dose of nostalgia for adults who saw it growing up decades ago, and an air of excitement for kids who will witness it for the first time. My two kids saw it for the first time on opening night, and they were riveted by the production value of song and dance throughout the entire play. Ellie Pulsifer is outstanding as Annie, belting out the familiar tunes like “Tomorrow” and “Maybe” that will be nearly impossible to get out of your head, hours after the show. The other spotlight-stealer is, of course, Sandy, the fair-maned mutt that befriends the orphan.

For the national tour of Annie, two dogs named Addison and Georgie play Sandy.

Here are five things to know about these rescue dogs:

1. The dogs are trained by Bill Berloni: Sandy has been a part of the show since it premiered in 1976. Berloni was an aspiring actor when he was asked by a Broadway Annie producer to find and train a dog to play the role of Sandy. He turned this dog-training role into his whole career, turning to rescue dogs to play the iconic part. “We look for dogs with well-balanced temperaments,” he says. “If they are well-balanced, they can learn anything.”

2. The dogs are always rescue dogs: Addison was rescued four years ago from an animal shelter in North Carolina, and Georgie almost ended up in a high kill shelter in Pennsylvania. “Animals end up in shelters for many reasons. But many of them end up there because of family hardships or a death in the family — not because of behavioral issues,” Berloni says. “We hope to find those animals and hopefully adopt them.”

3. It takes about two to three years to train the dogs: They get housebroken, then go through a basic obedience course where they learn to walk by a person’s side, sit, stay, lay down, sit up and come when you call them. In this case, good behavior is always rewarded and the dogs are never punished for not performing. “Every behavior has a reward. And for the most part, the reward is love. So there’s never any ‘if you do that, this is your punishment.’ There is: ‘I’d like you to do this. And if you do, you’ll get a reward.’ ”

4. Annie (Ellie Pulsifer) spent a lot of time with the dogs: She started bonding with Addison and Georgie a month before the show by feeding them, walking them and snuggling with them. “They learn to listen to other people, as opposed to just listening to me,” Berloni says.

5. The audience gets about fourteen minutes of Sandy in Annie: The first time the audience sees Sandy on stage is when Annie comes across the dog after she escapes from the orphanage. There are about fifteen to twenty stage cues in each show.

If you like seeing Sandy in the show, consider adopting a rescue dog of your own. “Somewhere in popular culture, I’ve helped make that type of dog popular to have as a pet,” Berloni says.

Annie is showing January 31-February 5 at PPAC. Tickets are $38-$80 at ppacri.org.

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