RESERVE — Gabrielle Treas first caught the acting bug when she was 4 years old, while doing a skit for a beauty pageant at St. Peter Catholic School.

It was from the Broadway play Annie.

Now 13, Treas has come full circle.

The Reserve native has landed the coveted lead role in the upcoming River Parish Community Theatre production of Annie.

Shows will be held at 7:30 p.m. July 14-16 and July 20-22 at St. Peter Catholic School in Reserve. A matinee performance will be held at 2:30 p.m. July 16. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at the Gramercy and LaPlace locations of Roussel’s Fine Jewelry and Gifts. Tickets also may be ordered through the theatre group’s Facebook page and at riverparishtheatre.org.

Directed by Daryl Clement, the musical is based on the popular comic strip Little Orphan Annie.

Annie (Treas) sets off to find the parents who left her at an orphanage run by the cruel Miss Hannigan (Cary Berthelot). Annie eventually finds a new life with billionaire Daddy Warbucks (Sean Roussel) and her dog, Sandy, with her special locket in remembrance of her parents.

For Treas, it’s a dream come true.

“It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to play the role of Annie, ever since I saw the movie,” said Treas, who was “young Fiona” in last summer’s production of Shrek the Musical. “I”ve done small plays before. This is my first major part.”

Clement said more than 60 young girls from throughout the region auditioned for the orphans and several of those tried for the role of Annie.

Treas stood out.

“It was not easy,” Clement said. “There was a lot of talent. She has a fantastic singing voice and she just happens to have red hair. It was sort of the whole package.”

Roussel is a former high school actor who just recently rediscovered his love for the stage after 25 years. He said he is thrilled to be playing Daddy Warbucks.

“It’s one of the ones you think about for a long time,” he said. “This is probably the last opportunity I would have before I’m too old to do it. When we finally got a chance to do (Annie), I said I’m going for it.”

Berthelot, meanwhile, is relishing the role of the villainess, Miss Hannigan. She has long been involved in various theater groups.

“I can remember having the movie soundtrack when I was young,” she said. “All my friends wanted to play Annie and I, from 5 years old, wanted to play Miss Hannigan. I know the songs forwards and backwards. Miss Hannigan is a character with a lot of character.”

This is Clement’s third production for the former St. James Community Theatre, which was revived after several years and recently underwent a name change.

“What we found was, we were drawing people from all over the River Parishes,” Clement said. “So we decided to have the name reflect who we have become. This is our first year operating as River Parish Community Theatre.”

After debuting with the hugely successful Addams Family in 2015 and following with Shrek last summer, Clement said they were looking for a big family musical.

“We wanted to do Annie before but the rights weren’t available,” Clement said. “The rights just became available last year so we announced Annie, simply because we feel it’s a production that involved families, a lot of children and since we’re a growing theater, we can grow from the bottom up.”

Roussel, who is on the group’s board, said the future of the organization looks as bright at Annie’s future.

“We try to make sets and we try to put on a show that people want to be part of,” he said.

“We are heading in the right direction.”