CSHS production, Annie, with a special guest debuts this week

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - Casts and crews for high school productions all around the area are getting ready to take the stage this weekend.

This includes one special guest who will be making history by taking the stage for the College Station High School’s production of Annie.

Junior, Emma West and Senior, Elliott Lewis will star as Annie and Oliver Warbucks. When figuring out the cast list, the group realized they were missing Annie’s lovable companion, Sandy.

Then, she remembered an old classmate and lucky for her, she knew his sister.

“One of Sammy’s owners Rilynn is actually in one of my classes where in the same grade and I was like ‘hey, Sammy should do this like that would be cool,’” Emma said.

CSHS Junior, Rilynn Lewis, asked her brother, Kyler, and their parents about the idea. Just two weeks before the show kicks off, Kyler’s service dog, Sammy, would learn the script.

Kyler has had Sammy for two years, helping detect and warn the family when Kyler is going to have a seizure. Sammy has changed and saved Kyler’s life, since the discovery of an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM.

“He’s like a shadow. He never goes away. Even when I’m hanging out with my friends I’m like ‘mom, can I go to the grocery store, do have to bring Sam? And she’s like, ‘yes, you have to bring Sam,’” Kyler said.

Since getting the gig, Kyler and Sammy have traveled to CSHS to train, learning new commands and following their script. Kyler says Sammy has even befriended the crew, making him a bit jealous.

“He’s kind of betrayed me. But he knows that that’s his job because we’ve been working with them to build a relationship. And, Emma and Sam get along really well together,” he said.

Kyler and his family work to spread awareness about AVM and pediatric strokes. He suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in 2020 due to the congenital blood vessel disease in his brain. Many people diagnosed with this will not know until they are 17 years old.

Kyler has been stoke free for three months and is looking forward to getting back to driving this year. Learn more about the family’s work here.

College Station High Schools production of Annie will debut Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. and run through the weekend. You can find tickets and information here.

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