SHORT TAKES : ‘Annie 2’ Star Too Old for Role

Danielle Findley, 12, found out just how fickle show business can be.

The Kansas City, Kan., schoolgirl won a nationwide search to star in the musical “Annie 2,” went through rehearsals and suffered through the rewrites and bad reviews the play received during its run in Washington. The show was such a bomb the producers decided not to take it to Broadway.

The creators have now decided to revive “Annie 2” but Danielle was told that she won’t be a part of it. Director-lyricist Martin Charnin had the job of giving Danielle the news. “She just grew up too fast,” he told the New York Daily News. “I was having a problem. By the time we get to Broadway, it’ll be Christmas and she’ll be too old.” The new Annie is Lauren Gaffney, 10, of Summit, N.J., who is now appearing with Debby Boone in “The Sound of Music.”