Familiar characters come alive in middle school play

To The Press:

Spring break doesn’t start for the cast and crew of “The Enchanted Bookshop” until the curtain falls on their last performance this weekend.

Charles City Middle School students will present the play at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday at the North Grand Auditorium. The public is invited and freewill donations will be accepted.

Forty middle school students make up the cast and crew for the play, which tells the tale of a special place where special things happen

During the day, A Likely Story looks like any other store for used books. But at night, it’s a place where magic happens. That’s when the characters inside the books come alive.

Six of those characters — Dorothy Gale, Robin Hood, Pollyanna, Sherlock Holmes, Heidi and Tom Sawyer — long to help Margie, the scatterbrained owner, save her struggling store. But they’re not allowed to leave the building or to be seen by human eyes.

When a pair of smugglers comes looking for a stolen necklace hidden inside one of the books, the characters are torn. Should they warn Margie and risk disappearing forever? Or can they find a way to defeat the crooks without being seen?

The story features additional appearances by literary characters such as the Queen of Hearts, Long John Silver and Doctor Dolittle.

This charming comedy celebrates the joy of reading in a fresh, fun-filled way.

Characters and actors:

• Margie — Hannah Hitchcock.
• Bombalarina — Jillian Mutch.
• Mom — Kaylin Patten.
• Tammy (Timmy) — Katie Prichard.
• Robin Hood — Breyer Ellison.
• Tom Sawyer — Christian Howe.
• Sherlock Holmes — Anders Haglund.
• Toto — Elizabeth Oleson.
• Dorothy — Sydney Otto.
• Heidi — Elise White.
• Pollyanna — Teagan Prigge.
• Book Fairy — Eboni Patterson.
• Lady in Red — Harper McInroy.
• Fagin — Olivia Litterer.
• Long John Silver — Lance Shivers.
• Officer Ketchum — Sincere Collins.
• Fingers — Sophia Jensen.
• Eddie — Griffin Franksain.
• Doctor Doolittle — Natalie White.
• Queen of Hearts — Anna Herberchtsmeyer.
• Frankenstein — Andrew Mohr.
• Wicked Witch — Hannah DeVore.
• Hopalong Cassidy — Randy Bean.

Non-speaking roles:

• Pirate — Sterling Griffin.
• Old Lady who swallowed a fly — Chloe Usher.
• Playing Card — Miracle Kolheim.
• Playing Card — Julia Herman.
• Anne of Green Gables — Tawny Ebel.
• Pippi Longstocking — Sydney Hinz.
• Princess — Kalia Richard.
• Princess — Nevaeh Harrelson.
• Gingerbread Man — Ariana Spencer.

Backstage crew: Connor Loftus, Katelyn Cross, Amber Smith, Rylie Gohr, Leslie Villagomez, Hailee Warnke and Tuezdae Collins.

Sound: Kristen Aikey.