North Polk Theater is in full swing with the coming fall musical “Tuck Everlasting” put on by choir instructor Tyler Harper, with a cast composed of the band and choir students. 

The musical, which will be showing on Nov. 12 and 13(times to be determined), was decided last spring, but practice did not start until Sept. 1.

The musical is based on a novel, under the same title, written by Natalie Babbitt, and is about a young girl, Winnie Foster, who has to keep an immortal family she encounters a secret. Their lives become intertwined and Foster is forced to make a life-changing decision. 

Harper described the message of the musical as, “choosing to live the best life possible.”

To decide who was going to be cast as lead roles, Harper first has them sing a small section of a song from the musical. With this

process, he whittled the potential leads from 66 students down to 32. After, the auditioners left standing were asked to read scenes from the musical, they were scored a four point scale to see who received the best marks and was fit for a lead role. From there, it is based on who fits the best for each individual role. 

Like past years, the musical will have an A cast and a B cast. These are not based on talent, it just gives more students the opportunity to have a lead role. 

Having two separate casts can cause some challenges when it comes to practices, but Harper has found a way to optimize everyone’s time. Both casts practice at the same time and “they literally speak together and sing together so that the timing [of the show] is identical. That way if somebody is sick in one cast they can cover and there’s no variation,” explained Harper. 

The ensemble, or the cast members that do the background singing and dancing, have started learning their allotted music for the musical during choir class, but will join the leads at practice in two weeks. This ensures that the leads have the majority of their blocking down and music down before making the process more complicated by adding a whole other part of the cast. 

The lead roles are really putting all their time and energy into practices every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday night from 6:30 to 9. and Monday Mornings for sectional work. 

Angel Lindell, a senior who plays Mae Tuck in the show, is excited to perform for the North Polk Community. “I’m most looking forward to the performance. That’s my favorite time because the blocking and music is all learned, I’m confident in the material, and I get to show people the work and skill I put into the show,” stated Lindell. 

Playing opposite Lindell is senior Jack Vandekrol, who plays Angus Tuck.

Together, they make up the mother and father to the immortal Tuck family. 

Vandekrol explained that he is, “most looking forward to building new relationships with all of the new members of the cast this year.” 

Tickets go on sale for the musical “Tuck Everlasting” on the night of Oct. 13, directly after the high school choir concert, and will be available on the North Polk School District website. 

Lindell noted that, “Students should watch the show because a lot of really talented people put a lot of effort into it. Also, profits made from performances go directly into the budget of the following year’s production, so buying a ticket ensures that students can continue to perform. In addition, this year’s set, lights, and costumes are going to be super fun and bright, so it will be a sight to see.”

Vandekrol also thinks that, “students should watch the show because the cast is full of amazing, talented people who are going to do a superb job at telling the story of the Tucks.”