As they prepare to present Disney's "Aladdin Jr.," the ninth- and 10th grade cast and crew have been busy for months bringing the fictional city of Agrabah to the Parkland High School stage.

According to Director Elizabeth Smith, the play is approximately 1-1/2 hours long and is the junior version of the musical "Aladdin."

"We do this show with our ninth- and 10 graders and then perform it for all the elementary schools," Smith said. "Our school is so large we wanted to let especially our younger kids coming in [to high school] have the opportunity to get into a production."

Choreographed and produced with the talents of Kristen Smith and Andrea Roposh, respectively, there are plenty of large production numbers filled with singing and dancing.

The musical numbers include favorites such as "Prince Ali," "Friend Like Me" and "A Whole New World."

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Gonzalez, a ninth grader who played several roles in productions at Springhouse Middle School, makes her debut at the high school in the role of Jasmine.

"I love she's feisty," Gonzalez said of her character. "It's kind of fun to play angry. She (Jasmine) always stands up for herself and never lets anyone boss her around."

Aladdin is played by ninth grader Alex Atiyeh, a former Orefield Middle School student.

He spoke with The Press about how and why he began acting.

"My cousin was in theater and she told me to audition for a show," Atiyeh said. "At first, I didn't really want to, but I auditioned and made it. My first show was 'Suessical,' and I really loved it."

He also commented about his starring role.

"The role of Aladdin just comes kind of natural for me," Atiyeh said.

Gonzalez and Atiyeh laugh about the chemistry required between Jasmine and Aladdin, their onstage characters.

"It was kind of interesting," said Gonzalez. "We didn't know each other because we came from completely different schools.

"Now we always laugh at it."

"We just kinda grew into it," Alex added.

Playing the role of Genie in "Aladdin, Jr." is Reese Diaz, who performed on Broadway and with the first national tour of Mary Poppins as Michael Banks.

"He's really funny and quirky," Reese said about his role as the Genie. "He gets to dance and mess around a lot."

William McMahon plays Jafar, and his cast mates agree his evil laugh is terrifying.

"For this particular show, I just really like playing the bad guy," McMahon said. "I mean, you really can't have a story without the bad guy."

Fellow bad guy and companion to Jafar, Iago is played by Ben Quaglio.

"It's funny because I'm like a parrot," said Quaglio. "I just like mocking people."

Jacob Adam plays the Sultan.

"Performing is just something I really like doing," he said.

A production this large requires student involvement beyond the on-stage players.

Behind the scenes, upperclassmen have the chance to showcase their creativity.

"One of the things interesting about our family show is our crew does everything," Smith said.

"They build everything. They help design it. Our juniors and seniors stage manage it. They run the sound. They come up with creative ideas. All of this is theirs."

Alyssa Tauber is a senior and president of the newly formed National Art Honor Society.

She and other art students have spent hours preparing intricate and colorful scenery for the show.

"We did all the stenciling, especially in the marketplace set," she said. "It's really fun. I never did anything like this before, on such a large scale."

Tauber, who would like to attend either the University of Arts in Philadelphia or Maryland Institute College of Art, is excited about the exposure to the theater she received through this production.

There are more than 150 costumes worn during the show.

Under the guidance of faculty member Amanda Abdelaal, a team of students including Tori Karlovits, Natalie Trachtman, Alex Rossetti and Michaela Boyer have literally searched the world for the colorful creations.

"Some costumes, we even flew in from India and China," said sophomore Tori Karlovits. "I would really like to go into the field of fashion design and it's been really fun being part of this show."

According to Musical Director Christine Lerew, students even play an integral role in the show's pit band, as student musicians Grace Lerew on keyboard and percussionists Sam Gerry and Ben Rose lend their talents to the production.

The cast of Disney's "Aladdin Jr.," especially the freshmen, have learned to work together.

Most have come from successful roles at Springhouse or Orefield middle schools and are now creating a new world together as they begin their high school careers.

"I just love working with these students," Smith said. "They learn, I think, that it doesn't have to be about competition."

"I tell them the production is great, but it's about the process, the journey that we're all on together.

"'Aladdin, Jr.' is really about the power of friendship to transform the world."

"Aladdin Jr." will be performed 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14; 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Nov. 15 and 3 p.m. Nov. 16 in the auditorium.