Like the titular character in the musical student actors will perform on stage, the community will only have a limited time to see Dowagiac’s young talents in action this weekend, as the school district presents this year’s spring musical, “Cinderella.”

The show will take the stage inside Dowagiac Middle School’s Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. on Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available at the door for $7.

The musical is a rendition of the original Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, based on the classic European fairytale. The school wanted to do a production of the show last year, but was unable to secure the rights in time, instead going with another family friendly production of “Annie.”

While still incorporating the magical elements seen in other versions of the story, the show is more reality based, set during the 1860s. The actors, who have been rehearsing since January, spent a lot of time researching the time period in order to find appropriate costuming and help them develop their characters, according to Director Meredith Marrs.

“This is not the Disney version, so we’re trying to stay true to the original time period it’s set in,” she said.

As in previous musicals, students from sixth through 12th grade were invited to the auditions, which were held back in November, Marrs said. The two leads, sophomore Lauren Smith as Cinderella and Junior Destin Vongphakdy as the Prince, have been participating in the annual musicals since they were in middle school, working their way up from bit roles in earlier productions to starring roles.

“I’m excited,” Vongphakdy said. “It’s a chance I’ve been looking forward to for as long as I can remember.”

While many new faces have joined the ranks for this year’s play, the cast is starting to gel pretty nicely together as the days tick down to opening night, Vongphakdy said. The cast held its first dress rehearsal on Friday, practicing into the evening.

A tried-and-true classic the whole family can enjoy, Marrs said that she is hoping that the community will come out support the young actors, to see the results of the hard work and dedication they have poured into the show these last few months.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “We have the kids in all the right parts. They match their characters perfectly. For some, it’s not much a stretch for them to get into character.”