Jim Thorpe Area High School’s theater department is bringing a magical adventure to the stage with its production of “Peter and the Starcatcher,” which opens today at 5 p.m. in the high school.

The show, cast members said, will take audiences on a journey to discover the origins of Peter Pan, promising an evening filled with humor, heart and a touch of stardust.

Other performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.

Sadie Strack, a senior at Jim Thorpe, will take on the lead role of Peter.

“For me, it’s been kind of weird, because I was always a smaller role in my previous play,” Strack said. “So it’s been kind of crazy to go from a background character to a lead, but honestly, it’s been great.”

Strack emphasized the camaraderie among the cast members, many of whom she has known for years.

“I’ve been with some of the people I’ve been performing with for years, so it’s been really special to me for my senior year to perform with all of them, especially as a lead,” she said.

Reflecting on the experience of bringing Peter’s journey to life, Strack found the growth of her fellow cast members to be the most rewarding part.

“Honestly, just watching all of my friends also get into their roles, just feeling that acting with them has really been special,” she said. “The way we started and where we are now has been a huge difference, and everyone has really gotten into it. I really felt the world come to life, and their performances have made mine better.”

This production of “Peter and the Starcatcher” is particularly meaningful to Strack, as it marks her final performance at Jim Thorpe High School.

“Up until the end of my sophomore year, we didn’t have a theater program,” she said. “Then, thankfully, we got one, so I started my junior year. I wish we could have had more, because I love it, but honestly, I’m just glad to be where we are now. I’m grateful we have a program, because it’s brought so many people a place where they feel like they could belong.”

The cast has been preparing since January, working diligently to bring the story to life.

“We’ve been practicing as much as we can, and everyone has put a lot of love and care and just heart into their characters,” Strack said. “I think it’s really special when you see a bunch of kids who aren’t usually involved in sports or something really get together and perform something, because you can tell that we really love it.”

Last year, the Jim Thorpe theater program staged a musical, but this year, the cast wanted to prove it could take on the challenge of a play.

“Plays are a lot more challenging because you don’t have the music to tell the story — you have to tell the story yourselves,” Strack said. “I just think it’d be really cool for people to see that we can do both, because I think I’m proud of what we’ve done.”