Thunder Theater Company is putting up their final production for the school year, 13 the Musical. The show features many talented students including lead role, Alex Silver and supporting roles played by Jack Walton and Rozie Rafacz. Auditions for the show were held the week before winter break. As a whole, the cast said that auditions were especially nerve-racking and stressful.

Alex Silver says, “I thought I was going to get cut, honestly.”

13 is a coming of age story, but not your typical coming of age story. Evan Goldman, the main role, is a boy who is about to turn 13. He is dealing with lots of problems, both at home and at school, while he struggles to figure out who he is. His issues start with the common struggle for kids nowadays of his parents getting divorced, but on top of that he is forced to move from New York City to the middle of nowhere. He is the new kid in town who wants nothing more than to be cool. As his bar mitzvah approaches, he makes it his goal to get all the coolest kids in town to come to his party, while still pleasing everyone, including the semi-geeky girl who has been by his side since the moment he moved into town.

Silver, a freshman, when asked about his character, Evan, also says, “He doesn’t quite know where he belongs yet and that is his biggest struggle.”

Rozie Rafacz a sophomore who is highly involved in community theater, adores being on stage.

She says, “I like being different characters.”

When she was little she was very shy, so her mother put her into dance to gain confidence. However, Rafacz did not like dance at all, so her mom tried putting her in theater instead and she has been quite the actress ever since.

Rafacz’ character, Patrice, is a shy but independent 7th grade girl. She isn’t liked by the other students, but she has her friend Archie and when Evan comes to town, they are all she needs. Throughout the show, Patrice stays clearly separated from the majority of the characters and she isn’t in many of the group things.

Rafacz says, “I like that since Patrice is an outcast, when I am onstage I am kinda the center of attention.”

Rafacz relates to her character because “I only have acquaintances, not really good friends. But she has it way worse.”

Jack Walton, a freshman, plays the character of Brett. He prefers musicals to plays because he loves to sing, however Walton likes both.

When asked what got him into acting he immediately responded, “I was never good at sports and I always danced around my house singing.”

Brett is the star quarterback at his school. He is extremely rude and mean to other students, and very cocky.

Walton says, “Brett is full of himself but at the same time, you can relate to him. We both get incredibly nervous around girls.”

All three actors had plenty to say when asked what makes the show unique:

Silver said, “We’re packing a lot of talent into just one show. We put so much of our hearts and souls and so much of our time into it.”

Rafacz said, “You can relate to when you were thirteen.”

And Walton said, “What makes this show special? The people, the director, and the fact that it’s looking back on a moment in your life when you were going through all these changes.”

Other cast members also had plenty of input of their own when it came to why people should come and see this show.

Emily Godin, who plays a perky cheerleader, says, “It deals with adult problems in that middle school sense. And there is lots of high school/adult humor you wouldn’t expect.”

William Lombardi says, “The show will be memorable and very intimate. You definitely feel like you are a part of the show, right there with the actors.”

Amanda Pearson says, “People should come see the show because it’s a ton of fun and absolutely hilarious. It’s such a special show because there’s something everyone could relate to.”

Sami Maxwell says, “It’s so funny and has awesome songs that will be stuck in your head! People are going to laugh as they remember “that’s how it was when I was thirteen.’”