Our Town: Students prepare for Feb. 4-5 'Sleeping Beauty' shows

After the lockers empty and the school buses take off, Libby Middle School is quieter, but not yet silent.

Students in the after-school program speak in low voices as they complete their homework in classrooms, but behind a closed door in the blue pod, about 40 students rehearse for the school’s ninth annual musical production, “Sleeping Beauty.”

The creepy goons contort their bodies and practice their best sneer. The forest animals elegantly sashay with their flowers and sing like tinkling bells. And the fairies giggle with Princess Aurora, the innocent cursed beauty.

Anything is possible in a world where 9- to 14-year-olds can sing, dance and act their way to a full-length musical production. With tireless help from teachers in directing, set design, costumes, music and lights, and with three rehearsals per week since December, the young actors will be ready to present their production to the public on Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. at the Libby Memorial Center.