<p>Jimmy, played by J.C. Cooley, sings a song in "Thoroughly Modern Millie."</p>

Its rumored that Millie Dillmount is in the area. Watch out: Shes bobbed her hair and learned to Charleston. Dim the lights, and start the show. Naselle High School presents its spring 2013 high school musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. If you are fortunate enough to attend one of the five performances, get ready to tap your toes and clap your hands.

The play winner of six Tony Awards, including best musical is set in the rip-roaring and racy 1920s of New York City. Small-town Kansas girl Millie Dillmount (played by Kayti Nelson), arrives in the Big Apple with one modern goal in mind: Shes out to land a rich husband. Instead, she finds herself drawn to Jimmy Smith (Jayson Cooley), a smart-mouthed apparent nobody with a mean streak, a funny side and as you might have guessed underneath it all, a heart of gold. Better yet, come and see the play where youll also meet the sinister Mrs. Meers (Mary Wirkkala), failed actress and owner of the Hotel Priscilla, a young womens boarding house with a lucrative and bustling white slavery business on the side. When Millie asks what happened to her old neighbor, Ethel, the evil Mrs. Meers says she got an acting job in the Orient! Add a couple of Chinese immigrants; poisoned apples; Dorothy (Shalin Wulf), a rich girl looking to live poor; and Trevor Graydon III (Cole Bergerson) a rich and very eligible bachelor with a team of tap-dancing secretaries. An extremely lively and captivating ensemble sing, tap and Charleston the play forward.

NHS teacher Barbara Swanson is officially known as the drama director but also the music director, stage director and overall coordinator of the whole thing, which includes finding many others to help me, she says. We use one vocal coach, two light directors, two sound directors, one costume designer, several seamstresses, choreographers, two set designers, painters, two make-up designers, a make-up crew, etc., etc., etc. It doesnt work without all of my people.

Naselle, Wash., is a jewel of a small town, located 12 miles up Washintong Highway 401. The high schools formal name is Naselle Grays River Valley, but its known as Naselle High by locals. Directing and collecting the large Thoroughly Modern Millie cast and stage crew, comprised almost entirely of Naselle students grades seven through 12, is a feat in itself. All of the participating students have other after school commitments: sports, jobs, band and thats just for starters.

Millie, aka Kayti Nelson, is busy with basketball, volleyball and band in addition to play practice. Shes from an all-musical family with members who all play an instrument, and, as Kayti said, were always singing. Her two sisters, Kelsi and Karli, are NHS alums, appearing in every production Swanson has put on. Kelsi is also the casts vocal coach.

Jimmy, known around the school as Jayson Cooley (J.C. to his pals), starts his day early taking care of his familys 200 chickens, including Anacondas and Rhode Island Reds. Its more of a have-to thing than a hobby, he said. Cooley just returned from competing in a State Knowledge Bowl tournament with the NHS team in Arlington, Wash. Theres little to no slack time in any of performers schedules. Its a musical miracle that Swanson gets the show produced but shes been making it work for 15 years at NHS.

Spring musicals are in the air. Seaside High School just completed a run of Changing Minds, a musical thats delightfully bright, laugh-out-loud funny and had the audience singing and clapping along, wrote Sayde Moser in the Seaside Signal. At Ilwaco High School, the musical A Rockin Tale of Snow White was just performed. It featured singing bats and a rapping mirror definitely a show worth going to, wrote Hailey Keast in the Chinook Observer.

Memorizing lines and song-and-dance routines has a plethora of learned life time benefits. Bonding as a part of a theater production takes commitment and dedication, develops self confidence and public speaking skills, and encourages ongoing creativity. A UCLA study concluded that students involved in the arts tend to achieve higher academic performances and better standardized test scores: nearly 100 points better on the SATs, according to another study by The College Board.

With all the singing and dancing, cast and audience are sure to have a good time together at NHS. Musical theater, an art in our area high schools, benefits all ages. Encore! Encore! Keep those toes tapping and hands clapping.