MARION — More than 90% of the actors in the upcoming show at the Marion Art Center are below the age of 18.

For many in the majority-kid cast, it’s the first production they’ve ever been a part of.

There’s probably not a more fitting story that puts that youthful enterprising in the spotlight than “Peter Pan,” which begins performances Friday, Dec. 6.

Of the 24 total actors in the show, 22 are kids. Just Mrs. Darling, the mother of the Darling children, and the maid are portrayed by adults in playwright Craig Sodaro’s adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale.

It’s Aubrey Arsenault-Sousa’s first time doing drama, and though it’s been hard to remember lines for her character Great Big Little Panther, she said the show has been fun.

“It’s really fun working as a team all together to make a show,” Arsenault-Sousa, 12, said. “It's really fun.”

The play is directed by Kate Fishman, who said the kids are “fantastic” and “really having a good time.”

“They do a fantastic job,” Fishman said. “They always step up.”

Natalie Dai, 11, plays Peter Pan. She said she liked the characters and the way they all have different personalities.

“It's been tough, but it's also been really fun to work with other actors that I've never met before," Dai said. “It's fun knowing them and getting to know them.”

Finnian Patrick, 8, said preparing for the show had been fun and that he liked playing the part of Michael Darling.

“I just really wanted to be Michael, and I was just really excited to get the role,” he said.

Ann-Marie Foley, as Mrs. Darling, is one of the two adult actors in the production. She said the show has been “really different” from any other theater experience she’s had yet “really fun.”

“They just have so much energy,” she said. “A lot of them have never done a show before, so it's kind of cool watching them just kind of learn the process and learn their lines, and it's all coming together now at the end.”

Kaylin O’Connor, 12, plays Cookie, one of the pirates. O’Connor said it had “been a little bit stressful” preparing for the play, but she was “feeling very good” about the show starting.

“We've been able to manage getting everyone together, and the show is coming together really well,” she said.

O’Connor said the story of Peter Pan is “a little bit thrilling, very mysterious and very fun.”

All five performances of the production at the Marion Art Center sold out three days before the show’s premiere.

Fishman said there’s just something about the play — a children’s story that also speaks to adults — that “that resonates with everybody.”

“We all have a little Peter Pan in us,” Fishman said.