Students from Pacelli High School and Queen of Angels School will transform into characters of the Roman Empire as they present the play "Androcles and the Lion" this weekend and next weekend.

Seb Schroet, a sophomore at Pacelli who plays Croesus, explains the play is about Androcles, a citizen of the Roman Empire who is moving to Rome with his wife. On his way, Schroet says, he meets a lion with a thorn in its paw.

Androcles bravely removes the thorn from its paw, but his wife is so afraid of the creature, she runs away into the woods. She is captured by slave traders, as is Androcles when he tries to find her.

They are both forced into slavery and try to find a way to get out of it.

Jared Petersen, the director and social studies teacher at Pacelli, describes the production as "a gentle play … it's a light-hearted play with lots of music.

He says he chose to do this play because "I like doing musicals once in awhile and I like doing light-hearted productions.

It's a play that will make people laugh."

These qualities make it a production geared toward a broad audience. "I think it will appeal to people aged anywhere from elementary students to senior citizens," Chris Bergstrom, a freshman who plays Androcles.

"If you have an appreciation for theater, you'll like this play. I don't think it would appeal to children younger than preschool as much because I don't think they would get the meaning as well as older children."

"It's very funny," Ashley Dooley, a seventh-grader at Queen of Angels says.

"I think mostly little kids and teenagers will like it.

Adults would like it too, but I think little kids and teenagers would like it more."

"It's a fun play," Jena Parlin, a seventh-grader at Queen of Angels adds.

Liz Rosenthal, a seventh-grader at Queen of Angels also adds the play is "a little kids' story … there's a lot of singing and dancing."

"It's good wholesome entertainment.

It's great for kids … and it has a moral," Petersen says. "Actually, it has a couple of morals-doing a good deed pays off in the long run and Androcles goes out of his way to help everyone without thinking of himself."

BREAKOUT BOX!!!!

If you go:

When: 7 p.m. April 5, 6, 12 and 13.

Where: Pacelli High School Auditorium

Tickets: $3 for students, $5 for adults and $15 for a family package of tickets

More information: 437-3278

Call Amanda L. Rohde at 434-2214 or e-mail her at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com