A roller skating extravaganza at Libertyville High School

The Libertyville High School Theatre and Fine Arts Department is performing its 2015 fall musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Starlight Express," this weekend.

In an unusual change of pace, the cast is entirely on roller skates throughout the show, making rehearsals high-energy as students learn their choreography on wheels.

"It is a crazy undertaking. However, the staff decided they wanted to take on the creative process that is 'Starlight Express," said director Christopher Thomas. "Over half the cast had never put on quad roller skates at the beginning. It is amazing to see the progress that they have all done."

The theatrical extravaganza is a combination story of "Cinderella" and "Thomas the Tank Engine," with students racing through the audience and entering and exiting on skating ramps erected throughout the auditorium.

"It is the unique production that I have ever been a part of," laughed sophomore Jack Miller, who plays Rusty the Steam Train, after racing around the set on roller skates. "It is highly different because everyone is moving so fast and change formations so quickly that it is really visually appealing. It is bizarre and fantastic!"

The production can be seen Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Butler Lake Auditorium. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students.