The Neverending Story premiered last weekend in the Chesterton High School auditorium and took everyone’s breath away. Based on the children’s book by Micheal Ende, The Neverending Story is about our main character Bastian as he accidentally embarks on a journey to try and help Atreyu, the main character in The Neverending Story, who will stop at nothing to save his home, Fantastica. The audience is transported to this wonderful world with the incredible work of our cast and crew as well as stunning sets and props. 

CHS Family Theater Production is an event that friends and family look forward to every year and for good reason. Directed by Justin Martinson, this play brings audience members on a magical journey through Fantastica with our main characters Bastian (played by sophomore Destiny Williams-Najzer) and Atreyu (played by senior Olivia Vogel). The cast brought an amazing energy to the stage and their acting was top-notch. 

The winter play has a lot of room for creativity within the props and sets and this year it definitely did not disappoint. Justin Martinson and Emily Wilt designed all of the incredible, outstanding sets, while Mike Koziczyinski built all of the sets. They put so much thought and creativity into each project which made the play so much more alive. Along with the sets, costumes and props were designed and created by none other than our very own CHS librarian, Emily Wilt. Wilt did a fantastic job of making the costume and prop pieces so unique and making them stand out. Costumes such as Falkor (played by junior Ava Johnson) and Morla (played by sophomore Logan Arthur) were truly out of this world and had so much detail it was insane! 

I had a deep appreciation for the dialogue in this production. While most of the plays in the past have been more humor based, this one definitely was more dramatic. Yes, there were many hilarious moments throughout the play, but I loved how I got to witness more dramatics this year among the actors. Every actor did a fabulous job performing and it was obvious how hard everyone had worked to make this story come alive. 

Another important note that made the play more magical was the stage crew. Everything from Falkors body, the puppeteers of Eribo, as well as the terrifying, looming, nothing. Their helping hands behind the scenes added so much more to the show and it was amazing to see challenging prop and costume pieces come to life on stage. 

Family theater is not only a place to create memorable performances, but it is also a place for high school students to come together and make new friends and memories. 

“The Family Theater production is a close group of friends, and I have had numerous students say that this was the most impactful activity that they ever did in high school. We make positive differences in the world,” says director Justin Martinson. 

The Neverending Story had an overwhelming success and was and still is one of the most anticipated events held at CHS this year. The cast and crew did an incredible job of transporting the audience into a magical new world and everyone can not be more thrilled for whatever journey they will be taking on next year’s production.