Barbara Lawlor, Gilpin County.   In 2018, the classic A Wrinkle in Time will be released as a movie starring Reece Witherspoon. But you don't have to wait to see a new, modern spin on the play: the Gilpin School Eagle's theater program is presenting their 90’s version of the show, which depicts the journey of Meg, her brother and a friend to find her missing scientist father.

The show will be performed on Thursday and Friday, April 20 and 21 at 7pm and Saturday, 22 at Noon.

The story line is fantasy and science fiction: Meg Murry, a high school student, is transported through time and space with her brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin O'Keefe on a mission to rescue her father from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another planet.

During the course of her adventure, Meg is transformed from an awkward, plain girl, fraught with insecurities to a strong and loving young woman. Meg's father has been missing for a year when Mrs. Whatsit arrives: a celestial being, disguised as a tramp, who can read Meg's mind. She has come to explain the Tesseract, a wrinkle in time and space that will allow Meg to search for her dad.

Meg and Charles and Calvin get together and learn that the universe is threatened by a daunting evil called the Dark Thing, a huge cloud that engulfs the stars. One of the planets, Camazotz, holds Meg's dad prisoner.

The three teens step through the wrinkle in the curtain and set off to rescue Meg and Charles' father.

Last Saturday, April 8, 2017, the Wrinkle cast gathered in the Eagle auditorium for a five-hour rehearsal including the working of the new LED lighting system made available by a Allen Greene Foundation grant.

Director Hannah Raynes explained that a high school play production can cost up to $16,000 and before the show even begins rehearsal, the students are out raising funds to pay for their shot on the stage.

One of the main pieces of the set this year is the Tesser, the wrinkle that is the gateway to time and space travel. It is a huge round mechanism set on a spindle that allows the circular form to rotate. When the strobe lights hit the shimmering, spinning globe, it appears to engulf the teens in its light and movement.

Raynes says the fabric used on the structure was the same flying scarves used in Peter Pan. The three pieces of cloth cost $300 apiece.

As the lighting testing went on, the cast rehearsed various scenes. Their lines are good to go, it's a matter of timing with the lighting crew and sets.

Gilpin spring plays include all the schools with middle school and high school playing the speaking cast and elementary school students playing the chorus, with a dance mixed in.

A Wrinkle in Time Cast List

Narrators/Featured Singers and Tesserers: Alicia Johnson and Sarah Trujillo

Meg: Alyssa Webb

Charles Wallace: Caleb Murphy

Calvin: Aidan Freeman

Mrs. Whatsit: Isabel Szucs

Mrs. Who: Anna Yocom

Mrs. Which: Clare Diekman

Students: Archer O'Brien, Lance Prewitt, Aucklynn Sacco, Katelyne O'Sullivan and Ashton Turkaly

Mother: Trystin Swan

Father: Joel Layton

Teacher: Halle Yocom

Chris Henderson: Zach Gebhart

Principal Jenkins: Aspen Nadeau

Postmistress: Hannah Lozano

Happy Medium: Carly Johnson

Red Eyes: Logan Prewitt

Camazotzian 1: Taby Gray

Camazotzian 2: Brier Randall

Camazotzian 3: Cassidy Wood

Camazotzian Kids/Dancers: Archer O'Brien, Aucklynn Sacco, Katelyne O'Sullivan, Ashton Turkaly, Lance Prewitt, Halle Yocom

Girl: Esmee Halsted

Billy: William Warren

Dark Dancers: Aspen Nadeau and Courtney Holmes

Aunt Beast: Kristen Hardman

Beast: Zach Gebhart