Almost every story has a moral, an underlying meaning.

Director Gabe Whitman wants his student actors to understand the story's meaning, embrace it and embody it. It may be the only way for the cast to effectively relay that message to the audience.

"We're learning life lessons," said Whitman. "I love being able to share lessons with (involved students). The show is about finding family, maybe not in the most common places, and learning to adapt. These kids are coming from all different areas of experiences and working together. This show is definitely relating to those aspects."

Conestoga Valley High School (CVHS) will present its interpretation of "The Curious Savage" at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14, and Saturday, Nov. 15, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16, inside the school's auditorium at 2110 Horseshoe Road, Lancaster. There will also be a special senior citizens' performance of the play on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 6 p.m.

Tickets will be available at the box office the night of the show or prior to the show at https://cur8.com/448/project/134578.

The two-hour play will be presented in three acts and will include an intermission in the middle of the second act.

"What we're hoping is for the audience to experience some things that they may be able to relate to," said Whitman. "Maybe one of the characters or the feeling of maybe having to find family in places that they didn't expect. That's one of the things that Ethel Savage is trying to figure out. We hope the audience sees that and connects."

There are 45 CVHS students involved in the staging of "The Curious Savage," 18 of whom make up the cast. The rest of those students are serving as stage crew, light crew and sound crew members, and helping with costumes.

"These students are a mix of marching band kids, athletes and a bunch of other activities not related to theater things," said Whitman. "But some are theater minded."

The plot revolves around the interaction of lead character Mrs. Ethel Savage, played by sophomore Clementine Johnson, and five mental hospital patients. Portraying those roles are Reagan Bradley as Florence, Phillip Le as Hannibal, Madelyn Lehman as Fairy May, Isaiah Baughman as Jeffrey and Paisley Stoltzfus as Mrs. Paddy.

In the bittersweet comedy, Savage is a wealthy widow committed to a sanitarium by her greedy stepchildren.

"When I saw my name on the cast list for this show, I couldn't have been more thrilled," said Madelyn. "Being in this show has been such an incredible experience; it is truly an amazing group of people to work with. Participating in this show has not only made me a better actor, but a better person. Everybody involved has worked so hard to make this show spectacular."

The play is a one-set show, but it requires many props and scenery pieces to pull off.

"We were looking for a show that was a little less popular, something different," said Whitman. "We stumbled on this one. It's a comedy, but also a drama. We have a lot of young actors, and we wanted to work with them as characters and on how to move on stage."

Work on "The Curious Savage" began during the first week of September and progressed with auditions, callbacks, a parent meeting, read-throughs and work on scenes. As opening night approached, the student actors began running scenes off book, and costumes were added to pull everything together.

"The students had a good understanding of the show going in," said Whitman. "The students have been putting in a lot of hard work. The students have been really, really progressing. It's been neat to see how they're progressing."

For the cast and crew, these four upcoming performances are really the payoff, a destination at the end of a long journey. Being on stage with castmates who have become friends and being supported by family members, role models and teachers makes all the hard work worth it.

"It really is a culmination," said Whitman. "It takes all of them working together for this to come together. I'm directing them and leading them, but then it's on them to create the show. On the nights of the show, it's hands-off and on them. There's always this small doubt like, 'Is it going to come together?' Then it's 'Oh my gosh, it does work.' When they get it right, seeing those moments, that's definitely where it's at."