Potomac Elementary School fifth-graders take the stage this week in four performances of "Honk," a musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "Ugly Duckling."
The play is parent-directed and largely student-run. Parents said that the spring production gives fifth-graders a last chance to shine as the top dogs at Potomac before moving on to middle school.
Potomac Principal Linda Goldberg said it's also a way to stimulate interest in the performing arts as the students head to Hoover, where interest in the annual Gilbert and Sullivan production has dwindled.
At a final dress rehearsal March 24, students scrambled and parent directors tweaked, but cast members said they were ready.
Backstage, boys goofed and girls gossiped between scenes, evidently ready for middle school.