MARSHALL — True Light Christian School students will take the stage next week to host public performances of their spring musical, “Splash Kingdom.”

“Every year, we do a musical as part of a evangelistic tool to share the gospel,” True Light first grade teacher and play director Angie Kesteloot said. “It also gives the kids an opportunity to learn how to perform.”

The play includes about 100 students, kindergarten through sixth grade.

Fifth and sixth graders tried out for solo acting positions in January, and the younger grades are involved with the musical aspect of the show.

“All the little kids sing, and then each grade does a choreography for each song,” Kesteloot said. “They come with props, like my first graders have little surfboards and floaties.”

The storyline will take the audience through the student’s journey about learning and following religion.

“They’re (the students) coming to a water park and they’re trying to get in, and they can’t figure out why they can’t get into Splash Kingdom … They say, ‘Hey, there’s a lifeguard. Can you let me in?,'” Kesteloot said. “He says, ‘You need to know Jesus, the CEO and our lifeguard, the one that saves our lives’ … It goes through the whole process, and then at the end, the gate opens and they get to go into the water park.”

The students throughout the course of the show will follow a textbook for “Lifesaving 101,” which refers to the Bible.

“They’re really enjoying it. They are a fantastic group of kids that work really well together. It’s been fun,” Kesteloot said.

While pursuing a deeper meaning, the show incorporates a variety of music and props, and works to get all students involved in a fun way.

“Each song showcases a different grade … It’s dance, singing and acting,” Kesteloot said. “We even have one song where the kids are wearing gloves and we have black light, so the whole stage is dark, but just the glow (of the gloves).”

For the soloists, the cast features students Kash Richards, Kyler Greenhoff, Kinsley Nawrocki, Christina Fixen, Kiera DeRuyter and Judah Galbraith.

The cast was directed by Kesteloot, music by Sheri Sternke, and choreography directed by Tim Loe and Becca Flores.

There will be a matinee on Wednesday, April 30, at 12:45 p.m., and shows following on May 1 and May 2 at 6:30 p.m. The event is free to the public.

“Just seeing all the kids’ hard work pay off, and them having confidence to share the gospel, that’s the main thing,” Kesteloot said. “It teaches them that they have a voice, they can be bold and stand in front of people and declare God’s promises. That’s the best part about this job.”