VALDOSTA – Entering the auditorium of The Dosta Playhouse, the stage is filled with what appears to be towering shelves of books. 

Children, teens and adults step from entrances amid the set designed by Dana Welch. They are costumed as a colorful collection of book characters: Sherlock Holmes, Huck Finn, Dorothy, the Wicked Witch of the West, Long John Silver, Dr. Doolittle, Frankenstein, Robin Hood, Pollyanna, Fagin, the Queen of Hearts, etc.

They burst into a song and dance for the opening pun/tune, “A Novel Idea.”

Gingerbread Players of Theatre Guild Valdosta is ready to open “The Enchanted Bookshop Musical” this weekend.

The Guild synopsis: “During the day, A Likely Story may look like any other used bookstore. But at night, it’s a place where magic happens. That’s when the characters inside the books come alive. Six of those characters — Dorothy Gale, Robin Hood, Pollyanna, Sherlock Holmes, Heidi, and Tom Sawyer — long to help Margie, the scatterbrained owner, save her struggling store. But they’re not allowed to leave the building or be seen by human eyes. So, when a pair of smugglers comes looking for a stolen necklace hidden inside one of the books, the characters are torn. Should they warn Margie and risk disappearing forever? Or can they find a way to defeat the crooks without being seen?”

Pauline Player, director, said playwright Tom Wallinger and composer Stephen Murray create a lively show filled with vibrant songs. 

“It’s not so much an enchanted bookshop as a bookshop that is enchanted,” she said. “It becomes enchanted.”

To play on the idea of enchantment, doors are built into the set’s bookshelves, to emphasize the characters are stepping from the pages of their books.

The show also emphasizes the importance of reading. In addition to seeing live theatre, Player said children who attend “The Enchanted Bookshop” will receive a book.

She sees the play as a fun way to learn not only for audiences but for the cast and crew, too.

Traditionally the casts of the Guild’s Gingerbread Players shows are filled with children and youth. But Player wanted a cast that includes children, teenagers and adults, one that includes newcomers and Theatre Guild/Gingerbread Players regulars. 

“I like to mix the cast so everybody can learn from each other,” she said. Player used a similar technique when she directed the Guild’s “The Wizard of Oz” in 2004.

She has also made a point of sharing director duties with others. Sandi Parrish, assistant director, is in charge of directing one scene. Dalton Bell, who plays the role of Officer Ketchum, is the show’s junior director and he was also given a scene to direct.

Player said she wants the next generation of Theatre Guild members prepared to continue The Dosta Playhouse tradition.

“This theatre has been here for 30-plus years,” Player said, “and I want to be sure it’s here another 130 years.”

THE CAST: Tasha Conrad, Kylah Wilson, Harmony Cantu, Samuel Harden, Isaac Darflinger, Brawdy Gupton, Caleb Andres, Lydia Barton, Riley Browning, Rebekah McGee, Nyla Howard, Star Leonard, Lyanah Wilson, Trey Brown, Qian Wilson, Dalton Bell, Taylor Scharfner, Ashton Harden, Sunny Lee, Kristina Latham, Sommers Coleman, Pam Barton, Ezra Barton.

DIRECTION, PRODUCTION: Pauline Player, director; Grant Brown, musical director; Sandi Parrish, assistant director; Dalton Bell, junior director; Star Leonard, choreographer; Patti Robertson, June Bell, producers; Kassandra Morris, stage manager; Kelly Phillips, assistant stage manager; Dana Welch, set design; Brock Gilliard, light design; Josh Robertson, music design; Mary Ann Green, Linda Stikkel, Dana Welch, Pam Barton, Pauline Player, costumes; Kelly Phillips, Sandi Parrish, props; Uma Wilson, light board; Edward Wilson, sound board; Jeremiah Wilson, curtain.  

Gingerbread Players of Theatre Guild Valdosta’s “The Enchanted Bookshop Musical” runs 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday, March 27; 7:30 p.m., April 1-2; 2 p.m., April 3, The Dosta Playhouse, 122 N. Ashley St. More information: Call (229) 24-STAGE or visit www.theatreguildvaldosta.com.