The drawback of running a theater based on young people is that they all grow up and move on. Of course, this makes way for new talented youth to have their hour upon the stage, but it’s still bittersweet.

One actor who says he has “grown up” on the CSTOCK stage is Eric Engelhard, who graduated this year from Central Kitsap High School and will be heading to the University of Washington next week, cutting loose from the safe haven of local theater.

In what will perhaps be his last CSTOCK performance, Engelhard is going out on top, playing the lead role of Ren in the musical “Footloose,” opening Sept. 15.

Engelhard’s parents, Dan and Leslie Engelhard, are also fixtures in local theater. Sometimes it’s hard to tell where one family ends and the other begins.

Looking around at the cast of 40-some actors, Engelhard said he has performed with almost all of them.

“It’s a really tight-knit family,” he said. “Once you’re in it you don’t leave easily. Closing night is going to be tough.”

Director Greg Williams agreed, saying, “I feel like this is one huge family, full of love and respect.”

Williams teaches history, language arts and theater arts at Central Kitsap Junior High, then heads to the theater every night for rehearsals.

Nearly two weeks before opening night, the effort Williams and the cast have put into the production was evident. From dancing to singing to memorizing lines, the actors looked comfortable and confident. If they’re a family, they’re one that gets along extremely well.

Williams said the key to a good play, even if it’s a musical, is character development.

“We take these characters totally seriously. It’s cheating the audience if these characters are not believable,” he said. “These kids have worked so hard on character development. They’ve really dug deep to get into their character.”

The key to that character development was to have each actor invent a deep, dark secret about their character; something from their past that shaped who they are today. Just like real life.

In an exercise that deepened the family bond, the actors then shared those secrets.

Because of the depth that exercise brings to the characters Williams said the musical was “scary good.”

“Some of these kids could step on stage on Broadway,” he said.

Choreographer Diane Lau has seen to it that the performers move synchronistically to the snappy 1980s dance tunes, and vocal director Charles Platten has fine-tuned their singing to make it as enjoyable as the dancing.

“Footloose” is a rare bird in that it was first a movie then a Broadway musical. The 1984 movie starred Kevin Bacon as Ren, Lori Singer as his love interest, the minister’s daughter Ariel, John Lithgow as the Rev. Shaw Moore, and a 19-year-old named Sarah Jessica Parker as Ariel’s friend Rusty.

In the CSTOCK version Ariel is played by Emily Usher, veteran of many CSTOCK productions, Charles Platten plays the Rev. Moore and Diosa Werner plays Rusty. Ed Jacobs plays Rusty’s dance-challenged boyfriend Willard.

Kerry Hooks plays the minister’s wife, Vi, while Justin Beal plays Ariel’s bad boy boyfriend, Chuck.

The musical is bursting with songs that will be familiar to anyone who remembers the ‘80s, or listens to soft rock radio, including “Footloose,” “Let’s Hear It For The Boy,” “Holding Out For A Hero” and “Waiting For A Girl Like You.”

The plot of “Footloose” revolves around Ren McCormack, who moves from Chicago with his mother Ethel, played by Christine Usher, to the small farming town of Bomont. There he is horrified to find that the Reverend has put a ban on rock music and dancing.

Ren sets about getting the ban lifted, making friends and enemies in the process. Along the way we learn that the Reverend is overprotective of his daughter after losing his only son in an accident.

“We all make choices in life, some good and some bad,” Williams said. “But there’s always hope. There has to be room for hope and redemption.”

“Footloose,” for all its dancing and singing, is ultimately a story of reconciliation, he said.

At the end of the play, when the Reverend is on his knees, Williams predicted the audience will be, too.

“It’s an intense story with moments of humor — and great dancing and singing.”

“Footloose” opens Sept. 15 at the Silverdale Community Center, 9729 Silverdale Way NW, Silverdale, and continues weekends through Oct. 8. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays.

Tickets are $12 adults, $10 seniors and students, $7 age 11 and under, available at the Kitsap Mall information booth and the door.