Rehearsals for the all-school musical “Mary Poppins” are in full swing in preparation for the Oct. 22-25 performances. The lead will be played by senior Kaylee Willner.

“I felt extremely excited when I found out I was going to be playing Mary Poppins,” Willner said.” It almost felt like a dream because I found out a while before the cast list went up, so it was hard keeping my secret because no one else was supposed to know.”

Willner added that this production will require cast member to stretch their limits.

“Mary Poppins is going to be better than past West Shore plays because there’s going to be a lot more dancing in it, so all of the students involved will be able to showcase that side of their talents,” Willner said. More than 200 students — ranging in age from middle schol to high school — will be displaying their talents.

“It’s probably the biggest organization in this school,” director Maureen Fallon said. “A lot of kids do come to the shows and support them. [Members of] the Senior class are always the leaders when we go to do musicals. We have a really good senior class this year. I think it’s going to be great.”

Costuming will be based around early 20th century England’s middle class, staying true to the iconic looks of the original “Mary Poppins,” according to Shannon Reppert, the school’s costume department head. “It’s a time period, making sure you fit [the costumes] in with the time period of the show and that it looks appropriate,” Reppert said. “Costumes are early 1900s, so we’re transitioning [from the] Victorian time period.”

The school’s theater department is financially independent.

“The district does not provide money for  theater programs,” Fallon said. “Theater programs must be able to support themselves. And so when you come to shows and you buy a ticket, [it helps] us to be able to do what we do.”

Preparation for the musical began months ago, and those with  leading roles began to memorize lines during the summer.

“I have prepared for the role by reading the book, watching the movie and watching the stage version of the musical, just anything I can do to really study the character and the music and the script,” Willner said. “I have [also] been working on my British accent for a while. It’s still pretty rusty, but I will get it.”

Tickets are $10, and can be purchased through a link on westshoretheatre.org.