Local children will perform “King Artie and the Knights of the Rad Table” tonight, Friday and Saturday at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts, presented by Rising Star Productions.

The comedic musical follows classic Arthurian legends and is full of wizards, knights and fire-breathing dragons. However, the main characters, Artie and Gwen, are 21st-century teens who are transported back to medieval Camelot after meeting the famous, yet somewhat novice sorcerer Merlin. From there, the trio must protect Camelot from the evil enchantress Morgan le Fay and her minions.

Musical director McCayla Quinn said she chose “King Artie” because she’s recently been trying to find productions with large, diverse casts.

“I was drawn to trying to do a show that the young, boy actors would gravitate toward,” she said. “I feel like I choose a lot of shows that have girls, so the last three shows I’ve tried to do pretty neutral: ‘Peter Pan,’ ‘Jungle Book’ and ‘King Artie.'”

Actors in Rising Star Productions performance of “King Artie and the Knights of the Rad Table” rehearse at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts Sunday. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

Quinn said, in the past, Rising Star has used an upright piano accompaniment and one time a CD recording for its show. This year, Keene Central School music teacher Lynn DeWalt will play music and sound effects on his keyboard.

“I have this marvelous machine I can make different sounds on,” DeWalt said. “So, for the tea we’re going to use a harpsichord. We’re going to have some electric guitar to modernize some of the songs. And were going to do some magic on it as well.”

He played a fluttery arpeggio, which instantly brings to mind Mickey Mouse casting spells in “Fantasia” or Link opening a treasure chest in “The Legend of Zelda.” He said adding sound effects has allowed him to get creative with the show and not just stick to the song book.

“We’ll go along in a scene, and I’m like, ‘Oh, wouldn’t that sound neat there?'” he said.

Quinn said this is her largest cast yet with 44 actors, ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade. There are also 11 graduating actors this year. Three of them are Nash Carlisto (Merlin), Olivia Marocco (knight) and Lucy Thill (the dragon).

Actors in Rising Star Productions performance of “King Artie and the Knights of the Rad Table” rehearse at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts Sunday. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

While Carlisto and Marocco look like your classic wizard and knight, respectively, Thill’s dragon costume is more interpretive than scales and a tail. She wears a bowler hat, a dress jacket and a pair of red wings.

“I’m supposed to be really British, and I love tea, so (Quinn) made me more of a classy, steampunk dragon,” Thill said. “It’s a really fun part.”

The three have all acted with Rising Star before, citing how they love to meet other student actors from around the area and take on different personas. They said they’ll miss these shows.

“It’s been a ton of fun all over the years,” Marocco said. “It’s sad, but this was a great show to be the last one.”

“It feels weird. I keep forgetting this is our last show,” Thill added.

“We’ll move on to the high school plays, but I am going to miss it,” Carlisto said. “Working with the younger kids was great because we used to be those kids when we first started here.”

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If you go …

What: “King Artie and the Knights of the Rad Table”

Where: The Lake Placid Center for the Arts, 17 Algonquin Drive, Lake Placid

When: 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 2 p.m. Saturday

How much: $10 for adults, and $7 for children