All of these strange happenings seem to have one thing in common — a mysterious being from the center of the Earth named Mongo.

The Fort Dodge Middle School production of “Little Luncheonette of Terror” will open Thursday night at 7 p.m., with a second showing on March 11 at 7 p.m., at the Fort Dodge Middle School Auditorium, 800 N. 32nd St.

The show stars Braden Kammerer as Pete, Jillian Leman as Marlene and Owen Hamlow as Mongo, as well as 17 other featured actors and a full chorus.

Pete runs his own restaurant, Pete’s Luncheonette, which is a popular hangout for local high school kids. After Pete hears some strange radio frequencies on his CB radio, he’s visited by Mongo. Terror and laughter reign as Mongo tries to take over the world with his army of zombie teenagers.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert

This is the fourth time middle school Choir Director Joan Ascherl has directed “Little Luncheonette of Terror.”

“When I find a good show, I will recycle them,” she said. “It’s hard finding good musicals for the middle school level. This one has both a great script and great music.”

When casting the middle school musical, Ascherl has a simple method.

“I look for certain attributes in a student — can they play the part of somebody that’s kind of a book worm, or kind of a computer geek?” she said. “Sometimes a lot of physical mannerisms carry on stage that they have in the classroom, so it won’t be quite a stretch when they are on stage.”

She also looks for students who go out of their comfort zone, whether that’s being willing to try a new accent or to walk a certain way for a character.

This is the first “normal” production the middle school has had since COVID-19 shut everything down in March 2020. Last year, Ascherl directed a smaller production of “Snow White,” with actors using face shields and social distancing.

“It’s refreshing, and it’s kind of nice to get back to having things like they normally have been,” Ascherl said. “Staging a play last year was quite challenging.”

This is the first year that Ascherl has included sixth-graders in the musical.

“Since the fifth grade is not in our building any more, I felt it would be important to include them,” she said. The chorus has about a dozen sixth-graders.

March is Art and Music in the Schools Month, and the annual spring musical at Fort Dodge Middle School is a testament to the importance of music programs, Ascherl said.

“Music in our Schools Month is more important, probably, now more than ever, because we need to expose kids to the fine arts and really let them see the positive effects that it has on their peers and see how they can blossom through a production,” she said.

She said she hopes that other students will see the musical and want to be involved in music and art.

“Hopefully this ignites a flame in them, piques interest in the kids who never thought they could do it,” she said.

Being involved in activities like the musical can give students tools and skills they can use for the rest of their life.

“It’s a lot of overcoming the things in middle school that are awkward, like speaking in front of people or singing a solo in front of someone, which would be terrifying,” she said. “It’s something that has a lasting impact and that’s what my hope is, that that experience is a lifelong thing that they can take with them, and I want it to be a very positive one.”

Tickets are $4 each and can be purchased at www.showtix4u.com, or at the door on the nights of the show.