“Foxfire,” the play based on the books that tell of life in the South and made even more popular in a Broadway play with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, will open Friday at the Hogansville Amphitheater.

“It should appeal to older people because it’s written and set in Georgia and it will be good for newcomers who don’t know it’s a Georgia play,” said Erica Nashan, founding artistic director of the West Georgia Children’s Theater in Hogansville.

“Foxfire” is the latest production for the theater group, which formed about two years ago when Nashan moved from Raleigh, N.C. Since her move to downtown Hogansville, Nashan has offered classes not just to children, but to people of all ages, which gives the “Foxfire” production a particular advantage. Several of the characters “age” in the play. Instead of casting one person and using makeup to make the character look older, people of different ages can be cast for one part.

For at least one of the adults in the production, working with younger students hasn’t been a problem.

“When you rehearse, you forget they’re kids,” said Leidner, who has a role in “Foxfire” and has acted in several of Nashan’s productions.

Guest director Tony Pender from North Carolina has been equally impressed with the students at the theater. Nashan requires all of her performers to be enrolled in a class.

Along with directing, Pender held a workshop earlier this month at the amphitheater with children from the Boys & Girls Club of West Georgia.

“I was most impressed” with the students, who not only jumped right into Pender’s exercises, but asked many of their own questions, he said.

The production also is an unofficial celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Hogansville amphitheater, on the grounds of Hogansville Elementary School. The amphitheater had sat amid the underbrush between the tennis courts and driveway for many years, until about four years ago. Toni Striblin, Hogansville’s former Better Hometown coordinator, led an effort to clean up the amphitheater and get it in usable condition.

After Striblin’s efforts, a number of concerts were held at the amphitheater, put to especially good use during the city’s annual Hummingbird Festival, and one couple even used the amphitheater for a wedding ceremony. Long-term plans by the festival committee include plans to put a roof over the theater and add a sound system. The amphitheater also is included in the city’s Tower Trail project, to connect the elementary school to the old water tower on Oak Street via a nature trail.

“Foxfire” isn’t directing money to that effort specifically, but Nashan and Pender both hope their use of the theater will bring more attention to its possibilities. Leidner said the city and Downtown Development Authority are applying for grants for the trail project; the fact the amphitheater is being used for the arts should serve them well in the grant process.

“People won’t want to fix it until it gets used,” Nashan said. “It will only get attention if people try and use it.”

— Productions begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday with music from Ralph Lynch and friends and a picnic supper at the amphitheater. For tickets and other information, call (706) 884-8361.

Jennifer Shrader can be reached at jshrader@ lagrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 236.