ESCANABA — The large cast of 36 actors for Players de Noc’s musical Gypsy includes nine elementary school students as it follows the life of Gypsy Rose Lee from childhood to burlesque performer.

It’s a musical that director Lynn Soderberg has long wanted to do.

The well-know song the performers sing as they grow up is “Let Me Entertain You.”

“So, we have two young girls who are 10 and 12 who play baby June and baby Louise when they are young kids and then we have girls who play them when they are older. Everybody gets to sing, ‘Let Me Entertain You’ except me. I don’t get to sing that,” said Soderberg.

That’s because Soderberg also plays the girls’ mother, Momma Rose. It’s a part she has looked forward to.

“Momma Rose is a dream role for any actress. You get to a certain age and there are certain roles that you hope that you may sometime get to play once in your lifetime. Momma Rose was one of those roles for me,” Soderberg said.

Soderberg says she is pleased the way the musical has turned out.

It opens at the Bonifas Theater on Friday and runs Saturday, Sunday afternoon and again next Wednesday through Saturday. Tickets are available online at playersdenoc.org or at the Bonifas Arts Center.