One might think he was in London … that is before being whisked away to Neverland.

Pacelli Catholic Middle School students take Peter Pan to the stage – British accents and all – in three shows at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Dec. 1 and 2, and at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at Pacelli Catholic High School.

Tickets cost $5 for students and $7 for adults.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Alex Deckers, an eighth-grader who plays Captain Hook. “I like making it fun with my friends.”

If rehearsals dictate, the enjoyment is quite apparent. During a sword dual with Peter Pan (played by seventh-grader Lucia Stephani), Deckers flicked the weapon almost gracefully as the clang echoed in the theater. Every couple of hits he and Stephani would fight smiling as well.

“We worked a lot on those so I think those are probably the most exciting,” he said.

The students have been working for weeks to get in character – there are more than 35 cast members, nearly 20 crew members, and several Pacelli High School students helping out as well.

Peter Pan is the story of Peter, a magical young boy who refuses to grow up on a quest to find stories to entertain the Lost Children in Neverland. On this quest, Peter meets the Darling family, including Wendy and her brothers, Michael and John.

Peter takes the three children on a wild ride to Neverland, where Wendy takes on the role of mother of the Lost Children. There are many adventures fighting the dreaded Captain Hook and his cronies.

The tick-tocking crocodile, mermaids and other fantastic characters make appearances to round out the show.

“The kids have really taken on their roles and portray their characters so well,” said Michelle Nerren, director. “These are hard-working kids who are not only learning their lines and blocking, but have also worked on sword play choreography and are working with a real live dog on stage, that plays the role of Nana.”

One other challenge students faced in this production is accents. The group decided all or nothing to include British accents as part of the characters – and it’s worked, Nerren said.

“That’s a higher level skill in theater,” she said, “however, none of our middle school shows are typical, and our kids wanted to rise to the challenge … and our kids succeeded. It’s brilliant really, to see the way they rally together and help each other. They really become a family by the end of the show.”

Though the fight scenes are her favorite – including those with a Neverbird – Stephani gives credit to the directors as well, saying the show wouldn’t be the same without them.

“I really like the leaders and directors,” she said. “They put a lot of work into it to try to make it as enjoyable as possible and to make it ‘stellar.’”

Cast includes:

Darling household: Wendy, Marissa Stolt; Mrs. Darling, Emily Rosenthal; Mr. Darling, Gabe Hoerter; Nana, Piper Nerren; Michael, Brian Pekarek; John, Sam Kulick; Liza, Madeline Wojchik; Jane, Kaite Klasinski.

Lost children: Peter Pan, Lucia Stephani; Curly, Sydney Gavin; Twin 1, Kylie Struble; Twin 2, Cabrini Brandl; Slightly, Madison Larsh; Tootles, Mateo Koch; Nibs, Shannon Lepak.

Pirates: Hook, Alex Deckers; Smee, Charlie Kulick; Starkey, Anna Meihlan; Jukes, Julia Jakusz; Cecco, Emily Trzinski; Mullins, Maddy Polum; Noodler, Garrett Shurpit; Cookson, Maggie Sekerka; Scurvy, Shelby Tryba; Garr, Makayla Moss; Peg Leg, Tess Lawlis.

Narrators: Narrator 1, Jenna Stolt; Narrator 2, Grace Auer; Narrator 3, Maggie Hahn; Narrator 4, Ashlyn Cywinski.

Mermaids: Aquata, Emily Cisewski, Neridia, Madison Grover; Narissa, Jenna Pinter; Calypso, Laine Ilkka.

Other characters of Neverland: Tiger Lily, Sarah Meyer; Crocodile, Joseph Vinopal.

The show is directed by Nerren, assistant director is Joseph Vinopal, student direction assistant is Jennifer Peterson, set design is by Carrie Gruman-Trinkner, and backstage/costuming is by Terry Rogers.

Sounds and lights are done by Kelsey Trinkner, Maya Strizel, and Leah Shibilski.

Backstage crew includes Christian Baron, Eleanor Belsha, Luke Carpenter, Katrina Gendusa, Madison Grover, Amelia Jacoby, Matthew King, Amanda Lansing, Molly Lawlis, Abigail Martin, Jaymason Mayek, Sarah Meyers, Samantha Miller, Jared Polum, Grace Repinski, Tessa Rogers, Claire Sobczak and Jacob Zimmerman, with special help from Aubrey Borchardt, Kohler Olszewski and Ashley Hoerter.