Grappling with the challenges of middle school is familiar territory for many of the young actors in the upcoming performances of “13: The Musical” at the First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist.
The show, which runs Nov. 20 through Nov. 23, focuses on fictional tween Evan Goldman’s struggles to fit in at his new school before his bar mitzvah and features actors in preschool through ninth grade.
Adapting the show to ensure it is accessible to a wide age range of youngsters “makes it a little bit of a challenge,” said Ian Garvie, the church’s director of music since 2015.
However, the theater program—a part of the children’s choirs at First Church—has been successfully creating welcoming, all-inclusive performances since 1980.
“We commit to every single person who wants to be in the show,” said Garvie, a Woburn resident.
All children have a few lines and sing a solo, regardless of age.
The youngest children form small choruses that perform throughout the show, and children in fifth grade and up take on the lead roles.
To ensure everyone can participate, Garvie said he had to “create a version of [‘13’] that is interesting and engaging [to older kids and] something that is approachable and appropriate” for the 4- to 5-year-olds, as well as the audience. Therefore, “every show goes through a process of re-writing.”
The original “13” has a few mildly risqué moments, and high schoolers typically perform the roles. Garvie took the 2008 Broadway version and the 2022 Netflix adaptation and created a hybrid script. He then added a few short scenes so every young actor could have a few lines.
“I wanted to make sure I got it correct,” he said, by retaining the essence of the play while keeping it relatable for the younger children.
For example, in one new scene, actors playing children from different religions discuss what it means to become an adult since the play focuses on the protagonist’s bar mitzvah. Before he wrote the scene, Garvie asked the children what their fears about growing up were. He then incorporated their actual words into the script and songs.
Although in the past the church group considered staging two different musicals to eliminate the large age gap, they ultimately chose to keep the program as-is. Watching the younger kids look up to the tweens and teens “is really quite powerful.”
“The older kids have to take on a role-model role and [help with] teaching the kids,” Garvie said.
Long History
The yearly musical, which also acts as a church fundraiser, has drawn kids and teens from Belmont and beyond
About two-thirds of the young actors are involved in the church. To perform, parents of all participants must sign an agreement that their kids will participate in one of the church’s three children’s choirs for a year, with the musical being the first event of the choir season.
The children’s program has been putting on musicals since 1980, including “The Sound of Music,” “Pirates of Penzance,” “Shrek,” “Newsies,” and “The Magic Flute,” to name a few.
“It’s such a strong community program,” said Garvie. “It’s one of the lynchpins in the fall calendar.”
He estimates that about 800 people attended the last four shows, with several sellout performances.
Revealing the next show will be “The Wizard of Oz,” Garvie said he’s committed to keeping the musical going as long as he’s there.
“The children absolutely love it,” he said.
For more information, visit uubelmont.org/events-1/13-the-musical-2025-11-22-19-00
