High-energy family fun will hit the stage with Fountain Square Players’ production of the Oscar-winning musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.”

“It’s unlike any other musical we’ve ever done. There’s nonstop action, lots of gymnastics in the show,” director Heather Bitterling said. “It’s fun to watch. It keeps you captivated.”

The play – based on the book by Lawrence Kasha and David Landay, with music by Gene de Paul and Joel Hirschhorn and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Al Kasha and Hirschhorn – will run at 8 p.m. today through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Western Kentucky University’s Van Meter Auditorium. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, and $10 for children under 12. Plenty of parking is available, and the building is handicapped accessible.

“It’s the first big musical in Van Meter,” Bitterling said, referring to the recent renovation of the auditorium.

In the story, Adam, the oldest of seven brothers, goes to town to get a wife and persuades Milly to marry him right away. When they return to his cabin, she discovers his six brothers all living in his cabin. Milly sets out to refine the brothers, who want wives of their own, and Adam helps find a solution to his siblings’ loneliness after reading about the Roman capture of women to take as wives.

“The side story is the six brides for the other six brothers. It’s complete comic relief,” Bitterling said. “They start off as almost caveman characters with no manners. They haven’t been to town.”

LaDarra Starkey, who plays Milly, describes her character as “girlie, but a little sassy.”

“She has learned how to stand on her own because she has had to. Her parents died early in her life. She had to learn how to take care of herself,” she said. “When she meets the brothers, they respect her a lot. They think a lot of her.”

The cast, which has more than 50 members, has been having a good time getting the play together, Starkey said.

“This cast gets along real well. Most casts have a harder time to get a connection,” she said. “There’s not one person who doesn’t fit in. Everybody learns from each other.”

Cody Clifton, who plays brother Ephraim, agreed.

“We have an amazing cast,” he said. “I think it’s something people will enjoy.”

Clifton said Ephraim is a fun character to play.

“I have been in a lot of plays, and I have never come across anything like Ephraim before. He’s really comical and has a bit of an athletic, competitive side to him,” he said. “When I started to read through (the script), it felt right. It really clicked with me.”

Cast members have had to learn various types of physical skills for the musical.

“I’m doing jumps and leaps,” Clifton said. “I have to push myself, and so does everyone else.”

The cast has risen to the occasion, Bitterling said.

“They have worked so hard,” she said. “Many of them could not do any of this stuff in the beginning.”

Bitterling said she has enjoyed the play because of its emphasis on love, forgiveness and commitment in marriage.

“It begins with one man going to town and taking a wife that very day,” she said. “They don’t take the time to find out if it’s a good match or not. People sometimes give up so easily at the first sign of trouble.”

— For more information or tickets, call 782-3119 or visit www.fountainsquareplayers.org.