Our scene opens on the Princess Jasmine, leaning on a balcony rail, pining for her prince.

“Aladdin, Aladdin, wherefore art thou, Aladdin?” she sighs.Nothing happens. “Uh, Aladdin? Aladdin?” she calls, louder each time.

Seconds later our hero appears, flustered from missing his cue, but none of the other princes entered on-cue, either. One was in a meeting, and one was asleep somewhere and had to be paged to the school office.

This is how it looked behind the scenes at the Chief Kanim Middle School spring musical “Aladdin” at a recent rehearsal. With only two weeks to go before performances May 19-21, first-time director Amy Dittbrenner saw her show slowly coming together, and her actors blossoming into their roles.

“We did three days of auditions… and then we announced the parts before winter break, so everyone knew their parts going into the break,” she said. Rehearsals started right after the break, and the practice has paid off.

Some of the cast, like Emilia Glaser who plays Jasmine, and Morgan Myers, Genie, are old hands, eighth graders who’ve been in the musical every year at Chief Kanim. Myers was aiming for the role of Genie during tryouts and not in the least concerned that Genie is a traditionally male role. “We didn’t have a lot of boys try out this year, either,” she said.

Other students have less experience, but plenty of enthusiasm, and that is probably the best part of the production for producer Sarah Barnes.

“It gives them a chance to be confident to shine….” Barnes said. “I think it’s really as much about the confidence building in the cast as it is about the production itself.”

Of course, she’s proud of the elaborate productions that she’s helped put on over the years, and the tradition of Chief Kanim musials that she’s continuing, but for Barnes, it’s about seeing the students grow.

This year’s musical is a production by Broadway Junior, which Dittbrenner, who holds a degree in dance education with a minor in theater, was already familiar with. She likes the productions, because they include all the music, separate books for each part, and are compact enough for the middle school age group. Also, “with our time constraints, this was the way to go,” she said.

What some may see as a downside for the Broadway Junior productions is their emphasis on Disney shows.

Costumer Denise Alexander, who’s been working with the productions for 14 years, says this show in particular was challenging for that reason. “They don’t know Aladdin, they’re too young.”

Also, she said, “if you do ask most of the kids, they will say, they want traditional Broadway material.”

Barnes thinks the students may just want something they consider more challenging, after several consecutive Disney productions. But as the Genie shimmers into existence on stage and starts with the wisecracks, no one can argue that this show isn’t fun.

“Aladdin” runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 19-21. Showtimes are at 6:30 p.m. daily, with a 2:30 p.m. performance on Saturday. Tickets are $8.