Entertainment

A year ago, Stephanie Riggs had a dream about a new musical.

"I know it sounds crazy, but when I had the dream, I could see it in its entirety," says Ms. Riggs, the founder and education director of the Flower Mound Performing Arts Theatre.

And now she's directing Project Youth, a world-premiere musical that re-creates her dream, through July 26. It's so true to what she envisioned, Ms. Riggs says, that she has "broken down in tears twice during the process."

The story, which features a cast of 22 young actors between the ages of 5 and 18, is set in the year 2110. It focuses on children living in a biosphere carved into a mountain, because global warming has caused the oceans to rise and the world is so polluted that people can't breathe. As they wait for their parents to return, they realize they have been given a mission – but are unsure what it is. Slowly, they understand they need to find a way to repair the planet.

The show, a collaboration of Ms. Riggs with co-composers Adam C. Wright and Jeff Kinman, is debuting just a few weeks after Pixar's Wall-E , a critical hit about a polluted world of the future. Is former Vice President Al Gore's message in An Inconvenient Truth filtering down to kids? Or have we just reached a critical mass in our alarm about global warming?

Ms. Riggs says she believes that her inspiration was related to having been pregnant with her first child. Her son, Slade, was born 10 months ago.

"I'm a new mom," she says. "It does concern me very deeply what will be left for him."

In keeping with the mission of the kids in Project Youth, Ms. Riggs and her cast are doing their part to heal the Earth. They'll plant a tree in honor of the show, and they will be encouraging others to plant trees as well. Calloway's Nursery has donated 100 tree saplings that the theater is giving to those who make an $8 donation per tree.

WHAT THE ACTORS SAY

Some cast members from Project Youth shared how doing the show has changed them.

HUNTER JOHNSON, 16

Flower Mound

"My concern about pollution has grown through doing the show. I'd like to see people ride bikes instead of cars to close places, conserve water by turning off the sink when you're brushing your teeth, and refill water bottles."

EMILY EMMETT, 14

Flower Mound

"After I read the script, I went home and thought for a moment about how this could really happen. Now I'm trying to turn off my lights as I leave my room, conserve water and recycle."

CHELSEA NANCE, 16

Flower Mound

"I had never realized what global warming was. I don't want to lose clean water and not be able to drink water. I used to take 45-minute showers, now I'm down to 15 minutes."

TAYLOR SCORSE, 15

Carrollton

"The moral of the story caught my attention and grabbed my heart because my family and I have been recycling my entire life. I try to spread the word, but I have some friends who refuse to recycle because they say it's such a hassle. I hope this show changes their minds."

GRAHAM MAXEY, 10

Flower Mound

"When we started the play, I was kind of like, 'Wow, look at all the things I should be doing.' Before, my sister and I would forget to turn our lights off if we left a room and stuff like that. I want to be part of telling people to help the planet before it's too late."

KAYLEE KING, 11

Flower Mound

"The play has really gotten us thinking about recycling and conserving. If we can get this show playing all over the world, maybe it will start everyone thinking about it and maybe we can save the Earth."