This weekend, two Lawrence County schools will be the home of a

union dispute and a young girl running from a deranged queen.

Parents do not need to panic. It is only acting.

Months of work on the part of Ironton and Chesapeake high school students will culminate as they present theatrical productions of "The Pajama Game," and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" respectively to the rest of the schools and the public this weekend.

"These kids work and work and work, then they ask, 'What? That's all?," Kathryn Price, director of the Ironton High School singers, said. "They've worked so hard and so long. I hope the audience will be as proud as I am."

A cast of 45 students along with 32 crew members will present the Broadway musical "The Pajama Game" to the public 7 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $6 for general admission, $3 for students and $12.50 for reserved seats.

In this romantic comedy/musical, "Babe" head of the union's grievance committee at the Sleep Tight Pajama Factory goes head to head with "Sid", the company superintendent because the union wants to strike for seven and a half cent raise. The two later discover that their adversaries are quite attractive.

IHS seniors and good friends Katie Scherer, "Babe", and Andrew Cronacher, "Sid", have been handling leading roles along with stacks of homework this week.

"She's really feisty and upbeat," Scherer said. "(Babe and I) have a lot of similarities so it was very easy to do."

Cronacher admitted having his off-stage friend become his on-stage love interest was strange at first. However, musicals are somewhat strange anyway because people break into song and dance in the middle of the day, he said.

Melanie Cummings, Chesapeake High School English teacher, said some freshmen in their school play are learning how challenging acting can be.

"It's not as easy as they thought," she said.

Nevertheless, the group of students are ready to present "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" the Lewis Carroll story about a young girl who follows a white rabbit into a hole and finds herself in several strange situations with eccentric characters. The play will be performed for the public at 7 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday with tickets costing $3.

Most of the 50-60 students and all of the actors involved with the play are freshmen. Cummings said she is proud of them for all of their hard work because sometimes, being involved in theater isn't exactly the "cool" thing for high school students.

Nevertheless, her students have made serious progress, especially Casey Carande, the 15-year-old actress playing "Alice".

"My Alice was very quiet, and she wouldn't even talk that much," Cummings said.

Depending on the situation, Carande and Alice also tend to exhibit similar behavior, she said. She said she has had lots of fun watching her friends act during rehearsals.

"In elementary, we had plays where we would sing songs," Carande said. "This is my first actual big one."