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Ghosts, magic abound in Little Theatre’s production of ‘A Christmas Carol’

<p>When Kelly Franks of Mountain Top was working on the choreography for a play at Marian Catholic High School several years ago, her tiny, preschool, bundle-of-energy daughter, Virginia, wanted to be part of the action.</p><p>&#8220;It was almost impossible to keep her off the stage,&#8221; Kelly Franks remembered. &#8220;She was continuously jumping into the routines.&#8221;</p><p>What&#8217;s a mother to do?</p><p>Well, if your daughter is as determined to sing, dance and act as Virginia proved to be, you help her make it happen.</p><p>Virginia Franks, now 10, has the role of bass player Katie in the musical &#8220;School of Rock,&#8221; which continues in Shopland Hall on the fourth floor of the Scranton Cultural Center with shows at 7 p.m. today and 2 and 7 p.m. tomorrow.</p><p>The family-friendly musical, part of the center&#8217;s Youth Theatre Program, tells the story of a wannabe superstar named Dewey Finn who, after being thrown out of the rock band he helped form, poses as a teacher at a prestigious school and turns a group of honor students into rock musicians he hopes will win a Battle of the Bands against his old group.</p><p>The show is billed as &#8220;real kids playing real music,&#8221; and Virginia will be doing just that.</p><p>She plays bass and cello, studying at the Suzuki School for Strings in Plains Township and getting some tips from her dad, Daniel, who plays keyboard, drums and, as her mom explained, &#8220;enough bass to help her learn to play the bass.&#8221;</p><p>Audiences are going to enjoy &#8220;School of Rock,&#8221; Virginia said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s gonna make them laugh and sing and hum along. They&#8217;ll be rocking out and doing all that crazy stuff.&#8221;</p><p>Virginia, who became a professional actor at age 6, has compiled an impressive resume, including performances in Off-Broadway shows and work on national commercials for PBS Sprout and the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Earlier this year, she appeared on &#8220;Project Runway,&#8221; where she said, &#8220;I got to pose and design my own dress. It was exciting and fun.&#8221;</p><p>She also finished shooting a movie, &#8220;Batman V. Superman: A Parody of Justice&#8221; in the role of Lois Lane.</p><p>&#8220;Basically, it&#8217;s a children&#8217;s parody of the Superman movie,&#8221; Kelly Franks said.</p><p>All of the characters are children, and Lois Lane is the youngest.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;ll ask to play, and they&#8217;ll say &#8216;maybe later.&#8217; She&#8217;s always left out,&#8221; Virginia said of the character.</p><p>Virginia is a fifth-grade student at St. Jude Elementary School in Mountain Top. Her extracurricular activities include singing in the choir and playing the cello in church.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Virginia Franks, of Mountain Top, appears in &#8216;School of Rock&#8217; at the Scranton Cultural Center this weekend. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/web1_virginiafranksSOR-1-of-1-1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Virginia Franks, of Mountain Top, appears in &#8216;School of Rock&#8217; at the Scranton Cultural Center this weekend. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p><p><strong>What: </strong>&#8216;School of Rock &#8212; The Musical&#8217;</p><p><strong>Where: </strong>Scranton Cultural Center, 420 N. Washington Ave., Scranton</p><p><strong>When: </strong>7 p.m. today; 2 and 7 p.m. tomorrow</p><p><strong>Additional information: </strong>Tickets cost $5 and are available at <a href="http://bit.ly/2iGYmTP" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/2iGYmTP</a>. </p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mountain Top girl plays bass, cella in ‘School of Rock’ production