NILES — The play “Peter Pan” starts like a Disney film, said director David Smith.

In a darkened auditorium, a spotlight will fall on Tinkerbell, a sassy fairy played by Niles High School student Peyton Bolyard, in the aisleway. Tink will dance in a ballet style down the aisle and onto the stage, prompting a curtain opening. Then, the story of English children learning the wonders of youthfulness through a fantastical world will commence.

Smith said this opening scene sets the tone for the magic and the student ambition in the Niles High School play. It will premiere at 7 p.m. Friday, at the school’s auditorium, and a 7 p.m. performance the next night will follow.

Tickets are $4 for students, staff and senior citizens, and $5 for all others.

Niles’ production “Peter Pan” is based on J.M. Barrie’s 1904 play, which later became a 1911 novel, a 1953 Disney movie adaption and a 2003 live action move adaptation.

It follows the Darling siblings — Wendy, John and Michael — as they follow a boy named Peter Pan into the world of Neverland, where people never grow up and adventure always awaits.

Smith said he chose the play because it is well-known and has something for everyone.

“It has sword-fighting,” he said. “It has someone coming of age. It has parents. It has an adolescent’s experience, and I think it will be great for families to come to.”

The 115-year-old play also lends itself to some flexibility, he said, allowing students to make the most of their own personal skills, such as Bolyard’s dancing capabilities.

“It’s really wonderful to see all the student actors’ talents come into the play so we can create a play that’s unique yet still preserves the aspects of that story,” he said.

This is Smith’s third year directing the fall play and his third year on Niles Community Schools’ staff, where he is a social studies inclusion and Spanish inclusion teacher.

To help him guide the 30 cast members and 10 crew members through eight weeks of practices and two performances is his student director, 12th-grade student Amani Scott.

This is Scott’s first role as director, but she is a longtime theater performer. She had a lead role at Niles last academic year.

She said she has enjoyed guiding cast and crew — midway through her interview, she paused to promise two students to highlight all their parts in a script book.

Scott said her primary role is to help students turn their acting and behind-the-scenes work into storytelling.

“How can the lighting tell a story?” she asked rhetorically. “How can the lighting bring something to life? How can the sounds that we use help the audience be a part of what’s happening on stage?”

The story she speaks of is not just the plot of “Peter Pan,” but its underlying themes of the joys of youthfulness.

It’s a message not only for children, but adults, she said. The play itself begins with Mr. Darling, the sibling protagonists’ father, fussing over his inability to tie a tie, claiming that if he does not tie it, he will lose his job and be unable to care for his children.

This is an exaggeration, of course, and the play seeks to encourage people to break from the rigmarole of all work and no play.

Scott said her directorial experience has allowed her to develop patience and make better connections with others. She hopes to take those skills gained into a career of play direction.

“I feel like this experience is going to be with me my whole life,” she said. “If this is what I want to do out there, in the real world, this just makes me realize this is affecting my life. I’m growing as person.”

This week, however, Scott is focused on the present, and she encourages everyone to come see students’ passion and hard work pay off.