A spider, a fly, and a worm, along with a bumble bee, an ant and a butterfly, all put on an appearance on the stage of the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 15.

Far from being yucky, they are actually quite entertaining as they sing, dance and show the audience that they really are “a lot like you.”

The bugs are all part of the musical, “Diary of a Worm, a Spider, and a Fly,” based on the book series by Joan Cushing, who also wrote the music and lyrics for the show.

The national tour is presented by the Rose Theatre, part of the Omaha Theater Company.
Melissa Victor, who plays Fly, Alphonse Kroeten, who plays Ant, and Altamiece Cooper, who plays Mrs. McBee, made themselves available for an interview before the show.

The three actors all started their profession while in school — as early as three years of age.
None can imagine doing anything else, even with the busy schedule this production requires — five days a week, and two shows a day.

None seem to mind these rigors, as the show is a lot of fun to put on and they all think the messages in the books and the show are important to put out to the audiences — no matter how old.

“Yeah, I love the books, and not just being biased just because I like Fly’s book. Fly’s book is really about listening to your parents, and following what your parents say. I think that’s very important for kids to do now,” Victor said.

Kroeten also thinks the musical offers some great lessons. He said, “I think that’s one of the things we try to do when putting it up on the stage — was to portray the lessons and teach the lessons to the kids. Hence the reason there’s a quote in the show, that we are a lot like you.”

“So we want to put it in perspective for the children that there are great lessons – don’t bully, everybody has a purpose, so don’t get down on yourself, if you don’t know what that is yet,” he said.
“There’s one specifically for no bullying, which is awesome,” says Cooper. “There is another one that is about doing well in school. There is another one about following your dreams. I mean, there’s a lot of really cool, cool lessons in these books.”

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