The first musical Debbie Alexander directed was “Getting to Know Oklahoma” at Gilbert High School in Gilbert, W. Va.

That was 31 years ago.

Alexander will director the show again tonight and Friday at Middletown Middle School.

The five-scene show features 21 cast members, a 14-member chorus and a crew, all comprised of seventh- and eighth-graders, Alexander said.

Sarah Chaney, an eighth-grader with stage experience, plays Aunt Eller Murphy, and Jalen Million, an eighth-grader who was in “Guys and Dolls” last year, plays Curly McClain. The play is set in the early 1900s in the western Indian territory that later became the state of Oklahoma.

Alexander said the production is completely run by students, and she said those in attendance may be surprised by the quality.

“We have a great talent pool in this district,” Alexander said. “We do and we always have.”

She’s been told that the middle school performance has a high school feel, she said.

Alexander, the district’s choir director since 1991, also directed “Oklahoma” in 2005.

The show is held in the school’s 1,500-seat auditorium, what Alexander called the “best” theater in the city.

“It’s a classic,” she said Tuesday night during a dress rehearsal. “Just look around. This place is incredible.”