The middle school production of the punk-sci-fi musical “Starmites” took audiences on a wildly colorful romp through a young teenager’s imagination on May 10-11 at the Blackford Theater.

Directed by Monica Colletti, this energetic, rock music-driven story centers on Eleanor (Mia Giammona, grade 8), a withdrawn teenager who retreats into the world of the characters in her comic book collection, where she meets the heroic Starmites, who are engaged in a battle with the evil Shak Graa (Emre Ezer, grade 8) to decide the fate of Innerspace. Eleanor and her new friends then set out on a journey to find a powerful musical instrument known as the Cruelty before Shak Graa can obtain it and use it for his own ends.

The set, designed, as always, by Paul Vallerga, also kept the adventurous and raucous spirit of the musical, with its multi-levels and angular shapes. Natti Pierce-Thomson’s lighting design deftly handled the shifting moods of the story.