Theatergoers will get two shows for the price of one with “The Little Drummer Boy,” a youth production this weekend at Macon Little Theatre.

“It’s a play within a play, a story within a story,” director Sylvia Haynie said.

“The Little Drummer Boy” follows a youth production putting on a play of the same name and all the pitfalls its cast and crew must face before the opening performance. The play opens with the final dress rehearsal and not all of the cast members in costume; then “just about everything that can go wrong does.”

Haynie said there are two drummers, the drummer boy of the play and a stagehand who plays a rock ’n’ roll drum set and must learn about his place in the production.

“The lesson of the play is the value of each individual person and that it takes all of us as individuals to make something really unique,” she said. “It’s very funny; it ends with a sweet moment people will expect, but there are also some unexpected moments throughout.”

Written by local author Elaine J. Watkins, the play has never been performed before and features a cast of 17 youth, ranging in age from 5-17.

“It’s a chance for kids to do something that’s never been done before, and playing to their strengths is a big part of it,” Haynie said, adding that about half of the cast has performed in church or school programs and half are appearing onstage at the theater for the first time.

The production is being put on by a collaboration of the Academy of Performing Arts and Macon Little Theatre, and “dovetailed in” with the theater’s production of “Miracle on 34th Street.”

“The joint production is a great way for us to provide an opportunity for children to perform,” she said.

There will be four performances, and all seats are general admission, with tickets available at the door.

Haynie said the show is appropriate for children of all ages and is very family oriented. “The Little Drummer Boy” is just under an hour long with one 10-minute intermission.

As a special treat, the Academy of Performing Arts’ percussion ensemble and Broadway singers will be entertaining the audience before the play.

“The Little Drummer Boy”

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday

Where: Macon Little Theatre, 4220 Forsyth Road

Cost: $10 adults, $5 children ages 17 and younger

Phone: 471-7529