AFTER starring in Robert Readman's productions of Grease and Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure, teenage Selby actor Daniel McGuinness has been asked by Robert to make his directorial debut.

Nineteen-year-old Daniel is at the helm of Pick Me Up Theatre's production of 13 The Musical, the 2008 Broadway show with a rock score by the Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown.

"Daniel came to my attention via playing Danny in Grease, and one night I mentioned this show 13 to him," says producer Robert.

"The British premiere was done two years ago by the National Youth Theatre, who did a cast recording that I listened to after I saw the posters for the Five TownsTheatre Company's production of the show. That company told me the show was a 'wow', and they were right. I thought it would be perfect for Pick Me Up and for Daniel to direct it.

"I had the same feeling when I saw the potential in Scott Garnham, who directed for me from his teens. I could tell straight away that Daniel would be a good director, who would work well with his cast and relate to them. He loves the musical, which is very important, and he has the right theatrical attitude towards getting the best results from a show."

Daniel was delighted to be asked. "I already knew of the show, so when Robert said, 'Do you want to direct it?', of course I said 'yes'," he says.

"I thought it would be best to have someone directing it who was close to the show; someone who had lived very closely to the type of life depicted in the show," says Robert.

Billed as a "grown-up story about growing up", 13 The Musical focuses on the trials and tribulations of "becoming a man". It follows the life of Evan Goldman, a slightly confused pre-teen, whose world is turned upside down when his parents divorce. Suddenly he is forced to move from bustling New York to “the lamest place in the world,”

Appleton, Indiana, a small town in the middle of nowhere. Evan has one mission: to get all the cool kids in school to come to his Bar Mitzvah, “the Jewish superbowl”. Should he fail, he will spend the rest of his academic career banished to the land of the Geeks.

Don't be misled by that McGuinness surname. His full name is Daniel John Abraham McGuinness. "Three out of four are Jewish names. So yes, I am Jewish," says Daniel, who will play a Rabbi in silhouette, as well as directing.

"I had my Bar Mitzvah in Manchester when I was 13 and I can draw on my own experiences for this show. Like when I helped Jack [actor Jack Armstrong] with a couple of sections in the script when he has to speak Hebrew."

Bubwith actor Jack, 14, is playing Evan, fresh from his high-profile role as the Artful Dodger in Sheffield Crucible's Oliver! last Christmas. "Evan, who's 12, turning 13, is the odd one out in Appleton. He's constantly trying to be popular but he's not getting anywhere, so he's always thinking of ways to make people like him," he says.

Ultimately, Evan will discover that "cool is where you find it and sometimes where you least expect it".

Playing Evan's fellow outsider Patrice will be Kiera Leaper, 15, fromYork. "She's a high school outcast at 13 who likes to be herself and not change for anyone, and that's why she's not in with the in-crowd," she says. "She gets a big crush on Evan but he doesn't really notice her."

By contrast, the audience will definitely notice Kiera, who is part of a very theatrical family blossoming simultaneously on the York stage, along with her sisters Eleanor and Natalia.

Robert believes 13 The Musical will do likewise beyond York. "It's a very good show that will become popular bit by bit," he says. "It's black-humoured, it's sad, and there are some beautiful songs in it."

Discover for yourself from Wednesday.

Pick Me Up Theatre presents 13 The Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Wednesday (April 16) to Saturday, 7.30pm plus Saturday matinee, 2.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk or pickmeuptheatre.com