When the young teenager first came to Christian Youth Theater he couldn&rsquo;t sing a note &mdash; at least not on key.</p><p>For five years he worked hard, attended classes, blended into the choruses and improved with each show. Then his big chance came: the demanding lead in &ldquo;Les Miserables.&rdquo;</p><p>Wil Oden of Kearney pulled it off, bringing the house to its feet.</p><p>He is just one story of the hundreds of young people who rush from school, fly through their homework and head off to the area&rsquo;s Christian Youth Theaters.</p><p>Recently one group worked on musical parts, another practiced choreography in front of mirrored walls and others plopped on the floor to go over their parts. </p><p>Often as many as 100 youths, ages 8 to 18, are involved in a production. </p><p>And parents don&rsquo;t just sit around twiddling their thumbs waiting for rehearsals to end. Some were designing and sewing costumes in an upstairs room. Others were in a warehouse constructing sets. </p><p>Overseeing the controlled chaos was Jim Shelton, director of &ldquo;Scrooge,&rdquo; which opened Thursday and runs through Nov. 22 at the Bell Cultural Events Center at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe.</p><p>It is being presented by the Overland Park branch, the oldest in the area, celebrating its 10th anniversary. Others operate in Lee&rsquo;s Summit and Gladstone, and each location produces three Broadway-style musicals per year.</p><p>The entire Kansas City program includes more than 400 students yearly, starting at age 6, and offers 10 weeks of after-school acting, voice and dance classes, plus summer camps and activities for youth with special needs. Students 8 and older may audition for parts in any of the productions.</p><p>The national organization, founded in San Diego, operates in 19 cities and soon will celebrate its 30th year.</p><p>&ldquo;I love these kids,&rdquo; said Shelton, who works in insurance and is directing his sixth show for the youth theater. He also has directed Theatre in the Park and is leadership council president of the national Christian Youth Theater.</p><p>&ldquo;There aren&rsquo;t a lot of places like this where theater is dedicated to training kids,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And it&rsquo;s a tremendous program. People who come the first time are pretty blown away at how professional it is.&rdquo;</p><p>Alan Manning, the theater&rsquo;s music director, said: &ldquo;We are doing a professional show. We are stretching these kids and have them doing things beyond their years.&rdquo;</p><p>Despite the name, &ldquo;this is not Christian theater,&rdquo; with Christian-themed productions, Shelton said, &ldquo;but Christians doing theater. Anybody is welcome.&rdquo;</p><p>In addition to &ldquo;Scrooge,&rdquo; this season includes &ldquo;High School Musical,&rdquo; &ldquo;Oliver,&rdquo; &ldquo;Peter Pan&rdquo; and &ldquo;A Little Princess&rdquo; at the various locations. Past productions have included &ldquo;Les Miserables,&rdquo; &ldquo;Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat&rdquo; and &ldquo;Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;I love coming,&rdquo; said Delany Milbourn, 17, of Overland Park, who is an original member of the theater from 10 years ago. In &ldquo;Scrooge,&rdquo; she is the Ghost of Christmas Present. </p><p>&ldquo;This is like a giant family,&rdquo; she said between rehearsals. &ldquo;We develop good relationships. I feel comfortable with everyone. You can be yourself. Even if you mess up in a part, nobody judges you.&rdquo;</p><p>Asher Morey, 16, of Leawood, who has been with the theater nine years, said: &ldquo;When I came here, it was like a spiritual rejuvenation. I feel like I have support and people going through the same things I&rsquo;m going through.