The flu and lost voices are not putting a damper on Linton Middle School's preparation for its musical, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

A cast of 60 students is getting ready for performances at 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday at the school, where doors will open at 7. Tickets are $4 for senior citizens and students, $6 for adults.

"The talent, hard work and persistence of the Linton students are remarkable," says Donna Henke, musical director.

"They never let you down. They are a gift to the Penn Hills community and they are truly amazing."

The community's support is important because students and staff depend on ticket revenue from the previous year's musical to cover costs for the current year's musical, Henke said.

Tyler Harper, an eighth-grader, will play Willy Wonka, his last role at Linton. He hopes to join the high school musical next year.

"I was kind of excited when I heard the musical would be 'Willy Wonka,'" he says. "I knew I wanted to be Willy Wonka from the start."

He will be performing in his third Linton musical, but Tyler will do something for the first time -- wear a tuxedo.

Dianna Bash, an eighth-grader, never expected to perform in "Willy Wonka" because she didn't know it was a musical.

"I am pretty excited because I love the music for 'Willy Wonka,'" she says. "I knew all about the musical from the movies."

Dianna, who will play the clueless Mrs. Teavee, mother of TV-addicted Mike Teavee, likes that the musical portrays a fantasy world of candy.

Alexandra Newby, an eighth-grader, also likes the theme of the musical. She is getting ready to do a lot of singing and dancing as Charlie Bucket.

"Everyone has put a lot of work into a bunch of dances," she says. "It is a really fun musical, makes people want to be happy and tells them to be honest."

Playing the roles of eager children who win golden tickets to tour Wonka's chocolate factory are Michael Delle-Femine as Augustus Gloop, Tiffani Cottrell-Patterson as Veruca Salt, Kristen Kralik as Violet Beauregarde and Benja-min Blinn as Mike Teavee.

The cast also includes students as squirrels, candy kids and Oompa-Loompas.

The musical is based on "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" by Ronald Dahl, whose book has been made into two movies.

Getting the stage ready will be an effort of more than 100 hours, says Sue Clydesdale, director.

The students have been working hard on the musical since mid-January.

"The kids have a lot of energy and will put on a good show," she says. "For the past two years, we've had talent coming in and 'Willy Wonka' seemed like a great fit."

Clydesdale also was considering "School House Rock" for this year's musical, but decided "Willy Wonka" would be the most fun to perform.