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ST. PETERSBURG - The hip-hop story hits on sex, money and life on the street - and it's not really fiction, says a group of young actors putting on a play titled Southside Story.
"I think it's something that happens every day in St. Petersburg," said Michele Maitland.
Maitland, 17, portrays Kesha, a young woman who thinks she has become pregnant after her first sexual experience.
Hearing the news, Kesha's boyfriend Rico, portrayed by Milo Mitchell,16, reacts bluntly:
"Stop trippin'," he says, abruptly ending their cell phone conversation.
Irene Boyd, as Kesha's mother, is furious at first.
"It's your red wagon and you better pull it," she tells Kesha.
Clashes with parents, false friends, peer pressure, loneliness and drugs are the themes of the musical, which also includes a strong Christian message.
Appetizer Theater, a ministry of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church's youth group, is putting on the play at 7 p.m. Friday at the church, 2120 19th St. S. It's free and open to the public..
Youth group leader Larry Bryant wrote the play, created specifically to reflect the growing pains of a girl growing up in St. Petersburg.
"It's about as real and authentic as you can get," said Carlos Senior, New Hope's pastor.
Bryant, 21, a 2001 St. Petersburg High School graduate, also directs, leads cast prayers, acts as the play's press agent and takes part in it. Early in the production, he performs a rap song he wrote, referring to a "good girl gone bad with a thug."
Besides the hard-edged rap, heart-thumping gospel music and a creative form of movement called spiritual dancing are among the featured elements.
A lifelong New Hope member, Bryant said he can relate to the hip-hop culture, whose members don't always relate to church life.
As Kesha puts it: "You spiritual people put me out. You believe in something you can't see. A sister like me, I need some help here on Earth."
But the play ends on an upbeat note. Kesha, inspired by Kavon, a reformed friend portrayed by Marcus Childs, 17, finds a Bible-based direction.
Bryant said he hopes the production will reach people who are struggling to find their own way.
At a rehearsal Monday evening, he coached his actors, most of them 16 to 19 years old, to be aware of their audience.
"You're going to see some hurting people," he said.
The cast, he said, has been rehearsing for about a month.
"They're really taking ownership of the characters," he said.