It's just an opportunity for the students to bring in, typically, grandparents.”

Elisabeth Ridder, grade 6 house leader

PORTSMOUTH — There were a few more shades of gray at Portsmouth Middle School Friday, and students were all the happier for it.

The school held its annual Intergenerational Day on Friday in which older family members got to spend a little time with the children.

“It’s a tradition that we’ve had here at Portsmouth Middle School for eight years and it’s just an opportunity for the students to bring in, typically, grandparents,” said Elisabeth Ridder, the grade 6 house leader.

If a grandparent wasn’t available, students would bring a parent, aunt uncle or “any special adult in their life to enjoy a little time together at the theater, with the hope of also encouraging arts in the theater and getting children to enjoy classic literature,” Ms. Ridder said.

Actors Courtney Calato and Zachary Parkhurst from the Hampstead Stage Company, a performing arts theater in Barnstead, N.H., performed a stage version of “The Secret Garden,” a 1911 children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Children in grades 4, 5 and 6 sat with family members in the Little Theater while enjoying the hour-long production, which touched on themes of neglect and rejuvenation.

The older students weren’t left out, however, as they had enjoyed a different performance by the Hampstead Stage Company last fall.

“We had an Intergenerational Day for grades 7 and 8 in October with a performance of ‘Frankenstein.’ It actually was on Halloween. That show was designed for an older audience,” said Ms. Ridder.