What does it take to sprout a bad seed? In the case of the Stage Company’s production of “The Bad Seed,” it takes a little soil, a little water and some murder.

The Stage Company will perform Maxwell Anderson’s “The Bad Seed” three weekends:this Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Oct. 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19.

“The Bad Seed” is a chilling drama about a seemingly angelic 8-year-old who commits three cold-blooded murders. It addresses the question of whether evil can be a predetermined trait and inherited at birth.

The play is set during the normalcy obsession of the 1950s in a small southern town where Colonel Kenneth Penmark, played by Michael Lehker, and his wife, Christine Penmark, played by Amber Beyke, live with their daughter. On the surface, their daughter Rhoda, played by Joey Beyke, is extremely well-behaved, sweet and charming.

“She is a darling where everyone else is concerned, except she has no feelings,” said director Roy Weshinskey, a former SIUC English professor. He is a founding member of the Stage Company and has worked on all of its 23 seasons.

The cute little girl is loved by her parents and admired by everyone, especially the apartment owner, Monica Breedlove. Monica, played by Betty King, adds tinges of comic relief to the play in order to lighten its dark mood.

One day, Mrs. Penmark has an uneasy feeling about her when one of Rhoda’s schoolmates is mysteriously drowned.

Nick Earll, who plays the handyman, LeRoy, said this role is the first time he has steered away from playing the good guy to play a rather unsympathetic character. Though LeRoy may be a bad seed in his own way, he is an adversary to Rhoda.

“He sort of has some insight on her because he’s like her,” Earll said. “He’s not a nice man, but he’s funny. There’s so much black-edged humor in this.”

Additional characters are Mark Beyke as Emery Wages, Mindy Beyke as Miss Fern, Rusty James as Reginald Tasker, Jo Ann Hensley as Mrs. Daigle, Roy Weshinskey as Mr. Daigle, Gina Morsch as Messenger and Stan Hale as Richard Bravo.

Weshinskey says the term “bad seed” applies to people who get their own way by manipulation and are subject to intense anger if they do not. As a murderer and arsonist, Rhoda shows the bad seed inside her every time she flashes her malevolent smile.

The play was written in the 1950s during a time when psychoanalysis was on the rise, and it is known for its tendency to leave audiences describing it as “skin-crawling.”

Earll said the first professional show he saw was “The Bad Seed,” and it certainly made his skin crawl.

Through the dedication of the cast and crew, Weshinskey hopes his version of “The Bad Seed” continues to have the same spine-chilling effect on audiences.

“Anyone who has had a child will really react to it,” Weshinskey said. “I want them to be entertained in the strictest sense of the word.”

Tammy Kelly, assistant director, said the crew would like to warn parents the contents of this play may not be appropriate for children 12 and under due to violence.

“The Bad Seed” will be presented three weekends:this Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Oct. 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m. Sunday matinee performances begin at 2 p.m. Box office hours are weekdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. and one hour prior to all performances.

General admission tickets are $10 for Friday and Saturday performances and $7 for Sunday performances. Call (618) 549-5466 for ticket information and reservations.